Eagles 7's Notes: Player Info, Scrimmaging, & More

Shalom Suniula will lead the team in the Gold Coast.

I managed to catch up with Eagles 7's head coach Alex Magleby before the team took off to Australia. In my article at RugbyRugby she already talked about the team's goals heading into the tournament, but he also had much more to say. Here are a few notes to pass along to you from my conversion that didn't make it in the article.

Take the jump to read more.


Team News:

• The average age of the team is pretty low at 24. As Magleby points out, if you exclude Dahl, Hawkins, and Palefau, the average age is 22.
• The team plans a series of practices down in Australia but no scrimmages. The team feels that they still have plenty to work on and scrimmages don't really fulfill what they are trying to do. Magleby said scrimmages can help in that you might score a few tries but often there is little contact. As he emphasized at the NACRA 7's, the team needs to get more physical in contact in scrimmaging doesn't help that.
• Throughout the summer and the first part of the fall, the team has brought in several players for a week at a time to see how they do with the core players and the international level. These have been college players, good club players, military players, etc. It's really good to see the team cast the net wide. Plus, brining them in for a week really helps to better evaluate players. Expect to see more of this in the future.
• Without releasing specifics, I can tell you that the 7's program is implementing something in that near future that while simple, will help integrate players into the team.

Player News:

• Colin Hawley is out purely to get him some rest. He is still a big part of the team but since the World Cup until now he hasn't had much of a break, so the team gave him one.
• Magleby and Eagles head coach Mike Tolkin discussed ahead of time about letting Taylor Mokate play in the Americas Rugby Championship. Because he might not have been on the roster for the Gold Coast anyway, they thought it was a good idea to get him some matches.
• Peter Tiberio is back in Chicago. He is still in consideration for selection, but he wanted to also try some different things. This was a mutual decision between Tiberio on the team.
• Nu'u Punimata has returned to Seattle.
• Brett Thompson has really excelled in camp. He still has a ways to go, but he is very highly spoken of.
• Jack Halalilo is still in camp and healthy. It was between him and another player for the last spot on the team.
• Matt Hawkins' return to the team isn't that surprising. Like Hawkins said last spring, he needed time away from the game. He feels better now and is ready to go.
• Preston Bryant has a pulled hamstring but should be in contention for Dubai.
• Zach Pangelinan has also been training with the team but was needed for the ARC.
• Nick Edwards still has a chance with the team. They are trying to work out when they can bring him in for another look.
• Nate Augsburger has also been in camp and was in contention for a spot in the Gold Coast.
• Andrew Durutalo is out at least until Hong Kong with his knee injury.
• Folau Niua is still out but could be back soon.
• A couple of players have been working on degrees through a program sponsored by the USOC. It is just another benefit of having rugby in the Olympics.

Jersey #	Last Name	First Name	Age	Height	Weight	Club
3	Dahl	Peter	27	6’2”	220	Belmont Shore
10	Enosa	Tai	23	5’9”	190	USA Rugby
6	Hawkins	Matt	29	6’2”	230	Old Aztecs
8	Hume	Luke	24	5’9”	182	Old Blue
1	Isles	Carlin	22	5’8”	165	USA Rugby
7	Mauer	Rocco	24	6’1”	195	USA Rugby
2	Palefau	Mike	31	6’1”	218	OPSB
4	Suniula	Shalom	24	5’8”	193	USA Rugby
9	Teo	Mike	19	5’8”	205	Belmont Shore
5	Test	Zach	23	6’3”	195	USA Rugby
11	Thompson	Brett	22	6’4”	205	Arizona
12	Unufe	Maka	21	6’2”	190	USA