Hawkins has appeared in over 30 IRB Sevens Series tournaments for the Eagles. He has been a leader both on and off the pitch for the team over the last several seasons. One of the major factors for Magleby leaving the position was the strain of being away from family. Hawkins lives in the San Diego area and will have no trouble concentrating on the duties of being head coach. He may also keep his role with Serevi Rugby.
The search for a new coach took an interesting turn the last few days with word that Mike Friday and Paul Treu may also be available. However, Friday apparently wanted to commute from London to San Diego, something U.S.A. Rugby did not want. Treu sent out a tweet essentially congratulating Hawkins on the job.
@UR7s That would be the best step for USA 7's. Matt understands the game and culture.
— Paul Treu (@paultreu) August 1, 2013
What do you make of the news? Is Hawkins the right fit?
As long as James Walker was at least considered, then OK, that's is fine. James, being a business dude (as well as an amazing rugby asset) would have wanted too much money.
ReplyDeleteIf Matt can have this talk with the current players then I'm good: "I'm going to do everything possible to find someone to take your spot because that's my job. If you are fit, committed to defense, will be totally unselfish, and capable of concentrating 100% for 14 minutes each and every match than great, you PROBABLY will make the team. If not, I'll be happy to give you a good recommendation for whatever job you're looking to apply for".
ReplyDeleteWell...well. Mr. Hawkins' bullyboy ways keep paying dividends with the morally and financially bankrupt USA Rugby. He managed to inspire and lead a successful player revolt against Caravelli, then a soft Alex let him essentially run the team as captain and now he is the Head Coach. What do I expect?
ReplyDelete1 - Excuses, blame games and nasty politics. It's a South African thing, and Hawkins is not immune.
2 - A more "me" and less "we" team - think NBA vs NHL - which means more showboating, Twitter nonsense and self promotion as the boys start to believe that is the way to sponsors and por contracts.
3 - Less wins.
For USA Rugby Hawkins was cheap. They would have given Hawkins a lowball salary based on the international rugby 7s coach scale and he would have jumped at it. Being based in San Diego saves on the cost to move a coach and his family or have a coach in two cities or even continents racking up massive travel and accommodations costs. You have to wonder if the USOC and USA Rugby are looking towards the 2020 Olympics as we might not even qualify based on our record against Canada.
Basically, it is an uninspired choice in my opinion.
"...an uninspired choice..." Agreed.
DeleteMy figuring is that USA Rugby has some money issues. My gut tells me that something fishy is going on in Boulder with the money.
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely the bargain choice for USA Rugby. No one was willing to take a pay cut to make room for a high profile hire. However, I am not sure that it would make a huge difference as they still have to work within a stifling American rugby culture.
I don't understand the impulse to drift into conspiracy land, especially the "cheap" angle. Eddie O had our best test record ever at 7-11 and people claimed he was overpaid and foreign. Now, apparently, they want overpaid and foreign? Say what you will about Hawkins' birthplace, but he's worn the stars and stripes for years.
ReplyDeleteFurther, Hawkins is about as qualified as Caravelli and Mags were and, unlike them, can handle the rigors of dedicating his full time to the job. Mags was a college 15s coach who had coached 7s here and there when college 7s was still in its infancy, but Mags never liked living at the OTC. Al had only limited success as the NYAC 7s coach and was always trying to work extra jobs that took away his focus.
That international candidates were considered, and that even Treu thinks it's a strong hire, signals to me that we're going to be okay.
Sorry, Eddie was actually 8-11 in test matches.
DeleteAnd before anyone goes off and tries to claim Eddie O's record was worse, please go to espnscrum and look at *test match* stats. I can't defend that Eddie O clearly dabbled too much with lineups in non-test matches, where he was winless against Munster, the Saxons, etc., but the man did better than people think when it mattered. Jack Clark was a meager 16-32 in comparison, yet the internet acts like he was the greatest thing ever. I'm baffled.
The USA Rugby box wine coaching strategy started with the hire of Tolkin. Unlike cheap wine, which actually does a job of getting you drunk, the USA Rugby strategy doesn't do much. Tolkin is on pace to be the worst national team coach in Eagles history. Don't expect much better from Hawkins.
ReplyDelete