USA Men's Sevens go 2-1 to open final weekend of Madrid

The USA Men's Sevens opened the final weekend of Madrid Sevens 2-1 with victories over Chile and Portugal, as well as a loss to Kenya.

As a whole, the Eagles Sevens again showed growing depth as Marcus Tupuola, Jake Lachina and Cody Melphy displayed promising performances. The group had to band together in the wake of additional injuries, heading into tomorrow's games with a squad of 10. Maka Unufe was helped off the field with an apparent leg injury in the match against Chile. An update on Unufe will be communicated over the coming weeks following additional evaluation from medical personnel back home.

The United States will face Spain and Argentina tomorrow before the knockout stages begin. Schedule changes are being confirmed by the tournament now and will be communicated on @USARugby's Twitter and Instagram Story. All matches are streamed LIVE on florugby.com.

Head Coach Mike Friday said:

"It’s been another day of learnings for the group. I am pleased with the clear improvement in intent, second efforts and early movement behaviors which need to become second nature if we want to succeed.

"As we know, this game is brutal; and if we make individual basic technical errors, we'll be punished like we were against Kenya.

"We have taken some more knocks and will need to dig deep as a group tomorrow. I am excited to see the group rise against this adversity to meet the challenge and opportunity of continual improvement. The non-negotiable behaviors and improvement in consistency of core skill execution and simple in-game decision making are of utmost value to us as we progress this year.'

USA vs Chile | 12-7 (W)

Martin Iosefo’s footwork and Jake Lachina’s speed were highlights against Chile. Iosefo was all over the field, rushing around defenders and making quick decisions to keep the ball moving. Lachina owned his position on the wing well. He spotted a gap in the opening minutes, ran for a beautiful breakaway and then powered his way over the tryline after an exciting relay with Iosefo. Marcus Tupuola did a good job being direct on defense and meeting the physical challenge that Chile brought in the second half. After Maka Unufe was helped off the field due to injury, match play was messy with a series of set plays that took both sides to final whistle.

TRIES | Jake Lachina (2)
CONS | Cody Melphy

USA vs Kenya | 12-29 (L)

Kenya were undoubtedly physical, but the United States gave away one too many turnovers that led to Kenyan tries. Where the first half was a true back and forth affair, the second half saw the opposition dominate as the Eagles Sevens appeared disconnected and left the ball unprotected for Kenya to capitalize.

TRIES | Marcus Tupuola (2)
CONS | Melphy

USA vs Portugal | 49-5 (W)

The USA came back to life against Portugal, running a complete scoring frenzy through all 14 minutes of play. Restarts, precision at the breakdown and speed of attack were all strengths as the Eagles Sevens saw 7 players cross the tryline. Marcus Tupuola and Jake Lachina continued to shine as Tupuola scored a hat trick and Lachina employed speed and power. Joe Schroeder and Harley Wheeler both had a number of good runs as the full squad combined to keep the ball moving across the attacking line.

TRIES | Marcus Tupuola (3), Matai Leuta, Martin Iosefo, Jake Lachina (2)
CONS | Cody Melphy (7)

USA Men’s Sevens Roster

PLAYER NAME	POSITION	HSBC TOURNAMENTS
Malon Al-Jiboori	Forward	10
Maceo Brown	Utility	14
Christian Dyer	Utility	uncapped
Martin Iosefo (C)	Center	46
Jake Lachina	Utility	uncapped
Matai Leuta	Forward	40
Cody Melphy	Halfback	6
Ben Pinkelman	Forward	37
Joe Schroeder	Forward	12
Faitala Talapusi	Halfback	3
Brett Thompson	Forward	32
Marcus Tupuola	Center/Wing	8
Maka Unufe	Halfback/Center	43
Harley Wheeler	Utility	1
Kevon Williams (VC)	Halfback/Wing	27

USA Men’s Sevens Traveling Staff

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