<< Back Eagles Capture Bangkok 7s
10/28/06 -
10/29/06
The US Eagles captured the Bangkok 7s, its first international
invitational 7s tournament victory since the Budapest 7s in 2000. This
is a good start for coach Al Caravelli who is taking the Eagles to the
Singapore CC sevens next week.
The Eagles beat Samurai, the invitational team from the United Kingdom.
The
Eagles were up 12-0 at half time and were able to contain several
Samurai attacks on the second half with excellent defense. A last
minute try by the British team brought the final score to 17-10.
Photo Front Row (L-R): Jeff Hullinger, Tui Osborne, PJ Komognan, Jone Naqica (c), Jason Pye, Dallen Stanford.
Photo Back Row:
Jarvis Albury, Physio, Kevin Sinibaldi (Manager), Takudzwa Ngwenya,
Kevin Mongold , Marcus Respes, Andrew McNaughton, Ron Rosser, Al
Caravelli (coach), Bill *Deep Throat* Gardner (Assist Mgr).
The
Samurai manager said after the game: 'These young Eagles are fit. We
had a couple of breaks but they were fast enough to recover and tackle
our boys. I haven't seen an American team this fast in years'.
'Our
boys played solid defense in the 1st half' said Caravelli. 'They got
two lucky tries by them late in the game but we also should have scored
two other tries that we lost in the tackle & knock on.' added
Caravelli to Rugby7.com from Bangkok.
When Caravelli was asked
about the main reason for this title, Caravelli said: 'We have the
speed and fitness needed to perform at international level. The boys
have been training hard to reach this level and the results are showing
the commitment.'
And to be in shape is taken seriously by these
young Eagles. After conquering the Samurai, former U19 Eagle, PJ
Komognon was offered a beer 'No way' said PJ.
'Coach Al doesn't allows us ice cream, bacon or cookies, imagine if I have a beer!!'
The
Eagles went to the final with Ron Rosser, Andrew McNaughton, Kevin
Mongold in the forwards, Dallen Stanford (Scrum Half) and Jone Naqica
(fly half), Andrew Osborne (center) and Jason Pye as wing.
PJ
Komognon entered as Scrum half, moving Stanford to Fly Half. Jarvis
Albury went in for McNaughton and Jeff Hullinger for Osborne.
The
Eagles will have a relaxing session tomorrow morning before heading to
Singapore Sevens. 'The Singapore Sevens is a toughest tournament. Our
goal is to reach the quarter finals of the Ablitt Cup.' said Caravelli
before going to bed after a long, long day.
On day 1, in the
qualifying portion of the two-day sevens tournament, the Eagles held
their competition scoreless. The U.S. beat their first opponent, the
Thailand Southerners, 52-0, in a blowout that saw eight tries by six
different Eagles. In the second match of the day, the U.S. beat
Australia’s Skindogs in a tough defensive battle 5-0.
Of the 12
players on this squad, whose average age is just over 23, the most
experienced Eagle, flyhalf Jone Naqica, of the Denver Barbarbarians,
led in points with a try and four conversions, all of which he scored
in the first match. Both Kevin Mongold (Sciotto Valley) and Andrew
'Tui' Osborne (Washington RFC) scored 10 points in that first match as
well, while Takudzwa Ngwenya (Fort Worth Elite) scored one try in each
match to also finish the day with 10 points.
Additionally, Jason
Pye, (Park City Haggis), Dallen Stanford (Oxy Tigers) and development
team member and former U19, Patrick Komongnan, of Washington RFC, all
scored points in the Eagles first shutout of the day.
The U.S. team went on Sunday in the Cup Quarterfinals beating Waikato (NZ) and Auckland in the semifinals.
Upon
arrival in Thailand the staff was eager to hit the ground running,
determined to ensure that the young team was given every opportunity to
perform to their potential.
Following 23 hours of travel through
Taipei, Kuala Lumpur and finally Bangkok, a hydrotherapy session in the
hotel pool was followed by traditional Thai massage to aid in recovery
and quick acclimation to the time difference.
The Eagles were
fortunate to find themselves provided with the best practice pitch in
Bangkok at the ISB International School, thanks to the school
administration and one of the rugby parents, Jim Carrol, an American
working in the petroleum industry in Asia. In addition to this group of
volunteers, the team was also assisted by another American living in
Thailand, former Chicago Lion Jonah Kadish, who organized the first
night’s events and assisted the team throughout the last week.
'Having
the assistance of locals, who have also worked with high performance
athletes, was a godsend,' said Team Manager Kevin Sinibaldi. 'And this
entire Thailand/Singapore tour could not have happened without the
generosity of Eagles Sevens patron, Bill Gardner, who arrived early in
Thailand to ensure everything was in place for our team.'
Story from Rugby7.com
CONTACT: Al Caravelli, acaravelli@usa-eagles.org, PHONE: 203-952-3293
MORE INFORMATION: www.rugby7.com
|
|
