Busy time at the moment ... back to posting soon.
In the meantime, this interview of 7s Eagle P.J. Komongnan at the New Zealand 7s in Wellington is interesting.
US Player Brings Sevens 'X-Factor'02/02/2007TVNZIf there is one player to keep an eye on when the IRB Sevens get underway it is an American, who only discovered the game after being repremanded for his attitude.
Related: "P.J." Komongnan: Watch this space
X factors right. I hear theres a couple of homeless kids in Ryde, Nebraska that are looking for a game.
The Eagles 7's program hasn't won a championship point in over 3 years.
I've never believed that the international areana is the place to blood new players.
The best prepared, the fittest we've been - and we lose to Portugal? I didn't even know Portugal even played rugby!
The eyes are firmly fixed on Caravelli - better get a result soon Al, or it's Bye Bye.
Posted by: Blackadder | 02 February 2007 at 07:21
Blackladder,
You are a douche.
This is a great article and what the USA needs. It's young team that almost beat France. This is the first of three tournaments and I have no doubt they'll improve in each one.
If you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem!
Posted by: Go the Eagles | 02 February 2007 at 07:50
Blackadder,
As PJ's high school coach and mentor I take great offense at your "homeless kids in Nebraska" comment. Regardless of his economic situation, his history or his race, PJ can PLAY rugby.
As far as the international arena being the place to blood new players, PJ is not some rugby rookie with a wicked sidestep and no pass. He started playing when he was in the 8th grade. He was playing Men's club 7's by the age of 17. He did 2 tours with USA U19 Eagles (NAWIRA Qualifiers and 2003 WOrld Championships). He is going on his 3rd year with MARFU Select 7's. He is precisely the player we should be attracting.
Doesn't sound like some clueless rookie to me... and if you are in San Diego I would invite you to stop by the San Diego 7's and check out the Hyde Alumni team. I think you might change your mindset a bit by seeing how our boys play 7's.
Tal Bayer
Hyde Rugby
Posted by: tal bayer | 02 February 2007 at 08:36
Tal - thanks for doing what you are for the game. It's appreciated.
All the best.
Doug
Posted by: doug lyons | 02 February 2007 at 09:31
What a great story. Some good news for American Rugby, and Blackadder...tall poppy syndrome??
To PJ: Good for you, as you are doing the American rugby community proud. To Tal Baylor: you are making a tremendous impact to this sport, this country, but most importantly, to PJ and the hundreds of other young men and their families that you serve.
This represents what's great about rugby and why we are all involved.
Kevin Battle
Posted by: Kevin Battle | 02 February 2007 at 10:58
Congrats to PJ on a good debut in Wellington. Also, kudos to "Old Man" McNaughton scoring a couple of tries on day one.
Posted by: Ron | 02 February 2007 at 11:25
Blackadder - I guess you have not been following the sevens team this year. The team has been playing at 'off' matches, such at Thailand, in order to get more experience. They are playing in as many tournaments financially and physically allowable. The players have put their educations on hold; they have put their jobs on hold; and they have been traveling all over the world on a very limited budget in order to gain the experience needed to compete a high level. They have been ambassadors of the game (as has Al Caravelli) - they have been working at showing the rest of the world (and the IRB) that they should be invited onto the complete sevens circuit. What is so unusual with the gentlemen who are now competing is that they are actually playing with one another - in years past, you would have seven guys on the pitch that were not on the pitch in the previous tournament.
With respect to Portugal, over the last two years they have really moved up the ladder in the rankings. The Portugese team may be the last team to make it into the World Cup as one of the Repecharge teams. They are for real and no one's patsies.
Kuddos to the team and the program that Coach Caravelli is attempting to build.
Posted by: Patrick Costello | 02 February 2007 at 12:42
sorry to be the pessimist but...when is the last time the eagles won any hardware on the irb circuit? the story always sounds the same, close but no cookie.
Posted by: RugbyGuy | 02 February 2007 at 18:43
Blackadder,
You are a dim-wit. I bet you are some forienger with an accent that pretends to coach rugby somewhere.
And when you don't get results, it is probably because of the players are "not up to it" and nothing to do with the coaching.
I could be mistaken, but I doubt it.
Posted by: David | 02 February 2007 at 20:00
Blackadder's right. Look at the performance of the US Sevens team over the past few years...terrible. They've lost to Korea, Kenya, Portugal etc etc The US, by rights, ought to be in the top 5 or 6 programs, Scotland, Australia etc don't take 7's that seriously.
Posted by: performance | 03 February 2007 at 14:05
...and this last post was not meant as a knock on PJ in any way, but it's getting tiresome reading that the USA Coach (7's or 15's) is "Happy" at going 0-5 at a tournament or getting hammered by Canada etc etc. Last time I looked the USA 15's team was ranked below Romania, a country with only a few hundred players. We should also be able to beat Canada every time we play.....
Posted by: performance | 03 February 2007 at 14:20
0-5. That's....not very good!
What's worse, it's looking like a repeat of last year, and the year before.
I support performance with the thought about "Happy". I'm not happy with 0-5. I expect better results.
I'm like ya'll - I've been waiting. And waiting, and listening to the comments, they're all starting to run together and sound the same.
Poor Al Caravelli - it just doesn't seem right. He's in the hot seat, and no where to go.
They seem fit enough for 7 minutes, then go off the boil. I suggest Al finds a way to connect the ticker to the leg muscles.
To win, as a coach, it takes at least some skills. Caravelli has those skills. What's missing is the ability to extract the 'eye of the tiger'. And as it seems to find the right warriors, to get the job done.
Get er done!
Posted by: Hugoagogo | 03 February 2007 at 23:35
DAvid doesn't have a good sense of rugby history - the 7 man game came out of Scotland; to say they don't take it seriously is just plain wrong.
While the Eagles didn't win I think if you look back over the last couple of years there was some definite steps in the right direction.
It'll take time but it seems to me the program is in better shape than before Al took over.
Posted by: doug lyons | 04 February 2007 at 04:36
Of course the game came out of Scotland, Melrose to be precise, but the only teams that devote full Professional resources to Sevens are NZ, SA, Fiji and England. None of the others have any more resources than USA Rugby, in fact most have far less. If you know anything about the dire situation in which the Scottish RFU finds itself then you wouldn't have said what you said.
Posted by: performance | 04 February 2007 at 05:13
I'm well aware that Scotland are far from at their peak either organizationally or on the field but that doesn't mean they send over a bunch of has beens or nobodies. Despite the SCotland situation finds itself in the resources they bring to bear are far more than that what the US can muster.
I'd love to see the Eagles winning a couple of matches but the fact of the matter is that while the losses are still coming this is a team that put tries on the board.
Is there work to be done? Clearly. Is it a dire situation? I'm less convinced of that.
Lets see what lessons have been learned and how things go in San Diego.
Posted by: doug lyons | 04 February 2007 at 11:33
yep, let's. This is supposed to be elite sport; there has to come a time when it's only the results that count. We've been building for 15 years.
Posted by: performance | 04 February 2007 at 12:23
Well, you know the old saying - Rome wasn't built in a day.
Posted by: john wayne | 04 February 2007 at 12:45
Obviously, or even a couple of decades! still, as long as it's still a "gentleman's sport" we'll be ok, doesn't matter how many matches we win, 7's or 15's!
Posted by: performance | 04 February 2007 at 17:47
Blackadder,
Please don't hide behind some other alias. The fact of the matter is that an AMERICAN coach Al Caravelli, is putting in the effort, but not yet getting the results means NOTHING more than that.
He is doing the right things to get the USA 7s program on track with very little funding, that I am aware of, from the National Office.
If we concentrate on the preformance, the results will come.
Or is there some other secret Blackadder????
Posted by: David | 04 February 2007 at 20:31
In this instance, you're wrong David, I'm not Blackadder, just someone that cares. This is not just about 7's but about Eagle performace overall. If they're not getting the funding from the National office then GET IT! We should just not hear that "everythigs going well" when they lose every game, or (as in 15's) where they lose to Canada by 40 points.
Posted by: performance | 04 February 2007 at 22:03
They lost to Canada by 49 points!!
Posted by: John Wayne | 05 February 2007 at 19:22
Don't be too hard on them, it's the performance that counts, remember?
Posted by: performance | 06 February 2007 at 07:56
The thing that most of these critisms lack is a sense of perspective. John Wayne, you're an idiot, South Africa lost to Austraila by 49 pts this year too..., does that mean they're crap and will never amount to anything?
Performance...., Italy has never won a six nations game away from home, should they stop playing in the tournament, or maybe just not show up for away games? Cause from your point of view it seems we should just pack it up and stick with Football.
Can any of you naysayers realize that we are moving forward, the game is growing and we have the right people in charge!
The US will probably never beat the All Blacks, so should we pack it in right now, Or should we keep trying to advance the game we love?
From where I sit it seems all you people like to do is bitch, and have no clue about world rugby or what goes on in our country for that matter.
Posted by: Go the Eagles | 06 February 2007 at 09:57
It should be noted that it took France 10 years to win their first game in the 5 Nations.
Posted by: Goeagles | 06 February 2007 at 18:42
Oh, I understand Worls Rugby just fine, Italy have won matches in the 6N, they're beaten Romania, Canada and Argentina.
Tell me this, why would the US lose to Canada by 49 points, there are far fewer players in Canada, Italy, Scotland etc than in US. If it takes sending 45 players abroad to Europe and SH then let's do it. There's no money in Argentina either but they're #6 in the world.
Anyway, bottome line, poor results are not accepted in any other nation.
Posted by: performance | 06 February 2007 at 18:58
Perfomance,
Thank you for proving what an idiot you are.
There is something like 1/4 (or less) of senior male rugby players in Australia as opposed to England. However Australia have won two world cups and have Winning records against every country with the exception of the Kiws & SA. By your logic any thing other than a win everytime England (having the most senior rugby players in the world) steps on the field it is unnacceptable.
"Poor results are not accepted in any other nation." - Thanks genious is there any real sport were poor results are accepted? Please feel free to enlighten us with your infinate wisdom.
Posted by: Go the Eagles | 07 February 2007 at 06:57
Go the eagles - the fact was stated that the team lost by 49points. You read into what you want. I never said they shouldn't play Canada anymore just stated the fact that they lost by 49points. How you come up with idiot out of that - well you must be looking at your mother - cause she is the idiot that gave birth to you.
Posted by: john wayne | 07 February 2007 at 10:02
Mr Wayne...A little advice, just argue your point without reverting to insults.
Posted by: performance | 07 February 2007 at 11:51
Mr "Go the Eagles" ...same advice to you, young man.
Posted by: performance | 07 February 2007 at 11:53
It should be known that the person posting under the name John Wayne (email Katt Ming) is a well known Canadian troll. Please ignore him.
Posted by: Goeagles | 07 February 2007 at 13:17
Lack of performance, what gives with you? There is no insult just stating the fact.
Posted by: John Wayne | 07 February 2007 at 15:30