OLYMPIC GAMES TOKYO 2020: MEN'S SQUAD BIOS - (As of 22 July) - World ...
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OLYMPIC GAMES TOKYO 2020: MEN’S SQUAD BIOS (As of 22 July)
ARGENTINA – POOL A
- Argentina have four survivors from Rio 2016, with Germán Schultz, Gastón Revol, Rodrigo Etchart and captain Santiago Álvarez all returning for
their second Olympic Games.
- They have seven survivors from Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018, with Lautaro Bazán Vélez, Luciano Gonzalez, Santiago Mare, Matías Osadczuk,
Gastón Revol, Germán Schultz and captain Santiago Álvarez all part of the squad that finished fifth in San Francisco.
- Gastón Revol is Argentina’s most-capped Series player with 81 tournaments, and the sixth most of any player in history.
- He is the oldest player in the squad at 34 years of age.
- He was Argentina’s top point-scorer at Rio 2016 with 37 points, scoring three tries and kicking 11 conversions.
- He was Argentina’s top point-scorer at Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 with 21 points, scoring one try and kicking eight conversions.
- Matías Osadczuk was Argentina’s leading try-scorer on the 2020 Series with 16 tries, including finishing the Dubai and Hamilton tournaments as
the team’s top try-scorer.
- He has scored a try in each of his past two Series matches against Pool A opponents Australia, and in two of his past three games against
New Zealand, including their last win against them in Hong Kong in 2019.
- Marcos Moneta was the tournament’s joint-leading try-scorer in Los Angeles in the penultimate Series event in 2020. He and Scotland’s Alec
Coombes both scored seven tries. This was the only event on the 2020 Series where an Argentinian top scored at a single event.
- He has played just four Series events, but has already scored 15 tries from 20 games played, including a hattrick and two doubles across
his past two tournaments.
- He is still chasing his first tries against Pool A opponents Australia and New Zealand, but was one of six try-scorers against Korea in their
last meeting in Los Angeles in February 2020.
- He is one of three players in their squad, alongside Ignacio Mendy and Lucio Cinti, to be born this century. The trio all helped Argentina
win Youth Olympic Games gold on home soil in October 2018.
- Lautaro Bazán Vélez enjoys a good try-scoring record against Pool A opponents New Zealand with at least one try in each of his past five
matches, and seven tries in his past six games against them since 2017.
- Head coach Santiago Gómez Cora is still Argentina’s leading point (1,178) and try-scorer (230) in Series history. He played 63 events between
2000-10, and at two Rugby World Cup Sevens (2001 and 2005).
- He was appointed coach of Argentina in the 2013-14 Series, and has taken the team to two Series Cup finals (Las Vegas and Cape Town),
as well as a sixth-place finish at Rio 2016 and fifth at Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018.
Page 2 of 13AUSTRALIA – POOL A
- Australia have named three players without any World Rugby Sevens Series experience in their squad, with Nathan Lawson, Dietrich Roache and
former Wallaby Samu Kerevi set to play their first global tournaments.
- Samu Kerevi played 33 tests for Australia between 2016-19, scoring six tries. His last test appearance came in their Rugby World Cup
2019 quarter-final loss to England in Oita. He has played six of his 33 tests in Japan, with four matches at RWC 2019, scoring one try
against Fiji in Sapporo, a test against Japan at Yokohama Stadium in 2017 where he scored a double, and a Bledisloe Cup test against New
Zealand at Yokohama Stadium in 2018.
- He has spent the past two seasons playing for Suntory Sungoliath in the Japanese Top League, scoring nine tries from 13 games played.
- Dietrich Roache began his playing career in Rugby League, scoring the winning try for Patrician Brothers’ College, Fairfield in the NRL
School Boys Trophy Final in 2018, before transitioning to rugby union with the Parramatta Two Blues Colts programme in 2019. This
resulted in a call-up to the Australian Sevens team for the World Schools Sevens in New Zealand in December 2019.
- Nathan Lawson, a product of the NSWRU Sevens programme, is yet to make his Series debut. He won the U17 national title with NSW in
2016, and has represented Australia at the Oceania Rugby U20 Championship 2019 against Fiji and New Zealand.
- Lewis Holland has been added to the squad as the 13th player. He is Australia’s most-capped Series player with 53 tournaments, and their all-
time leading try-scorer with 114 tries.
- He made his Super Rugby debut this year for the Melbourne Rebels, playing three games.
- He is one of three survivors in this squad from Rio 2016 alongside Henry Hutchison and Nick Malouf.
- He is a veteran of two Rugby World Cup Sevens (2013 and 2018), but was ruled out of two Commonwealth Games, in 2014 and 2018,
through hamstring injuries.
- He is one of four survivors from Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018, alongside Maurice Longbottom, Henry Hutchison and Lachlan Anderson
in this Australia squad.
- Henry Hutchison has scored three tries in his past five games against Pool A opponents Argentina. He and Maurice Longbottom have each scored
seven tries against New Zealand on the Series, the most by any Australian in this fixture.
- Maurice Longbottom was Australia’s leading try-scorer at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 with five. He is one of two survivors, alongside
Lachlan Anderson, from the team that finished fifth on the Gold Coast.
- Lachlan Anderson was Australia’s leading try-scorer on the 2020 Series with 16 tries. He was the joint-top scorer at the last Series event to be
played in Vancouver in 2020 with seven tries alongside Ireland’s Jordan Conroy.
- He made his Series debut against Pool A opponents New Zealand in Sydney in 2017, and has scored a try in each of his past two Series
matches against them.
Page 3 of 13CANADA – POOL B
- Canada bring the most experienced squad to their first Olympic Games with a combined 528 World Series tournaments.
- Five of their 13 players have 50 or more World Series tournaments worth of experience in co-captains Nathan Hirayama and Harry Jones,
Mike Fuailefau, Pat Kay and Justin Douglas.
- They have seven survivors from Commonwealth Games 2018 and five from Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018.
- Their top three all-time leading try-scorers on the Series feature in this squad with Nathan Hirayama (147), Justin Douglas (145) and Harry
Jones (126) all named.
- Co-captain Nathan Hirayama is Canada’s all-time leading try (147) and point (1,859) scorer on the Series, and is their most capped player with 79
tournaments.
- He is a veteran of three Commonwealth Games (2010, 2014, and 2018) and two Rugby World Cup Sevens (2013 and 2018), and was their
leading point-scorer in San Francisco (23 points) and on the Gold Coast (24 points).
- He is the only Canadian to finish a Series as the leading point-scorer, achieving this in 2018 with 334 points. He has been the top point-
scorer at a single event on eight occasions, most recently at the last tournament in Vancouver in March 2020.
- He was their leading try-scorer on the 2020 Series with 11 tries, including the most or joint-most for Canada in Dubai (three) and
Hamilton (three).
- He has been named as Canada’s flag-bearer for the Opening Ceremony alongside basketball player Miranda Ayim.
- His father Garry played 12 tests for Canada between 1977-82, including one test in Japan in 1982 at Hanazono Field in Osaka.
- Theo Sauder scored a double against Fiji in Canada’s last win against them in Vancouver.
- He is one of three players who were part of Canada’s squad at Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan, alongside Conor Trainor and Andrew Coe.
- Andrew Coe scored one of Canada’s two tries at Rugby World Cup 2019, crossing for their only try against Italy in a 48-7 loss in Fukuoka.
- Mike Fuailefau was Canada’s leading try-scorer at Commonwealth Games 2018 with three tries.
- Justin Douglas has scored the most doubles for Canada in Series history with 25, and the joint-second most hat-tricks with three.
Page 4 of 13FIJI – POOL B
- Captain Jerry Tuwai is the only survivor from the team who won gold at Rio 2016. He is their second most-experienced player in World Rugby
Sevens Series history with 54 tournaments, and has also won silver at Commonwealth Games 2018.
- He has been named as Fiji’s flag-bearer for the Opening Ceremony alongside women’s captain Rusila Nagasau. Fiji’s flag was also carried
by the men’s sevens captain at Rio 2016 in Osea Kolinisau.
- Two of his three tries at Rio 2016 came in knockout matches, against New Zealand in the quarter-final, and against Team GB in the gold
medal match.
- He is Fiji’s all-time leading try-scorer on the Series with 134, but has never scored a hat-trick. His 20 career doubles are the second-most
for Fiji behind Samisoni Viriviri (23).
- He has scored seven tries in his past seven games against Pool B opponents Japan.
- He is the only survivor in the squad from the last time a World Series event was played in Tokyo in 2014-15.
- He was named World Rugby Men’s Sevens Player of the Year 2019, having previously been nominated in both 2017 and 2018. Fans also
voted him the World Rugby Men’s Sevens Player of the Decade in December 2020.
- Aminiasi Tuimaba has already amassed 66 Series tries in just 15 tournaments, placing him inside the top 20 all-time try-scorers for his country.
- His 18 doubles are the joint-fourth most for Fiji, while his six in the 2020 Series were the most of any player.
- He has scored four tries in three games against Pool B opponents Canada.
- He was their leading try-scorer on the 2020 Series with 20 tries, the third most of any player that season.
- Semi Radradra returns to the squad for the first time since Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 where he scored three tries.
- He has played in just four Series tournaments – Gold Coast, Dubai and Port Elizabeth in 2012-13, and London in 2018.
- He is a dual international having represented Fiji at the 2013 Rugby League World Cup and Australia in the ANZAC Test against New
Zealand in 2016. He scored 82 tries in 94 NRL games for the Parramatta Eels between 2013-17. He switched codes in 2017, joining Toulon
in the French Top 14. He now plays his club rugby with Bristol Bears in England’s Premiership after signing from Bordeaux last year.
- He has played 11 tests for Fiji, most recently against Georgia in last year’s Autumn Nations Cup, and started all four pool games at Rugby
World Cup 2019 in Japan, scoring a double against Georgia in Osaka.
- Napolioni Bolaca was the leading point-scorer in a condensed 2020 Series with 159 points.
- Head coach Gareth Baber played nine World Series tournaments for Wales between 2000-06, and also competed at Rugby World Cup Sevens
2001, and the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games.
- He was named Fiji head coach following Ben Ryan’s departure after Rio 2016, and has won the 2019 Series title, and 12 of 17 Cup finals
played across 36 tournaments during his tenure.
Page 5 of 13GREAT BRITAIN – POOL B
- Team GB have named nine Englishmen and four Scotsmen in their 13-player squad, and are captained by England’s Tom Mitchell. He is one of
four survivors alongside Dan Bibby, Dan Norton and Ollie Lindsay-Hague from the team who won silver at Rio 2016.
- Dan Norton has scored the most tries of any player in World Rugby Sevens Series history with 354. He is the only player to have scored more
than 300 tries, and sits 75 tries clear of the next best player, Kenya’s Collins Injera.
- He has scored 57 doubles, 14 hat-tricks and four or more tries on a further two occasions on the Series.
- His 90 Series tournaments are the second-most for England, and third-most in history behind fellow country-man James Rodwell (93) and
New Zealand’s Tim Mikkelson (91).
- He has scored more individual tries on the Series than the entire squad of Pool B opponents Japan (198).
- He has scored 20 tries on Japanese soil, including two double and two hat-tricks from four previous Series tournaments in Tokyo.
- He has scored 14 Series tries against Japan, the most of any player against the Olympic hosts.
- He is also a veteran of three Commonwealth Games in 2010, 2014 and 2018 where he won bronze, and two Rugby World Cup Sevens,
earning silver with England in 2013 and 2018.
- Two of his three tries at Rio 2016 were in knockout matches, against South Africa in the semi-final, and against Fiji in the gold medal
match.
- Max MacFarland was Scotland’s joint-leading try-scorer on the 2020 Series with 10 tries.
- He and Robbie Fergusson represented Scotland at the Commonwealth Games 2018 on the Gold Coast.
- MacFarland, Robbie Fergusson and Alec Coombes all represented Scotland at Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018.
- Robbie Fergusson scored his first World Series try against Pool B opponents Fiji in Dubai in 2017.
- He enjoyed the best conversion-rate of any player on the 2020 Series who had made more than 20 kicks at goal (86%).
- Tom Mitchell is England’s third all-time leading point-scorer (1,593) on the Series behind Ben Gollings (2,652) and Dan Norton (1,784).
- He and Dan Norton are the only two players in the Team GB squad to have scored more than 100 tries on the Series.
- This will be Mitchell’s second Olympic Games as captain.
- Dan Bibby scored three tries at Rio 2016, including a double in their opening match against Kenya.
- Tom Bowen has scored three tries in his past four games against Pool B opponents Canada.
- His three career doubles against Fiji are the joint-most by an England player on the Series alongside Ben Gollings.
- Head coach Tony Roques played 27 World Rugby Sevens Series tournaments between 2000-07, and represented England at the 2002
Commonwealth Games and at Rugby World Cup Sevens 2005.
Page 6 of 13IRELAND – POOL C
- Ireland have eight survivors from Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 with Harry McNulty, Ian Fitzpatrick, Bryan Mollen, Foster Horan, Mark Roche,
Terry Kennedy, Jordan Conroy, Greg O’Shea and captain Billy Dardis all bringing with them experience from San Francisco.
- Billy Dardis and Jordan Conroy both top scored for Ireland with four tries each.
- Dardis’ 32 points (four tries and six conversions) were the joint-second most of any player.
- Billy Dardis captained Ireland to their World Rugby Sevens Repechage win in Monaco last month, after also leading them in their first season as a
core team on the World Rugby Sevens Series 2020.
- Ireland were the best team on the 2020 Series at converting their tries (75%), with Billy Dardis and Mark Roche both kicking at 75%.
- Jordan Conroy was the top try-scorer at the Repechage with 11 tries, including a hat-trick against Tonga and doubles against Hong Kong and
France.
- He is currently on a 10-game try-scoring streak across all tournaments dating back to Vancouver in 2020, and has scored 24 tries in his
past 14 games overall since Los Angeles. This is his longest run of consecutive games scoring at least one try, bettering his previous best
effort of eight straight games between Cape Town in 2019 and Sydney in 2020.
- Since making his Series debut in Paris in 2019, he has only failed to score in 15 of 60 games played, crossing for at least one try in 75% of
his matches.
- He was the 2020 Series leading try-scorer with 30, including the most of any player in Dubai, and joint-most in Vancouver.
- He is one of only 10 players in Series history to score five tries in a game, entering the record books against Scotland in Dubai in 2019.
- This was the first time in 10 years a player had achieved this in a single match.
Page 7 of 13JAPAN – POOL B
- Japan have named five survivors from Rio 2016 with Kazuhiro Goya, Lote Tuqiri, Kazushi Hano, Kameli Raravou Latianara Soejima, and Masakatsu
Hirosaka all returning for their second Olympic appearance.
- Seven of their 13 players are aged over 30.
- Lote Tuqiri is the most experienced player in their squad with 29 previous World Rugby Sevens Series tournaments played. He also represented
Japan at Rugby World Cup Sevens 2013 where he was their leading try-scorer with three.
- He is one of five players in this squad, alongside Yoshikazu Fujita, Masakatsu Hirosaka, Kazuhiro Goya and captain Chihito Matsui, who
played for Japan the last time they hosted a Series event in Tokyo in 2015.
- His only try at Rio 2016 came against France in the medal quarter-final against France, which they won 12-7.
- Kameli Raravou Latianara Soejima has scored the second-most tries for Japan in Series history (44), including the try against New Zealand at Rio
2016, which Katsuyuki Sakai converted to secure Japan’s first-ever victory over the All Blacks Sevens.
- He has scored a try in his past two, and four of his eight previous matches against Pool A opponents Fiji, including at Rugby World Cup
Sevens 2018.
- He was their joint-leading try-scorer in San Francisco with four tries.
- He is one of eight survivors in this squad from the team who won the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series round in Montevideo in
2020, alongside Kazuhiro Goya, Ryota Kano, Yoshikazu Fujita, Kazushi Hano, Jose Seru, Masakatsu Hirosaka and Chihito Matsui.
- He is the oldest member of their squad at the age of 38.
- Captain Chihito Matsui scored the only try in the final of the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series round in Montevideo, a 5-0 victory against
hosts Uruguay.
- Colin Raijin Bourke played three World Series tournaments for New Zealand in 2003-04, in Los Angeles, Bordeaux and London. This will be his
first appearance for Japan, as is the second oldest member of their squad aged 36.
- His last Series try came against England in the Cup final at Twickenham in 2004, in a New Zealand side featuring former All Blacks Ma’a
Nonu, Liam Messam and Chris Masoe.
- Brackin Henry brings with him eight World Series tournaments worth of experience for Australia in 2009-10. He was their leading try-scorer that
season with 30 tries.
- He earned four Super Rugby caps with the Brumbies and Waratahs respectively, and was called into the Wallabies training squad in 2010.
- Kippei Ishida helped Japan win bronze at the Youth Olympic Games 2018 in Buenos Aires.
Page 8 of 13KENYA – POOL C
- Have four survivors from Rio 2016 in their squad, with captain Andrew Amonde, Collins Injera, Willy Ambaka and Billy Odhiambo all returning.
- Billy Odhiambo was their leading try-scorer at the Deodoro Stadium with five tries, including a hat-trick against host nation Brazil.
- Captain Andrew Amonde is their oldest player at Tokyo 2020 aged 37, and will carry the Kenyan flag at the Opening Ceremony.
- Collins Injera is the second-highest try scorer in World Rugby Sevens Series history with 279 tries.
- He scored two tries at Rio 2016 when he played alongside his brother Humphrey Kayange, who had been part of World Rugby’s team
that presented to the IOC Session in 2009 when rugby sevens was added to the Olympic programme.
- His 20 Series tries against Pool C opponents USA are the second-most of any player behind England’s Dan Norton (30).
- He is a veteran of 83 Series tournaments, the most for Kenya and the fifth most of any player. He has also played at three Rugby World
Cup Sevens (2009, 2013 and 2018) and three Commonwealth Games (2010, 2014 and 2018).
- He was named Player of the Final in Kenya’s only World Series Cup final win in Singapore in 2016, scoring two tries.
- He was the top try-scorer on the 2008-09 Series with 42 tries and was nominated for World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year 2009.
- Vincent Onyala has scored the most Series tries of any player against Ireland, with five in three previous matches against them, including a hat-
trick in Los Angeles in 2020.
- Jeff Oluoch was Kenya’s leading try-scorer at Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 with four tries. He is one of seven survivors in this squad from their
15th-place finish in San Francisco.
- Billy Odhiambo was Kenya’s leading try-scorer at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 with four.
Page 9 of 13NEW ZEALAND – POOL A
- New Zealand have five survivors from team that finished fifth at Rio 2016, with Sione Molia, Regan Ware, Joe Webber and co-captains Scott
Curry and Tim Mikkelson all named in head coach Clark Laidlaw’s squad.
- They are the fourth most experienced squad with a combined 423 World Rugby Sevens Series tournaments.
- Scott Curry (one), Tim Mikkelson (one) and Regan Ware (three) were all try-scorers at Rio 2016, with Ware the only player to score more
than one in a single game, crossing for a double against France.
- Co-captain Tim Mikkelson is the second most-capped player in Series history with 91 tournaments, only two behind James Rodwell from
England.
- He is the third highest try-scorer in Series history (235) behind Dan Norton and Collins Injera, and has scored the third most Cup final tries
(15), behind England’s Ben Gollings, New Zealand duo Amasio Raoma and DJ Forbes in second, and Samoa’s Mikaele Pesamino who holds
the record with 17 tries.
- He is a three-time medallist at the Commonwealth Games with gold in 2010 and 2018, and silver in 2014.
- He is a two-time Rugby World Cup Sevens winner, claiming the title in 2013 and 2018.
- He was named World Rugby Men’s Sevens Player of the Year in 2013, and was also nominated in 2014.
- He has won six World Series titles with New Zealand.
- He was New Zealand’s leading try-scorer on the truncated 2020 Series with 15 tries.
- Scott Curry co-captained New Zealand to their Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 title in San Francisco, and was named Player of the Final.
- He is one of just five All Blacks Sevens players in Series history to play 50 or more tournaments.
- Named New Zealand’s Sevens Player of the Year in 2015 after taking over the captaincy from DJ Forbes.
- He is a two-time Commonwealth Games medallist with gold in 2018 and silver in 2014.
- Andrew Knewstubb was named Player of the Final in the last Series event to be played in Vancouver in March 2020.
- Ngarohi McGarvey-Black won two Player of the Final awards on the 2020 Series, in Cape Town and Hamilton.
- Kurt Baker has scored the second-most hat-tricks for New Zealand in Series history with six, and his 126 tries are equal-fourth most all-time for
the All Blacks Sevens.
- Etene Nanai-Seturo was New Zealand’s leading try-scorer at the 2018 Commonwealth Games with five tries.
- Head coach Clark Laidlaw was appointed to the role ahead of the 2018 Series, and has won six Series tournaments from nine Cup finals played,
the 2020 Series title, Commonwealth Games 2018 gold and the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 crown during his time in charge.
Page 10 of 13REPUBLIC OF KOREA – POOL A
- Have the least experienced squad of any team at Tokyo 2020, with just 26 tournaments worth of Series experience combined.
- Six players were part of Korea’s last appearance on the World Series as the invitational team in Los Angeles in 2020.
- Captain Park Wanyong has played the most Series tournaments of any player in his team with five, making his debut in Hong Kong in 2007-08.
He captained the side at their last invitational appearance in Los Angeles in 2020, scoring two tries from five games played, one of four Korean
try-scorers in total at that event.
- Jang Jeongmin was their leading try-scorer in Los Angeles in 2020 with three tries, including a double against Pool A opponents Argentina.
- Kim Gwong Min will become the oldest player across all 12 teams to make their debut at 33 years of age.
- He has played 13 tests for Korea (2012-17), including seven against Japan, and has scored two tries.
- In fact, he is one of 12 players in this squad who have represented Korea in test rugby, the exception being Kim Hyunsoo who played for
his country in the inaugural World Rugby U20 Trophy in 2008.
- Korea lived dangerously on their qualification route to Tokyo 2020, needing an last-gasp Jang Jeongmin try to beat China in the semi-finals of the
Asia regional qualifier and then a sudden-death extra-time try by Jang Seongmin in the final to beat top seeds Hong Kong 12-7.
Page 11 of 13SOUTH AFRICA – POOL C
- Justin Geldud is the sole survivor from the team who won bronze at Rio 2016, with Branco du Preez and Chris Dry included in the squad for
Tokyo having been unused travelling reserves at the last Olympic Games.
- Branco du Preez and Chris Dry are the Blitzboks’ most-capped players on the Series with 75 and 74 tournaments respectively.
- Chris Dry, Branco du Preez and Justin Geldud all won gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, defeating New Zealand 17-12 in the final
at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow.
- There are four survivors from the team who won bronze at Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018, with Zain Davids, Angelo Davids, Justin Gelduld and
captain Siviwe Soyizwapi all playing in San Francisco three years ago.
- Soyizwapi top scored for South Africa with six tries, the joint-most of any player alongside New Zealand’s Joe Ravouvou.
- There are three survivors from the team who finished fourth at Commonwealth Games 2018, with Zain Davids, Branco du Preez, Justin Gelduld
and captain Siviwe Soyizwapi all playing on the Gold Coast three years ago.
- Angelo Davids was South Africa’s leading try-scorer on the 2020 Series with 16 tries.
- He scored a double against USA in their last meeting in the Cup quarter-finals in Vancouver in 2020.
- Stedman Gans was named Player of the Final in Los Angeles in 2020, while Sakoyisa Makata scored the match-winning try in extra-time to defeat
Fiji 29-24 in the final.
- Gans was the competition’s leading try-scorer in South Africa’s Super Rugby Unlocked season in 2020, scoring five tries for the Bulls.
- Zain Davids also played in Super Rugby Unlocked last year for the Sharks.
- Branco du Preez enjoyed the second best success-rate in front of goal on the 2020 Series by players with more than 20 attempts, kicking 79% of
his conversions.
- Siviwe Soyizwapi was named captain of the Blitzboks ahead of the 2020 Series, and enjoyed a strong start, winning the opening event in Dubai
and then in Los Angeles, as well as reaching the Cup final in four of the six rounds that season.
- He scored four tries against Ireland in his only previous meeting against them at Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018.
- Ronald Brown is yet to make his World Rugby Sevens Series debut. A product of South Africa’s Rugby Sevens Academy, he has overcome
Hodgkin’s lymphoma disease to resume his playing career.
Page 12 of 13USA – POOL C
- USA have six survivors from Rio 2016 with Danny Barrett, Folau Niua, Perry Baker, Martin Iosefo, Carlin Isles and captain Madison Hughes all
returning for their second Olympics.
- Martin Iosefo was part of USA’s Rugby World Cup 2019 squad in Japan, playing in three of their pool games against England in Kobe, France in
Fukuoka and Argentina in Kumagaya.
- He has played nine tests for the Eagles since 2016, scoring two tries.
- Stephen Tomasin and Folau Niua were both nominees for the World Rugby Men’s Sevens Player of the Year award in 2019.
- Folau Niua has not played a Series event since Paris 2019 after breaking his leg against Samoa.
- Niua is the most-capped Eagles Sevens player with 69 Series tournaments, and has two Rugby World Cup Sevens appearances in 2013
and 2018.
- Carlin Isles top scored at Rio 2016 with six tries, including five of them coming in his last two games with a hat-trick against hosts Brazil, and a
double against Spain at the Deodoro Stadium.
- Isles is USA’s all-time leading try-scorer on the World Rugby Sevens Series with 207 tries, and in a tight race with fellow team-mate Perry
Baker (205 tries), became the first American to pass the 200-try milestone in Los Angeles on the 2020 Series.
- His 11 Series hat-tricks are the most by an American player.
- Isles scored a tournament-high seven tries at the last Series event to be played in Tokyo in 2014-15.
- He has been the Series leading try-scorer in two of the past three seasons, with 49 tries in 2018 and 52 tries in 2019.
- He was USA’s leading try-scorer on the 2020 Series with 22 tries.
- He has scored a try in each of his past three games against Pool C opponents Ireland, in six of his past seven games against Kenya, and in
six of his past seven games against South Africa.
- Perry Baker was USA’s top try-scorer at Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 with three tries.
- He is the only player to have been named the World Rugby Men’s Sevens Player of the Year twice, in 2017 and 2018.
- He was the Series leading try-scorer in 2016-17 with 57 tries, the third most in a single season in Series history behind Vilimoni Delasau’s
83 tries in 1999-2000, and South Africa’s Seabelo Senatla’s 66 tries in 2015-16.
- He will be looking to improve on his Olympic try-scoring record, crossing just once in 2016, against Fiji.
- He sits two tries behind Carlin Isles in the Series try-scoring tally for USA, but has scored more doubles (42) than his team-mate (32).
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