Eagles prioritise 'finding a way to win' after Day 2 troubles

There was little denying that the USA Women’s Eagles Sevens were disappointed with their fourth-place finish last time out on the HSBC SVNS Series.

In Perth, Kristi Kirshe and her teammates started brightly with wins over Fiji and Japan. But after a 31-0 loss to the Black Ferns Sevens in their final pool game, the side endured a dismal Day 2, where they were beaten by Australia in the semi-final and then France in the third-place final.

Now, with the North American legs of the HSBC SVNS Series about to begin, the Eagles want to take the lessons learned in Western Australia forward into the rest of the season.

“I don’t think there’s any other sport where you have to kind of reel from the feelings of a loss and turn around to play again two hours later,” Kirshe said. “I think it’s like a unique part of our sport.

“We’re trying to teach a new generation what it takes to win on the Series in general and what it takes to win in those third-place games and those really gritty matches.

“It’s just the recognition that it’s not always going to go our way, it’s not always going to be pretty, but still finding a way to win. I think we’re really trying to embrace that. Embrace that and learn.”

After four tournaments the Eagles are placed third in the overall standings. At stops in Dubai, Cape Town, Singapore and Perth, Emilie Bydwell’s team have not finished on the podium and have taken part in three bronze medal matches.

For Vancouver SVNS, the USA have been named in Pool B with Canada,  Australia and Fiji.

This consistent drop in form on the second day of competition has been a topic of conversation at the team’s Chula Vista training centre for the past month.

“You have to be prepared to take actions irrespective of how you feel,” Bydwell said. “Nobody’s feeling good on Day 2. No matter how much you’ve trained. No matter how good your physical preparation programme is. How good your recovery was before. You know nobody’s going to feel good on Day 2.

“It’s really a learned skill or learned behaviour to say; I may feel this way, but I’m still going to go and do this. I think that there is a little bit of that.

“When we reflected on our return from Perth, there was definitely some accountability and awareness from the team where what they have to be thinking about, like in the evening of Day 1, the morning of Day 2, so that they can’t allow themselves to be trapped by feeling of fatigue, the feeling of soreness, the feeling of I’m a little bit mentally overwhelmed or whatever.”