Zack Test: 'We are only scratching the surface of our true capability'

Zack Test could not contain his pride after the USA Men’s Eagles Sevens secured HSBC SVNS World Championship qualification.

Last weekend in Montevideo the Eagles went undefeated to secure top spot on the podium and confirmed that they will be one of HSBC SVNS 2’s top four teams. Over the course of two days in Uruguay the USA registered wins against Kenya, Uruguay, Canada, Belgium and Germany.

After relegation from the HSBC SVNS Series last season, the Eagles can reclaim core team status at World Championship events in Hong Kong, Valladolid and Bordeaux.

Test, who was appointed as USA head coach last May, had nothing but praise for his team.

“I’m incredibly proud of the boys,” he told USA Rugby. “Our brotherhood and sticking together led to a high-quality performance against a team that defeated us last week. It’s a massive achievement and while we have much more to accomplish, we are progressing on the path we intended.

“We witnessed some truly ‘warrior’ performances this weekend, with players grinding through 14-minute matches that included phases lasting over two minutes. Following the Nairobi tournament, we knew our focus needed to be on starting and finishing Day 2 strongly.

“We committed to being ruthlessly physical, consistently moving the point of attack, outworking and out-physicaling our opponents, and sticking together as a team. Our goal was to deliver a world-class performance, and we achieved that against Germany.”

Over the weekend, team debutants Aaron Faison and Tucker Trickey both scored tries. Will Chevalier was named Player of the Tournament for his efforts, which included five tries.

This week in São Paulo the Eagles will take on Belgium, Canada and Uruguay on Day 1. On Day 2, Test’s team will play Kenya and Germany at Estadio Nicolau Alayon.

Since his arrival as head coach the 36-year-old head coach has underlined his desire to establish consistent standards within his team.

In Uruguay, the former USA Sevens international saw his team’s best performance during his tenure so far and believes there is more to come from his charges.

“A performance like that isn’t just for great teams, that’s for champion teams, and that’s something that’s what we’re building; a championship team,” Test said. “We are only scratching the surface of our true capability, but we’re starting to get real glimpses of what that looks like.

“I’m truly proud of the team for securing our place in the World Championships. That was our primary objective, and now that we’ve accomplished it, we are focusing on our next mission: concluding SVNS 2 with a high.

‘The strength of the group is growing and we’re building systems to withstand any environment, any opposition, any situation that comes our way. We showed composure, and when things didn’t go our way, we grounded back to what we do best focusing on our processes, our brotherhood, our system, and ground out some wins.”