The men's Eagles had a rough start in Hong Kong, facing off against Series leaders and USA Sevens Cup finalists New Zealand first, falling 29-5.

The lone USA score came after Peter Tiberio stepped Tomasi Cama and offloaded to Zack Test, who gathered well and fell in contact to score.

Rocco Mauer, a former All-American and the pride of Bowling Green, made his IRB Sevens debut in the final minutes and made an impact.

He saved a New Zealand score by flooring it for 30 meters and cutting Cama off for a sure try. Moments later, Cama replied when Mauer was inches away from a full-field break, clipping Mauer's heels and knocking him out of bounds to end the game.

It was a shining debut for the Cleveland native who was only on the field for 90 seconds and made two very positive contributions.

Two of New Zealand's tries came straight from restarts, one of which was scored not 60 seconds after Test's score. That will be a focus area for the Eagles for the remainder of the Hong Kong tournament and beyond.

More execution on attack and upping communication on defense may go a long way against South Africa and Wales on day two.

The USA v. South Africa game kicks off on Friday March 23 10:58 pm ET, and USA v. Wales gets underway Saturday March 24 4:06 am ET.


USA 5
Tries: Test

New Zealand 29
Tries: Jackman, Visinia, Mikkelson, Cama, Piutau
Cons: Cama (2)