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USRF Grant Recipient Kevin Swiryn Shines at USA 7s

February 15, 2009

San Diego, CA (February 15, 2009) – The USA Eagles stellar play over the weekend capped off a fantastic two days of international rugby at the USA 7s in San Diego. USRF High Performance Grant recipient Kevin Swiryn (Pictured. Courtesy of www.numinaphoto.com) played a prominent role for the Eagles as his searing runs on the outside set up numerous tries for his teammates, not to mention the two tries he scored himself.It was a balanced scoring attack as seven different Eagles scored during the competition. In addition to Swiryn, Paul Emerick, Nese Malifa, Chris Wyles, Matt Hawkins, James Gillenwater, Jone Naqica and Justin Boyd all dotted down for the U.S. Even more important than the try output, the defense was outstanding throughout the tournament. Be it on the wing or at prop, Swiryn displayed the combination of speed and power that earned him the USRFF HP Grant to the International Rugby Academy of New Zealand last year to take part in an intense three-week training course. He was glad that the U.S. saved their best performance so far for the home fans.“Playing as well as we did couldn’t have come on a better stage than being at home,” said the former Saint Mary’s captain. “At the same time it’s not by coincidence that we played so well at home either. The fan support, the passion in the crowd really helped bring us to the point we came to. Especially in a game like 7’s, where the hardest part is getting your psyche up and ready to go for three different games on the same day, the crowd was there for us.”“I’ve been around the Sevens scene for a long time,” said USRF Executive Director Brian Vizard. “But never have I seen a better performance by a U.S. team. The team speed can rival any team on the circuit. Our fitness was equal if not superior to any other team. And our defense was better than any of them. We at the Foundation are very proud of Kevin, Al, and the rest of the squad and wish them the best of luck in Dubai.”If you’d like to assist the Rugby Foundation in providing more future stars the opportunity to attend rugby courses abroad, please make a contribution today.