USA Rugby has released the names of the Rugby Sevens players who will take up the first full time training contracts in 2012. According to USA Rugby, the players were selected based on the needs of the current USA Sevens squad, with a long term focus on the 2016 Olympics where Sevens will make an appearance.
There is a New England flavor among the eleven male and seven female athletes. Boston flyhalf/center Roland Suniula has been named on the men’s squad, while Katie Dowty, who developed her rugby career at Harvard and Beantown, was named onto the Women’s team.
Suniula has appeared infrequently for Boston rugby since his relocation to the area last year. As he has frequently been called up for representative honors, his availability seems to have been limited. His most recent high profile appearances for the National team was in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, where he performed well at flyhalf. Katie has consistently performed well for the National team recently.
The players will live and train at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA., alongside many future Olympic hopefuls.