After coming in 6th in the Vancouver Sevens in mid-March the US will face tough competition in their quest to advance to the Cup quarterfinals for the ninth straight tournament. While bottom feeders Portugal represent what should be an easy win for the US in their first match of the weekend the next two matches against Australia and Argentina will provide real tests. Australia, the US, and Argentina, currently sit 4-5-6 in the season standings. Argentina last week missed the Cup quarterfinals for the first time this year while Australia is riding the same eight-tournament streak as the US. Something will have to give in Hong Kong and while Argentina won’t be favored to finish in the top two it will be no shock if they do.

The US was boosted ahead of Hong Kong by the news that Zach Test and Maka Unufe would rejoin the team after missing out on the Vancouver Sevens. The same was also said of Carlin Isles but he is a late scratch for the US and will be replaced by New England Patriot safety Nate Ebner. Ebner just signed a 2-year $2.4 million contract with New England in the last month and is certainly taking a chance with his foray into rugby sevens. He was an exceptional rugby player as a youth making the Sevens team at age 17 (though apparently never playing on the tour). Surely he will get a chance to play this weekend and it will be a moment to watch.

Things begin bright and early on Friday with the US taking on Portugal at 6:54 AM ET. They’ll be back in action on Saturday with Argentina up first at 12:48 AM ET and Australia to close the pool at 5:10 AM ET. Live stream is available on the World Rugby Website.