USA Rugby today relieved women's rugby 7s head coach Jules McCoy from her role and replaced her with Richie Walker who will lead the team to the Rio 2016 Olympic Summer Games.
USA Rugby said that appointing Walker was the "obvious choice" and didn't reference any reason for McCoy's removal just seven months since she took over from Ric Suggit.
However, USA rugby website Rugby Today suggested that player unrest had been behind the move.
Whatever the reason, the timing could hardly be worse. USA host the next leg of the Women's 7s World Series in two weeks time before playing the final legs in Canada and France. It means that Walker will have just a handful of tournaments before the Olympics.
Walker has been a long-time servant of USA Rugby and worked alongside Suggitt throughout the previous Eagles head coach's regime, joining the team on the HSBC World Rugby Women's Sevens Series from its inception in 2012-13 to the end of Suggitt's tenure in 2015. His knowledge of the program at the OTC, the player pool, and the game ofrugby will lead the U.S. down the path to a podium place in Brazil.
"Richie is an obvious choice to move the team towards the goals laid out for Rio," USA Rugby Director of Performance Alex Magleby said. "We need minimal disruptions moving forward, and Richie and the team have been a capable combination previously, both via development tours and formerly overseeing the skill improvements in the player pool at the Olympic Training Centre."