USA 7s team captain Shalom Suniula will discuss his benching during the Nelson Mandela Bay 7s in his next column for RUGBYMag.com.

But in speaking with RUGBYMag.com this week, Suniula said that Coach Alex Magleby’s decision to remove him from the starting lineup was a wakeup call.

“It was a real humbling experience, and it just shows that anyone on the team can get dropped at any point,” Suniula said.  “I started against Portugal and I wasn’t really following the game plan, and I needed to play better.”

As captain, Suniula said he needed to stay positive throughout the weekend, and he and Magleby spoke about the decision after the game and after the tournament. But after Suniula didn’t start, Luke Hume did well in his stead.

“Credit to Luke, I thought he did outstanding,” said the captain. “Luke and Folau [Niua] played some outstanding rugby and they deserved to stay there. For me personally, I’ve got to work on my game and earn my spot back.”

Look for Shalom Suniula’s column next week.