The powerful USA Eagles international became something of a social media star when Samoa’s Cardiff Blues-bound Rey Lee-Lo bounced off Thretton less than a minute into their RWC pool clash, and now Palamo’s hoping to bring his World Cup form to London Welsh.
“This club is always known to be at the top end of the Championship and we’re not right now. I’m new blood but if I’m getting the nod, I better show up and play, because there are a lot of hungry guys on this team,” he said.
Palamo joined up with London Welsh two weeks ago and having had the chance to recharge his batteries since the USA’s final RWC match against Japan on October 11, he’s now raring to go again.
“By the time the World Cup was over I couldn’t look at a rugby ball. But Welsh have welcomed me with open arms and it’s been a welcome transition. It’s now been a month since my last game, so I’m excited to get some game time on Saturday,” said Palamo, who found one familiar face in the London Welsh dressing room upon his arrival in former University of California, Berkeley, foe Ryan Hodson.
Lining up against Samoa at the World Cup was particularly poignant for Palamo, as it pitted him against the country he called home from the age of 10-15. Although born in Woodland, California, Palamo went on to play Sevens and Under 19s for Samoa, while his Samoan father, Arona, played nine Test matches for the Pacific Islanders between 1979-82.
“It was insane having been part of the Haka with Samoa, and then to be on the receiving end of it at the World Cup. It was a really cool mix of emotions for me,” he said.
Samoa came out on top 25-16 – the first of four defeats for the Eagles at RWC 2015. A loss to Scotland followed (39-16) before South Africa proved too strong (64-0) and Japan rounded off the USA’s World Cup with a 28-18 defeat.
“People back home were proud of our efforts, but to us it was a huge disappointment. We were looking to get through the pool stage because this USA team had so much experience and so many x-factor players. But we couldn’t get it together mentally; we had mental lapses and that was frustrating,” said Palamo, who became a World Cup record breaker when he made his USA debut at the 2007 World Cup.
Palamo was 19 when he lined up for the Eagles against eventual champions South Africa, and he held the record until Georgia’s 18-year-old Vasil Lobzhanidze took that honour at England 2015.
“In 2007 there wasn’t much pressure on me, I could just soak it all up and take it all in. This time around I had more responsibility so I was more focused into the games rather than the atmosphere. It’s nice that I had two very different experiences at my two World Cups,” he said.
“I’m all for growing the sport so it was nice to see a kid from a two-tier nation beat the record.”
American hopes had been raised going into England 2015 when Thretton and his Eagles teammates secured the country its first-ever World Rugby HSBC Sevens World Series title win at the Marriott London Sevens at Twickenham in May. For Thretton, who was among the try scorers in the Eagles’ 45-22 victory over Australia in the final, it was a case of being in the right place at the right time.
“Zac Test, who is pretty much the face of Sevens rugby in the USA, got hurt in Scotland and they needed a replacement. They were going to fly someone all the way from San Diego to London, but they decided to give me a shot. I was at Saracens which just made it a lot easier, and we went on and won it,” he said.
The centre had found his way to Saracens after completing his studies in the US at the University of Utah, and having previously spent a year at Biarritz.
“Saracens was a real eye-opener. Coming from the US it’s all about speed and strength, but the mental side of the game here opened my eyes,” he said.
“There were guys on the team that I would like to think I’m more athletic than, but as a rugby player in general they were far better than me because they just knew where to be. The detail they had in their rugby game is where I’m trying to get to.”
