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The PNC wrapped up with a flourish on Monday. Three games… make that, three really exciting games were played. Fiji took home the crown besting Samoa, Tonga outdueled Japan, and the USA got a last minute win over Canada. The PNC is the red-headed step child of the World Rugby annual tournaments. Frequent lineup changes, format changes, and a brutal schedule makes this tournament a lot less than it could be.
Here’s a hint World Rugby, give this tournament room to breathe and it could be something special. I’ve harped on this point before, so I’m not going to continue to beat the dead horse. However, it needed to be reiterated. The PNC could be a great event, but sadly will probably never get the justice it deserves.
The USA finished the PNC with two wins. Going into the tournament, there was the reality that the Eagles could have lost all four of their matches. Coming away with two wins was a solid effort. Depending how you look at it, the two wins could have been even more. The USA nearly snuck a travel-weary Samoa in the opening match. The match against Tonga was an expected loss as Tolkin went with a reserves lineup to see how their depth is. Note, he found out that there is a massive drop off from their overseas pros and domestic players.
The win over Japan was solid. The match against Canada was shaky at best. The Eagles put in a strong first half and tripped up in the second half only to be saved by a AJ MacGinty drop goal. The fact is that the USA should have beaten that Canadian side by at least 10 points.
The hope is that Tolkin was holding his cards close to his chest offensively throughout the PNC, hoping not to show off too much to World Cup opponents Samoa and Japan. I’m afraid that is not the truth. The USA struggled massively on the offensive side during the PNC. Tolkin isn’t noted for innovation on offense and it is extremely difficult to believe that he is would purposely run a dumbed down offense for four straight matches.
There is a quote I hear often around the coaching world… “run at spaces, not at faces.”
The Eagles not only run at faces, they ram into them over and over with little gain. They have a few more opportunities to solve this issue before the World Cup.
Still, it was two wins at the PNC. We really cannot be too upset about that. Along those lines, let’s take a look at some of the things about the Eagles that we can be excited and not so excited about coming out of the PNC.
Exciting!
MacGinty Emerges – AJ MacGinty quickly wrapped up his rule over the Eagles’ flyhalf position with three solid matches at the PNC. He provides a consistent boot that will give opponents something to think about before giving away silly penalties within kicking range. He also played well defensively and despite his size is not afraid to take on the big boys. It’s hard to imagine that he won’t continue to get better and be the first Eagle flyhalf since Mike Hercus to hold down the role on a consistent basis. Now, if only they had a few pieces to put around him.
Durutalo – Andrew Durutalo came into the PNC as a known commodity in 7s. A solid performer that is strong and fit. However, he hadn’t seen much time in 15s. That changed quickly. Durutalo put in some eye opening minutes at the end of the Samoa match, and played brilliantly the rest of the tournament. He plays a true openside role and has a knack for poaching that is a testament to the quick breakdown work that is needed in 7s. He went from a longshot to likely playing his way into a big role at the World Cup.
The Back Row in General – It is the Eagles’ strong point. No doubt about it. They have 5-6 guys all capable of playing the position. Adding Samu Manoa and possibly Todd Clever back into the mix is going to make things very difficult for Tolkin. Manoa should be a shoo-in at No. 8 with Danny Barrett, Durutalo, and Scott LaValla rotating in the flanker roles. Cam Dolan will likely see more time at lock as I suspect will happen with Clever should he return to the roster.
Eagle Set Piece – The Eagle scrum impressed at the PNC. Aside from a 20 minute span against Japan, the USA scrum was solid throughout the PNC and provided decent (not great) ball to work with. Eric Fry and Titi Lamositele have nailed down their roles. The problem is that Lamositele appears to be the link. When he’s not on the pitch, the scrum does not perform the same. Pray for a healthy RWC for him. The lineout also returned to form in the PNC. There were a few rough patches, but it was strong for the most part. The Eagles also put pressure on the opposing lineouts. All of a sudden the USA is also really good at a driving maul. They were effective and showed patience with the maul. Something that opponents will have to take into account.
Fortitude – This is something I had to think on a bit, but I was really impressed with the Eagles composure during the PNC. They played three extremely tight matches and were the better team in the second half against Samoa and Japan. They also managed to win the match against Canada despite their best efforts to lose it. I think that says a lot about a team that can overcome in close battles. This will make them stronger in the long run, especially as the squad gets more time together. In the past, they’ve folded up down the stretch. This group is different and I like it.
Not so Exciting 🙁
The Offense – I mentioned it earlier. For those that think Tolkin played the PNC conservatively on purpose, I hope that you’re right, but I doubt it. The offense struggled to break the gainline and the few opportunities that were available went unfinished. The forwards scored all four tries for the USA during the PNC. Three of which came off of driving mauls. Aside from a few breaks from the backs, most of the gainline breaks came from forwards. While the foot of MacGinty should keep the scoreboard moving forward, at some point the Eagles need to put the ball in the endzone. I’m really hoping to see some progress in the next few matches.
Petri Please Stop Kicking – I like Mike Petri. I really do. I even think that he played decent during the PNC. I dare say that Shalom Suniula wasn’t better than him during the PNC and I’m pro-Suniula. However, he needs to stop kicking. For every box kick that Blaine Scully recovers, there are 2-3 (or more) stinkers. I can forgive a bad game here and there, but this is a multi-year pattern of poor kicking. Maybe it works at the club level, but it sure doesn’t at the international level. Give it to MacGinty or Wyles and let them find touch.
Penalties and Yellow – The Eagles were handed yellow three times against Canada and four times during the PNC. They were in serious penalty trouble in three of their four matches. We all know that refs come into Eagle matches expecting to work out their shoulder muscles calling penalties. It’s time to change that paradigm. The USA cannot truly threaten Tier 1 nations if they give away silly penalties.
