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Titi Lamositele and Nick Civetta have been released by Premiership Rugby to play for the US Eagles against the New Zealand Māori in Chicago on Friday. The organization had previously reached an agreement with the Welsh Rugby Union to release stars George North and Jamie Roberts for their match against Australia, and their statement seemed to indicate that other teams could benefit. That has proved to be the case for the Eagles. While AJ MacGinty and Thretton Palamo will miss the match, the addition of Lamositele to the scrum will be a major boost to the side while Civetta is set to make his Eagles debut as a like-for-like replacement for the injured Greg Peterson.
Lamositele, 21, had a breakthrough year with European champions Saracens last season but has played a limited part in the opening weeks of the season, appearing in only one Premiership match as a replacement along with some reserve grade fixtures. With the USA’s domestic props struggling with the scrum in the Americas Pacific Challenge he should slot straight into the front row, likely as a loosehead prop with Wellington’s Chris Baumann set to arrive to bolster the tighthead side.
The 26-year-old Civetta has previously appeared for the USA Selects in the old Americas Rugby Championship format but has yet to make his test debut. At 2.03m (6’8″) tall he casts a towering figure in the lineout. Civetta signed for Newcastle Falcons in the off-season and after a challenging start in the pre-season has impressed in reserve grade fixtures and made his senior side debut in the European Challenge Cup match against the Ospreys earlier this month.
