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The Eagles will get a big step up in competition this week as they welcome the world’s No6-ranked team in Scotland to BBVA Compass Stadium. Houston might have been a familiar sight to some of the Scottish team having played at the same venue in 2014, but only captain Stuart Hogg and reserve lock Grant Gilchrist return from that 24-6 victory.
In fact the Scots are also much changed from their satisfactory win over Canada last weekend. Only three of the starting side remain with Gregor Townsend keen to see as many of his players as possible on the Americas tour. Of note is that 10 of the starting side play their club rugby for Glasgow Warriors, meaning familiarity should not be a significant factor despite the lack of continuity.
Warriors trio Jamie Bhatti, George Turner, and Zander Fagerson are the new front row unit with Edinburgh’s Lewis Carmichael in the second row. It’s a first test start for Bhatti, Turner, and Carmichael and a first-ever cap for the younger Fagerson brother – 19-year-old Matt – at the back of the scrum. Tim Swinson is the most experienced man in the pack but starts on the blindside for the first time in his test career, and Luke Hamilton takes over at openside.
The selection of young halfback duo George Horne and Adam Hastings will excite Scottish fans but with just one cap between them a case of the jitters might well be present. Peter Horne and Nick Grigg are familiar faces in the midfield with Blair Kinghorn shifting to the wing to accommodate Hogg at fullback.
In case things do go a bit sour there are able reinforcements on the bench. Fraser Brown, Grant Gilchrist, and David Denton offer Six Nations experience in the forwards while Mark Bennett and Dougie Fife can add pace if required.
For the USA it’s a very different story with no changes to the run-on side and just two on the bench, both enforced. James Hilterbrand and Olive Kilifi drop out and are replaced by Dylan Fawsitt and Titi Lamositele in the front row reserves.
The rankings will tell you that Scotland have a clear advantage but the numbers do not tell the story on this occasion. Scotland are treading somewhat dangerously with such an inexperienced side against an Eagles time well and truly on the rise and full of confidence after putting Russia to the sword last week.
Perhaps a saving grace for the Scots is that the weather is calling for a splash of rain and slightly cooler temperatures in the evening, otherwise the heat might have been a significant factor. As it is Houston is a far cry from Edmonton and that may slow the tourists down a wee bit.
This will be a good test for the Eagles pack, with the back row in particular under the microscope against a Scottish trio that isn’t entirely convincing. Another key to success is the midfield where Paul Lasike and Bryce Campbell outweigh their opponents by a significant margin. If they can push through the gainline with regularity it could have a significant impact on the complexion of the match.
Don’t listen to the naysayers, this is far from a fait accompli. This match represents a very real opportunity for the Eagles to earn a famous upset. They will have to play mistake-free rugby to do so and wear down their opponents with their big ball carriers, while at the same time winning enough clean ball at the set piece to stay on the front foot.
Scotland remain favorites given their ranking but by a much smaller margin than in 2014. This has every possibility of being a nail-biter, and anything less will be seen as a disappointment to Eagles coach Gary Gold. Look for the Scottish bench to play a significant impact in the final quarter, doing just enough to pull the team from the fire.
Kickoff is set for 8pm local time, 6pm Pacific, 9pm Eastern, with a broadcast available on FloRugby.
USA
1 Eric Fry, 2 Joe Taufete’e, 3 Paul Mullen, 4 Samu Manoa, 5 Nick Civetta, 6 John Quill, 7 Hanco Germishuys, 8 Cam Dolan, 9 Shaun Davies, 10 AJ MacGinty, 11 Marcel Brache, 12 Paul Lasike, 13 Bryce Campbell, 14 Blaine Scully (capt.), 15 Will Hooley
Replacements: 16 Dylan Fawsitt, 17 Titi Lamositele, 18 Chris Baumann, 19 Greg Peterson, 20 Ben Landry, 21 Nate Augspurger, 22 Will Magie, 23 Dylan Audsley
SCOTLAND
1 Jamie Bhatti, 2 George Turner, 3 Zander Fagerson, 4 Lewis Carmichael, 5 Ben Toolis, 6 Tim Swinson, 7 Luke Hamilton, 8 Matt Fagerson, 9 George Horne, 10 Adam Hastings, 11 Byron McGuigan, 12 Peter Horne, 13 Nick Grigg, 14 Blair Kinghorn, 15 Stuart Hogg (capt.)
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Grant Gilchrist, 20 David Denton, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Mark Bennett, 23 Dougie Fife
Date: Saturday, June 16
Venue: BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston
Kickoff: 20:00 local (18:00 Pacific, 21:00 Eastern)
Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU)
Assistants: Shuhei Kubo (JRFU) & Federico Anselmi (UAR)
TMO: David Grashoff (RFU)
Broadcasts: The Rugby Channel, FloRugby
