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A 30-man US Eagles squad has been selected for the upcoming tests against Romania in Chicago on July 5th and Scotland in DC on July 12th. Head Coach Scott Lawrence has pared his list down from an original selection of 55 players, with all but six of the group currently based in Major League Rugby.
English Premiership star AJ MacGinty is on the list but it’s former Newcastle lock Greg Peterson who will keep hold of the captaincy. Other selections based abroad are hookers Kapeli Pifeleti and Mike Sosene-Feagai, second row Renger van Eerten, and scrumhalf Ruben de Haas. Versatile back Erich Storti is the only college athlete selected with his St. Mary’s teammate Dom Besag currently preparing for the World Rugby u20 Trophy.
van Eerten and Storti are among five uncapped inclusions. Seattle Seawolves scrumhalf JP Smith is set for his test debut having previously represented South Africa at u20 level. Recent Anthem addition Steffan Crimp, listed at fullback but also capable of playing flyhalf, and Seattle winger Conner Mooneyham are the others yet to play at senior international level.
Among the senior players on the injured or unavailable list are Toulouse prop David Ainu’u, Seattle hooker Joe Taufete’e, and Utah center Paul Lasike. Uncapped Biarritz flyhalf Christopher Hilsenbeck was also ruled out, along with Perpignan lock Nafi Ma’afu in an update from USA Rugby.
| PLAYER | CLUB | CAPS |
PROP
| Iscaro, Jack (LH) | Old Glory DC | 6 |
| Maughan, Alex (LH/TH) | RFC Los Angeles | 3 |
| Mullen, Paul (TH) | Utah Warriors | 33 |
| Sylvia, Nathan (LH/TH) | San Diego Legion | 4 |
| Turnbull, Jake (LH) | Anthem Carolina | 5 |
HOOKER
| Fawsitt, Dylan | Chicago Hounds | 27 |
| Pifeleti, Kapeli | Saracens (UK) | 11 |
| Sosene-Feagai, Mike | Agen (FR) | 9 |
SECOND ROW
| Dolan, Cam | NOLA Gold | 67 |
| Golla, Sam | Dallas Jackals | 5 |
| Peterson, Greg | San Diego Legion | 42 |
| van Eerten, Renger | Brive (FR) | – |
BACK ROW
| Bonasso, Benjamín (FL/N8) | Miami Sharks | 5 |
| Damm, Jason (N8) | RFC Los Angeles | 2 |
| Fa’anana-Schultz, Jamason (FL/N8) | Old Glory DC | 8 |
| Ryan, Paddy (FL) | San Diego Legion | 5 |
| Tu’avao, Thomas (FL/N8) | Utah Warriors | 5 |
SCRUMHALF
| de Haas, Ruben | Cheetahs (SA) | 31 |
| Smith, J.P. | Seattle Seawolves | – |
FLYHALF/FULLBACK
| Carty, Luke | Chicago Hounds | 14 |
| Crimp, Steffan | Anthem Carolina | – |
| MacGinty, A.J. | Bristol Bears (UK) | 35 |
MIDFIELD
| Boni, Tommaso | Old Glory DC | 4 |
| Campbell, Bryce | Chicago Hounds | 45 |
| Lopeti, Tavite | Seattle Seawolves | 12 |
| Storti, Erich | St. Mary’s Gaels | – |
OUTSIDE BACKS
| Augspurger, Nate | Chicago Hounds | 41 |
| Dyer, Christian | Houston SaberCats | 14 |
| Mooneyham, Conner | Seattle Seawolves | – |
| Wilson, Mitch | New England Free Jacks | 6 |
NON-TRAVELING RESERVES
| Payton Telea-Ilalio (LH) | San Diego Legion | – |
| Sean McNulty (HO) | Miami Sharks | – |
| Pono Davis (TH) | Houston SaberCats | – |
| Kaleb Geiger (TH) | New England Free Jacks | 2 |
| Lucas Gramlick (LO) | Anthem Carolina | – |
| Cory Daniel (FL) | Old Glory DC | 3 |
| Collin Grosse (FL) | Old Glory DC | – |
| Vili Helu (FL) | San Diego Legion | 5 |
| Bailey Wilson (FL) | Utah Warriors | 1 |
| Luke White (N8) | Chicago Hounds | 5 |
| Ethan McVeigh (SH) | Old Glory DC | – |
| Noah Brown (WI) | Chicago Hounds | – |
| Toby Fricker (WI) | New England Free Jacks | – |
| Lauina Futi (WI) | Seattle Seawolves | 3 |
