November Internationals – Spain vs USA – ARN Guide

Two sides getting set to launch their World Cup qualifying campaigns will end their calendar year in Madrid on Saturday. Spain are hoping to break their duck against a confident USA side who have only the Leones standing in their way of a perfect year-end tour.

FORM GUIDE

Current World Ranking: 17 (67.10 points)
2024-11-16 – Spain 19, Fiji 33 (Valladolid)
2024-11-09 – Spain 33, Uruguay 24 (Madrid)
2024-07-19 – Tonga 20, Spain 29 (Nuku’alofa)
2024-07-13 – Samoa 34, Spain 30 (Apia)
2024-03-17 – Spain 40, Romania 33 (Paris)

Current World Ranking: 15 (68.90 points)
2024-11-16 – USA 36, Tonga 17 (Chambéry)
2024-11-09 – Portugal 17, USA 21 (Coimbra)
2024-09-21 – Samoa 18, USA 13 (Osaka)
2024-09-14 – Fiji 22, USA 3 (Tokyo)
2024-09-07 – Japan 41, USA 24 (Kumagaya)

STARTING LINEUP CHANGES

1 Bernardo Vázquez replaces Thierry Futeu
2 Santiago Ovejero replaces Álvaro García
4 Brice Ferrer replaces Vicente Boronat (No6 vs Fiji)
5 Asier Usárraga replaces Imanol Urraza
8 Raphaël Nieto replaces Ekain Imaz
10 Gonzalo Vinuesa replaces Gonzalo López
12 Álvaro Gimeno replaces Iñaki Mateu
15 Alberto Carmona replaces JW Bell

1 Jake Turnbull replaces Jack Iscaro
2 Kapeli Pifeleti replaces Shilo Klein
3 Paul Mullen replaces Alex Maughan
14 Mark O’Keeffe replaces Conner Mooneyham (HIA)
15 Erich Storti replaces Mitch Wilson (suspended)

NOTES

• while this is the second time in the span of a year that the two sides will have met, it’s just the fifth meeting all-time with a two-decade gap between their third and fourth clashes… to date the USA have had the spoils, with last year’s 30-point defeat the best result for the Leones against the Eagles
• Pablo Bouza continues to look at different combinations ahead of the important Rugby Europe Championship… the former Pumas forward has made eight changes to the team that lost to Fiji, fielding a similar lineup to the team that bested Los Teros in Madrid two weeks ago
• 21-year-old Ignacio Piñeiro captains Spain for the first time, despite having yet to make his Pro D2 debut for his club side Oyonnax… at 6’6″ (1.98m) Piñeiro is the tallest man in the Leones pack but will shift from lock to flanker for this contest with veteran Pro D2 duo Brice Ferrer and Asier Usárraga in the engine room
• Colomiers prop Hugo Pirlet and Chambéry flanker Matheo Triki join the Leones bench this week, making it 13 players in the match day squad who play their club rugby in France
• Scott Lawrence has opted to rotate his front row this week, while the two backline changes are enforced due to the Conner Mooneyham’s injury and a three-game suspension to Mitch Wilson… Mark O’Keeffe and Erich Storti both get their first test starts as a result… Chicago Hounds winger Noah Brown, already an Eagles 7s cap, is set for his full test bow as a replacement
• English Premiership pair Kapeli Pifeleti and AJ MacGinty, and Saint Mary’s College star Dom Besag are the only Eagles in the lineup who will not be playing in the 2025 Major League Rugby season… Ruben de Haas plays for Cheetahs but will be loaned to an MLR club for the first half of the new year
• both lineups are significantly different from those that ran out for last year’s test in La Vila… in fact only four players from each team who started on that day will do so again on Saturday

QUOTES

Pablo Bouza (Head Coach)

“Their main weapon is their defense. They make few fouls and when they get close to the goal they take points. They are a very organized team, they have been playing together for 8 games in a row. For our part, we want to repeat the first half against Uruguay in attack and the defense against Fiji. And obviously improve, as I said, continue working on discipline and maul defense.”

Ignacio Piñeiro (Captain)

“It is an honor to be captain of the national team at such a young age, and I want to thank the staff for trusting me. So far the experience has been excellent, the team has supported me from the first minute. I am taking it very naturally. I have not changed anything about myself, I am still the same and behaving the same.”

Scott Lawrence (Head Coach)

“It’ll be a different type of game, the transition from defense to attack and attack to defense, will be a major part of the game. There is a type of work we want to do, I think we’ll have to work harder in this game than the previous two. It’s going to be an effort game for sure.”

Greg Peterson (Captain)

“We’re expecting to see a very set piece heavy team, with a well-rounded kicking game. They’ll want to try and win those kick transitions, win the ball back and play some loose and expansive footy, so we’ve implanted a couple plans to take those strengths away. It’s been a short week of preparation, but the boys are on their detail and I think we’re in a very good spot.”

PREDICTION

Cloudy and somewhat damp conditions are expected at kickoff, but with little wind it shouldn’t have a big impact on their respective approaches. Spain favor a tactical approach while the Eagles have played some surprisingly expansive rugby on this tour. Defense and discipline were both highlights of the USA’s win over Tonga, and while Spain can threaten with speed out wide there is a question of whether they have enough muscle to create gaps in the midfield. USA are favorites in Madrid.

TEAMS

SPAIN
1 Bernardo Vázquez, 2 Santiago Ovejero, 3 Lucas Santamaría, 4 Brice Ferrer, 5 Asier Usárraga, 6 Ignacio Piñeiro (capt.), 7 Álex Saleta, 8 Raphaël Nieto, 9 Tani Bay, 10 Gonzalo Vinuesa, 11 Martiniano Cian, 12 Álvar Gimeno, 13 Alejandro Alonso, 14 Gauthier Minguillón, 15 Alberto Carmona

Replacements: 16 Vicente Del Hoyo, 17 Thierry Futeu, 18 Hugo Pirlet, 19 Matheo Triki, 20 Ekain Imaz, 21 Kerman Aurrekotxea, 22 Gonzalo López, 23 Pau Aira

USA
1 Jake Turnbull, 2 Kapeli Pifeleti, 3 Paul Mullen, 4 Jason Damm, 5 Greg Peterson (capt.), 6 Vili Helu, 7 Cory Daniel, 8 Paddy Ryan, 9 Ruben de Haas, 10 AJ MacGinty, 11 Nate Augspurger, 12 Tavite Lopeti, 13 Dom Besag, 14 Mark O’Keeffe, 15 Erich Storti

Replacements: 16 Sean McNulty, 17 Jack Iscaro, 18 Pono Davis, 19 Tomás Casares, 20 Moni Tonga’uiha, 21 Ethan McVeigh, 22 Noah Brown, 23 Luke Carty

MATCH INFO

Date: Saturday, November 23
Venue: Estadio Nacional Complutense, Madrid
Kickoff: 12:45 local (03:45 Pacific, 06:45 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: cloudy with showers, 57°F (14°C), wind SW 4-6mph (6-9km/h)
Broadcasts: FloRugby, RTVE

OFFICIALS

Referee: Saba Abulashvili (Georgia)
Assistants: Evan Urruzmendi (France) & Kévin Bralley (France)
TMO: Tom Spurrier (Wales)

HISTORY

HEAD-TO-HEAD (4): USA 4, Spain 0
2023-11-18 – Spain 12, USA 42 (La Vila)
2003-04-27 – USA 58, Spain 13 (Fort Lauderdale)
2003-04-12 – Spain 13, USA 62 (Madrid)
1998-04-12 – Spain 3, USA 49 (El Puerto de Santa María)