Eagles edge Spain to cap perfect European tour

The USA put a bow on their European tour with a narrow 26-23 win over Spain in Madrid on Saturday. Following up wins over Portugal and Tonga, the Eagles started slowly and seemed to tire at the end but four tries through the middle of the contest was enough to see them through.

Greg Peterson was singled out by the TMO early on for a clumsy clearout on Alejandro Alonso that put the Eagles captain on the sidelines for 10 minutes. Spain made the most of their opportunity, charging down a Nate Augspurger clearance attempt before Álex Saleta drove over on the short side of a ruck. Gonzalo Vinuesa add the extras, and tacked on three more with a penalty goal just ahead of Peterson’s return.

Once back at full strength the Eagles swiftly pushed into Spanish territory. A set move from a lineout saw them pushing infield before AJ MacGinty curled around to catch the defense off-guard, with Augspurger free to race into the corner. The kick from wide out was spot-on from MacGinty to close the gap.

Another attacking lineout just past the half-hour mark yielded a second try. Peterson and Vili Helu made ground, and then a hard-charging Kapeli Pifeleti barreled to within striking distance. Tavite Lopeti used his footwork to take it the rest of the way. The Eagles looked to have scored on another set move just before halftime but the referee deemed there was obstruction on the play, and the scoreboard read 14-10 in favor of the visitors after 40 minutes.

Less than a minute into the second half Gauthier Minguillón set alarm bells ringing with a chip-and-chase. The Spanish winger won the race to the ball but knocked-on while attempting to ground it. Not long after the Leones were suddenly pinned in their end, and when a clearance attempt didn’t find touch the Eagles took advantage. After a few phases up the middle Ruben de Haas spotted a wide-open Mark O’Keeffe on the right side and the cross-kick found its home, with the winger grabbing his first test try.

Vinuesa stepped up with his second penalty goal to bring the Leones back within one score, while at the same time Cory Daniel was binned for an upright tackle. The Eagles weren’t bothered by the numerical disadvantage, and pushed their way back into scoring range. MacGinty advanced and popped a short pass to Lopeti on the gainline that gave the center just enough space to power home for a double.

With the Eagles now ahead 26-13 the Leones began to show more urgency. Minguillón touched down on the end of a long sequence but the try was wiped off the board because of a dangerous clearout in the buildup. Again the attack pressed and this time Spain got their rewards with Raphaël Nieto ground the ball on the line to put five points on the board.

Another opportunity came when replacement scrumhalf Ethan McVeigh was charged down under pressure. From a subsequent scrum the Leones attacked the short side and Martiniano Cian crossed to set up a grandstand finish. The Eagles turned down an easy shot at the posts in favor of the corner, but the gamble didn’t pay off and Spain would have one more chance to attack. It would end with a knock-on in a tackle, giving the USA a chance to grind down the clock and finally kick the ball dead on a penalty.

Both teams now turn their eye towards the Rugby World Cup qualifiers. Spain will begin their bid for a return to the flagship tournament when the Rugby Europe Championship begins in early February. The USA selectors meanwhile will cast their eye on the 2025 Major League Rugby season before reconvening in July, with the Pacific Nations Cup the first chance to book a spot in Australia 2027.

 

SCORING

SPAIN 23
Tries (3) – Á. Saleta (11′), R. Nieto (61′), M. Cian (69′)
Cons (1) – G. Vinuesa 1/3 (12′)
Pens (2) – G. Vinuesa 2/2 (17′, 51′)

USA 26
Tries (4) – N. Augspurger (21′), T. Lopeti 2 (31′, 55′), M. O’Keeffe (45′)
Cons (3) – A. MacGinty 3/4  (22′, 32′, 56′)
YC (2) – G. Peterson (7′), C. Daniel (51′)

TEAMS

SPAIN
1 Bernardo Vázquez (17 Thierry Futeu 52′), 2 Santiago Ovejero (16 Vicente Del Hoyo 70′), 3 Lucas Santamaría (18 Hugo González 56′), 4 Brice Ferrer (19 Matheo Triki 56′), 5 Asier Usárraga, 6 Ignacio Piñeiro (capt.), 7 Álex Saleta (20 Ekain Imaz 56′), 8 Raphaël Nieto, 9 Tani Bay (21 Kerman Aurrekotxea 46′), 10 Gonzalo Vinuesa, 11 Martiniano Cian, 12 Álvar Gimeno, 13 Alejandro Alonso (22 Gonzalo López 46′), 14 Gauthier Minguillón, 15 Alberto Carmona

Not used: 23 Pau Aira

USA
1 Jake Turnbull (17 Jack Iscaro 53′), 2 Kapeli Pifeleti (16 Sean McNulty 78′), 3 Paul Mullen (18 Pono Davis 53′), 4 Jason Damm, 5 Greg Peterson (capt.), 6 Vili Helu (19 Tomás Casares 70′), 7 Cory Daniel, 8 Paddy Ryan, 9 Ruben de Haas (21 Ethan McVeigh 66′), 10 AJ MacGinty, 11 Nate Augspurger, 12 Tavite Lopeti, 13 Dom Besag, 14 Mark O’Keeffe (22 Noah Brown 62′), 15 Erich Storti

Not used: 20 Moni Tonga’uiha, 23 Luke Carty

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

OFFICIALS

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