MacGinty Saves USA from Canada

A last minute drop goal from flyhalf AJ MacGinty gave the USA a 15-13 win and saved the Eagles from a resilient, but mistake riddled Canadian side. The Eagles did their best to hand the game over to Canada, as they failed to score a try, ran into penalty trouble and struggled down the stretch. The USA also played 30 minutes of the match down a man as three players were sent to the sin bin. The USA looked to be in control as Canada trailed 12-3 at the half, but the Maple Leafs clawed their way back into the match with a combination of grit and poor play from the USA.

The win gives the USA 5th place at the 2015 Pacific Nations Cup while relegating Canada to last place. The win is also the Eagles second win in a row over Canada. The winning streak is only the 4th time in the history of the North American rivalry that the USA have won two matches in a row against Canada. The USA have never beaten Canada more than twice in a row, a record that will be put to the test when the two sides meet in a couple of weeks.

Both sides played a physical match that was marred by penalty trouble and mistakes. Canada fell afoul of the referee in the first half while the USA took up the mantle in the second half. Canada showed more enterprise in attack, but were repeatedly undone by strong work at the ruck by the USA forwards. As with the earlier PNC matches, the USA struggled to create space on offense and relied heavily on the accurate foot of MacGinty.

Canada was first on the board with an early penalty from Liam Underwood. The USA answered back with the next 12 points as MacGinty went 4 for 4 on penalty kicks in the first half. A few of which came by way of breakdown penalties drawn by flanker Andrew Durutalo.

The USA were fortunate to not play the rest of the match down a man as lock Greg Peterson was given a yellow in the 23rd minute for a punch thrown against his opposite Brett Beukeboom. Peterson could have easily been given red for the infraction and will likely be cited for the punch. Canadian flanker John Moonlight was carded just before halftime, but the USA were unable to capitalize.

The Maple Leafs were first on the board in the second half and nearly got the first try of the match as Aaron Carpenter intercepted a lazy pass and rumbled deep into Eagle territory. A penalty at the ensuing breakdown gave Underwood an easy shot at goal as Canada cut the USA lead to 12-6.

The USA continued to put themselves in the hole as Danny Barrett was yellow carded minutes later. The Eagles held strong with Barrett out only to have AJ MacGinty go off with a yellow just as Barrett returned to the pitch. During Barrett’s stretch in the bin, Canada began to spread out the USA and started to build some momentum.

Down a man, the USA put together their most promising attack of the day as Seamus Kelly made a nice line break that put the Eagles deep into Canadian territory. Canada was able to win a penalty at the ruck and turned the ball over. The USA appeared to whether another yellow card, but were finally punished down a man. Jeff Hassler started a highlight reel score by taking a high ball and offloading to Nick Blevins who outraced Blaine Scully down the sideline for the lone try of the match.

The score left the USA in the lead 12-11, but Underwood nailed a difficulty conversion to give the Maple Leafs a 13-12 lead with less than ten minutes to play.

During the final moments, the USA showed some urgency in attack, but repeatedly turned the ball over with knock-ons. With the clock winding down, the Eagles took one last shot at the Canadian lines. The USA pushed inside the Canadian 22, but were unable to draw a penalty or break the gainline. Sensing their opportunity wasting, MacGinty lined up and struck a game winning drop goal.

The loss was Canada’s second consecutive full time loss in a row after being nipped by Samoa in Round 3 of the PNC. The match was marred by penalties from both sides, a total of four yellow cards, and few highlights. Both sides still have plenty of action left to get things right before the Rugby World Cup, but time is dwindling.

USA 15
Pens – A. MacGinty 4 (11, 22, 25, 31)
Drop goals – A. MacGinty (80)
Yellow cards – G. Peterson (24), D. Barrett (49), A. MacGinty (63)

CANADA 13
Tries – N. Blevins (71)
Cons – L. Underwood (72)
Pens – L. Underwood 2 (4, 45)
Yellow cards – J. Moonlight (30)

USA
1 E. Fry 2 Z. Fenoglio (P. Thiel 63) 3 T. Lamositele (C. Baumann 66) 4 H. Smith (A. McFarland 66) 5 G. Peterson (C. Dolan 55) 6 S. LaValla 7 A. Durutalo (J. Quill 55) 8 D. Barrett 9 M. Petri (S. Suniula 70) 10 A. MacGinty 11 Z. Test 12 A. Suniula (T. Palamo 58) 13 S. Kelly 14 B. Scully 15 C. Wyles (capt.)

Not used: M. Moeakiola

CANADA
1 H. Buydens (D. Sears-Duru 63) 2 A. Carpenter (capt.) (R. Barkwill 55) 3 J. Ilnicki (D. Wooldridge 55) 4 J. Phelan 5 B. Beukeboom (E. Olmstead 32) 6 K. Gilmour 7 J. Moonlight 8 R. Thorpe (N. Dala 55) 9 J. Mackenzie (P. Mack 61) 10 L. Underwood 11 C. Trainor (J. Pritchard 63) 12 C. Braid (N. Blevins 55) 13 C. Hearn 14 J. Hassler 15 H. Jones