World Cup Watch – USA – March 23, 2021

With today’s announcement that the British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa will proceed despite the ongoing pandemic, the proposed trip to England for the USA appears to be off the table and it’s not clear who the Eagles will face. What we do know is that there are World Cup qualifiers ahead this year and new talent will need to be welcomed into the group to fill holes left by retirements.

As with the Canadian selection we won’t opine on form just yet. One round of the new Major League Rugby season is not enough to appraise anyone. Instead we will turn back the clock to RWC 2019 to define a starting point, with alterations to be made at the midpoint of the MLR campaign.

Of the 32 players who traveled to Japan, six are no longer in the picture while Ben Landry is taking time off from the game and won’t be considered until he returns. Similarly we’re leaving out the three Eagles Sevens players who made the RWC team and won’t consider any until after the Olympics.

 

USA EAGLES

##

NAME

CLUB

POS

CAPS

 

FIRST XV

1	David Ainu’u	Toulouse (FR)	LH	9
2	Joe Taufete’e	Lyon (FR)	HO	27
3	Titi Lamositele	Montpellier (FR)	TH / LH	32
4	Greg Peterson	Newcastle Falcons (UK)	LO	30
5	Nick Civetta	Rugby United New York	LO	23
6	Hanco Germishuys	Rugby United New York	FL	21
7	Tony Lamborn	Southland (NZ)	FL	23
8	Cam Dolan	NOLA Gold	N8	51
9	Ruben de Haas	Cheetahs (SA)	SH	17
10	AJ MacGinty	Sale Sharks (UK)	FH	28
11	Marcel Brache	Western Force (AU)	WI / CE	23
12	Paul Lasike	Harlequins (UK)	CE	19
13	Bryce Campbell	Austin Gilgronis	CE	32
14	Mike Te’o	Utah Warriors	WI / FB	28
15	Will Hooley	Saracens (UK)	FB / FH	15

Changes to the side that started against Tonga are David Ainu’u in for Eric Fry at loosehead prop, Hanco Germishuys on the flank in place of Malon Al-Jiboori, and Mike Te’o on the wing that Blaine Scully occupied. Otherwise the team remains the same.

 

REPLACEMENTS

16	Dylan Fawsitt	Rugby United New York	HO	15
17	Chance Wenglewski	Rugby ATL	LH	6
18	Paul Mullen	Utah Warriors	TH	18
19	Nate Brakeley	Rugby United New York	LO	23
20	Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz	Old Glory DC	N8 / FL	2
21	Nate Augspurger	San Diego Legion	SH	26
22	Will Magie	Austin Gilgronis	FH	26
23	Dylan Audsley	San Diego Legion	CE / FB	8

Only  two of the reserves did not travel to Japan in 2019. There is a strong chance Dylan Audsley would have had injury not intervened. His versatility makes him ideal for the No23 shirt. Meanwhile Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz was one of the final cuts from the roster after appearing in the warm-up tests.

 

TRAVELING RESERVES

24	Kapeli Pifeleti	Saracens (UK)	HO	3
25	Valdemar Lee-Lo	Houston SaberCats	LH	–
26	Paddy Ryan	Austin Gilgronis	TH	7
27	Siaosi Mahoni	San Diego Legion	LO	2
28	Psalm Wooching	San Diego Legion	FL	4
29	Tevita Tameilau	San Diego Legion	N8	15
30	Nick Boyer	LA Giltinis	SH	1
31	Thretton Palamo	Old Glory DC	CE	19
32	Ryan Matyas	San Diego Legion	WI / CE	12
33	Tim Maupin	NOLA Gold	WI / CE	9

Now we start to see some arbitrary selections though we attempted to stay within the guidelines set by the World Cup Long List, and it’s safe to assume that some of the above will not be in the picture come summer. Loosehead prop has thinned out on options so Valdemar Lee-Lo’s prior selection to the national u20s gives him the edge over others. Similarly Nick Boyer’s test cap in 2018 puts him in as the No3 scrumhalf.

Note the traveling reserve section has grown from 31 to 33 to reflect the recent decision to expand World Cup rosters by two places. It allows for a full complement of specialist front row and halfbacks, though a third flyhalf was not required in this group with MacGinty, Hooley, and Magie already included.

 

NON-TRAVELING RESERVES

34	Mike Sosene-Feagai	Old Glory DC	HO	5
35	Matt Harmon	NOLA Gold	LH	–
36	Dino Waldren	NOLA Gold	TH	19
37	Matt Jensen	Utah Warriors	LO	7
38	Ross Deacon	Rugby ATL	N8 / FL	–
39	Riekert Hattingh	Seattle Seawolves	N8	–
40	Duncan van Schalkwyk	Rugby ATL	SH	–
41	Ben Cima	Seattle Seawolves	FH	10
42	Calvin Whiting	Utah Warriors	CE	1
43	Deion Mikesell	Carcassonne (FR)	WI	2
44	JP Eloff	NOLA Gold	FB / FH	9

And again we find more players who were on the fringe of the squad in 2019. Some have since slipped out of contention, others have likely moved up the ladder since. The new MLR season will undoubtedly see other names emerging.

Jack Iscaro and Mason Pedersen are players of interest in 2021, while Vili Toluta’u has now shifted full-time to the front row. If Christian Ostberg can shake off persistent injury problems he is in the mix, and and young flankers Devin Short and Bailey Wilson will be closely watched.

Adding to the group are a number of players now identified as US-eligible. Charlie Hewitt and Ben Mitchell at lock, Joe Johnston and Keni Nasoqeqe in the back row, Luke Carty and Harrison Boyle at flyhalf, and centers Harry Barlow and Troy Lockyear among others.

Look for a recalibration based on form in a few weeks.