Eagles Qualify for Rugby World Cup 2019 with Win Over Canada

July 1, 2017

Eagles Qualify for Rugby World Cup 2019 with Win Over Canada

Photo: Miss Colleen Rugby Pix

Doug Coil

After playing to a 28-28 draw last weekend in Hamilton, Ontario, the Eagles beat Canada Saturday, July 1 at Torero Stadium in San Diego. With the win, the Eagles qualified for the Rugby World Cup 2019 at the Americas 1 team. They will be in Pool C along with England, France, Argentina and the Oceania 2 team.

Canada will play against Uruguay January 27 and Feb 3 to become the Americas 2 team, while the loser of that match still has one opportunity to advance through the repechage.

The Americas 2 team will be in Pool D, along with Australia, Wales, Georgia and Oceania 1. The reprechage winner will be in Pool B along with New Zealand, South Africa, Italy and Africa 1.

USA v Canada Recap

The USA Men’s Eagles beat Canada 52-16 in the second leg of the Rugby World Cup Qualifier against Canada at Torero Stadium in San Diego On July 1. After the match, Eagles Captain Todd Clever retired from international play with his 76th cap, 73 of them as a starter. Head Coach John Mitchell will also be leaving the team, as he takes over as the head coach of the Blue Bulls.

As the winner of the Qualifier between the USA and Canada, the Eagles will be the Americas 1 representative in Pool C of the Rugby World Cup 2019. They will join England, France, Argentina and the Oceania 2 team. Canada will play against Uruguay January 27 and Feb 3 to become the Americas 2 team, while the loser of that match still has one opportunity to advance through the repechage.

USA v Canada Match 2

AJ MacGinty opened the match kicking to Canada and Ryan Matyas Claimed the ball to attack inside Canada’s 22 meters. After multiple phases a pass by MacGinty to Te’o was knocked on about 6 meters out.

An AJ MacGinty dummy went long to Ryan Matyas who offloaded inside to Bryce Campbell and then inside again to Cam Dolan for a try at the 8th minute. The conversion by MacGinty was wide left, but the Eagles had an early 5-0 lead.

The Eagles then added a second try by Dolan in the corner. The play began with a Nick Civetta steal, a MacGinty dummy to find a seam, and a Tony Lamborn run into contact before offloading to Dolan for the try. After the MacGinty conversion from touch, the score was 12-0.

A penalty on the USA had Gordon McRorie slotting a penalty kick for Canada’s first points at 19 minutes to narrow the score to 12-3.

The Eagles then added a try two minutes later from a lineout as Cam Dolan found a gap through the line and offloaded to Nate Brakeley for a try that was then converted by MacGinty for a 19-3 lead.

Canada then lost a golden opportunity for a try, while attacking with picks near the try line. It was all for naught, as they lost the ball forward and after a USA 5 meter scrum, MacGinty cleared to midfield.

Canada then added a second penalty kick by McRorie after the USA did not roll away at the breakdown. He would add a third penalty kick after a yellow card with no time by Tony Lamborn to narrow the USA lead to 19-9 at halftime.

With Lamborn in the bin to start the second half, Canada struck quickly as Dan Moor found a gap and offlaoded to Admir Cejvanovic for a try in the corner. McRorie went 4 for 4 with the kick and it was a three point game at 19-16.

The Eagles then were awarded a penalty on a dangerous tackle by Dan Moor. Todd Clever choose to have MacGinty kick to touch instead of goal and after a lineout 6 meters out, Joe Taufete’e went in for a try at the 54th minute. After MacGinty’s conversion it was 26-16. This ignited the Eagles.

The Eagles repelled Canada from the try line, as Todd Clever created a turnover for a USA 5 meter scrum. Augspurger then took a tap and go after a subsequent penalty and had the Eagles on the attack. After another Canada penalty the Eagles once again elected to go for a try instead of kicking at goal. Tyler Ardron was then sent to the bin for trying to collapse the maul. MacGinty kicked to touch and from the lineout 5 meters out, Joe Taufete’e barreled over for a try. MacGinty converted again to increase the lead to 33-16.

Two minutes later Madison Hughes took a high ball from O’Leary and a MacGinty offload to Matyas had him finding a gap, breaking inside and offloading to Nate Augspurger for a try and conversion by MacGinty. The Eagles retained possession after the restart and several forward picks later Dino Waldren went in for the Eagles third try while Ardron from in the bin. MacGinty was having a stellar day with his boot and the score was 47-16.

The Eagles would add one last try at the 77th minute from a 5 meter scrum when Andrew Durutalo picked at No. 8 and David Tameilau finished with the try. Will Magee’s kick went wide, but the win was taken by the Eagles 52-16.

With the victory, the USA qualified for the Rugby World Cup 2019 as the Americas 1 team in Japan. Canada will need to play Uruguay for the right to be the Americas 2 team, with the loser of that match still being eligible for the repechage.

Not only was this an important win for the USA, it had both Todd Clever finishing his storied career as a winner. Head Coach John Mitchell will also leave the team to coach the Blue Bulls. Mitchell will be remembered for coaching the team to its first championship since 1924, winning the Americas Rugby Championship and more importantly, qualifying for the Rugby World Cup.

Men’s Eagles (Match 2): 1. Tony Purpura 2. James Hilterbrand 3. Chris Baumann 4. Nate Brakeley 5. Nick Civetta 6. Todd Clever (C) 7. Tony Lamborn 8. Cam Dolan 9. Nate Augspurger 10. AJ MacGinty 11. Ryan Matyas 12. Marcel Brache 13. Bryce Campbell 14. Mike Te’o 15. Madison Hughes 16. Joe Taufete’e 17. Ben Tarr 18. Dino Waldren 19. David Tameilau 20. John Quill 21. Andrew Durutalo 22. Shaun Davies 23. Will Magee

Canada v. USA (Match 2)
1. Djustice Sears-Duru 2. Ray Barkwill 3. Jake Ilnicki 4. Brett Beukeboom (C) 5. Evan Olmstead 6. Admir Cejvanovic 7. Matt Heaton 8. Tyler Ardron 9. Gordon McRorie 10. Shane O’Leary 11. Dan Moor 12. Connor Braid 13. Nick Blevins 14. Andre Coe 15. Ciaran Hearn 16. Benoit Piffero 17. Anthony Luca 18. Matt Tierney 19. Kyle Baillie 20. Aaron Carpenter 21. Andrew Ferguson 22. Guiseppe du Toit 23. Sean Duke

Canada v USA Match 1

Men’s Eagles (Match 1): 1. Tony Purpura 2. James Hilterbrand 3. Paddy Ryan 4. Ben Landry 5. Nick Civetta 6. Todd Clever (C) 7. John Quill 8. Cam Dolan 9. Nate Augspurger 10. AJ MacGinty 11. Matai Leuta 12. Marcel Brache 13. Bryce Campbell 14. Mike Te’o 15. Ben Cima 16. Peter Malcolm 17. Ben Tarr 18. Dino Waldren 19. Matthew Jensen 20. David Tameilau 21. Andrew Durutalo 22. Shaun Davies 23. Will Magee

Canada (Match 1): 1. Djustice Sears-Duru 2. Ray Barkwill 3. Jake Ilnicki 4. Brett Beukeboom (Co-C) 5. Evan Olmstead 6. Admir Cejvanovic 7. Matt Heaton 8. Tyler Ardron 9. Phil Mack 10. Shane O’Leary 11. Taylor Paris 12. Connor Braid 13. DTH van Der Merwe (Co-C) 14. Andrew Coe 15 Ciaran Hearn 16. Benoit Piffero 17. Anthony Luca 18. Matt Tierney 19. Kyle Baillie 20. Aaron Carpenter 21. Gordon McRorie 22. Nick Blevins 23. Dan Moor

USA Men’s Eagles Summer 2017 Schedule
v. Ireland (Emirates Airline Summer Series) – L 55-19
v. Georgia (Emirates Airline Summer Series) – L 21-17
v. Canada (Rugby World Cup 2019 Qualifier) –D 28-28, Preview Article
v. Canada (Rugby World Cup 2019 Qualifier) –

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