USA Rugby Men’s Eagles vs. Canada

The USA Rugby Men’s Eagles concluded their Summer tests with a 42-17 victory against Canada at the Wanderers Ground in Halifax, Nova Scotia on June 23.

The Eagles went 3-0 in the Summer tests after defeating Russia, Scotland, and Canada, while Canada was 0-3 against the same teams. It was a closer match then the score indicated against Canada. The edge in possession went to Canada. The defense by the USA was stellar and held the Canadians despite going through multiple phases in their attacks.

AJ MacGinty leadership was evident throughout the match and he was named Man of the Match. Cam Dolan had a hat trick on the day, scoring half of the Eagles six tries. Canada scored two tries in the losing effort.

Match Recap

Canada controlled the first 25 minutes of the match swing the ball from side to side with multiple phases in the attack. In the 17th minute, Eric Fry was penalized for leaving his feet in the breakdown and Sean O’Leary slotted the kick for a 3-0 lead.

AJ MacGinty used a short chip which bounced into his hands and offloaded to Cam Dolan for a try in the left corner. This gave the Eagles a 5-3 lead. MacGinty missed the kick from touch, but a few minutes later slotted a penalty kick to push the lead to 8-3.

In the 35th minute, a MacGinty offload resulted in the second try to the Eagles as Nate Augspurger dove over the line. MacGinty converted for a 13-3 lead.

Canada nearly scored a try prior to the break before losing the ball forward less than a meter before the line. The Eagles cleared and went into the break with a 10 point lead.

Second Half

The Eagles attacked early in half with a MacGinty offload to Dolan to a try in the corner. MacGinty slotted the conversion to lead 20-3.

After Canada went through multiple phases, Evan Olmstead scored the Canadian’s first try in the 52nd minute. O’Leary slotted the conversion cutting the lead to 20-10. Soon after, a side entry by Ilnicki resulted in MacGinty slotted the kick for a 23-10 lead.

The EAgles nearly scored again in the 67th minute as newly capped Vili Toluta’u was deemed held up after a TMO. From a 5-meter scrum the Eagles attacked and after a few phases, Cam Dolan added a hat trick to lead 28-10.

The Eagles increased the lead to 33-10 from a lineout 15-meters from the line as Blaine Scully grounded the ball and MacGinty added the conversion.

Canada added a second try in the 76th minute by Jeff Hassler and O’Leary slotted the conversion to cut the lead to 35-17. The scoring did not end, however as Ruben de Haas scored his first international test try in the left corner. MacGinty added the conversion for a 42-17 victory.

Canada & USA Men’s Eagles Squads

Canada: 1. Djustice Sears-Duru 2. Ray Barkwill 3. Jake Ilnicki 4. Josh Larsen 5. Evan Olmstead 6. Lucas Rumball (C) 7. Matt Heaton 8. Luke Campbell 9. Phil Mack 10. Shane O’Leary 11. Kainoa Lloyd 12. Nick Blevins 13. Ben LeSage 14. Jeff Hassler 15. Pat Parfrey 16. Eric Howard 17. Noah Barker 18. Ryan Kotlewski 19. Paul Ciulini 20. Dustin Dobravsky 21. Jorden Sandover-Best 22. Guiseppe du Toit 23. Theo Sauder

USA Men’s Eagles: 1 Eric Fry 2 Dylan Fawsitt 3 Paul Mullen 4 Samu Manoa 5 Nick Civetta 6 Ben Landry 7 Hanco Germishuys 8 Cam Dolan 9 Shaun Davies 10 AJ MacGinty 11 Nate Augspurger 12 Paul Lasike 13 Blaine Scully (C) 15 Will Hooley 16 Chris Baumann 17 Titi Lamositele 18 Olive Kilifi 19 Greg Peterson 20 Vili Toluta’u 21 Ruben de Haas 22 Will Magie 23 Bryce Campbell