USA Rugby Men’s Eagles vs. Canada

The USA Rugby Men’s Eagles will conclude their Summer tests against Canada at the Wanderers Ground in Halifax, Nova Scotia on June 23. The match kicks off at 3 PM ET, LIVE on FloRugby.

The Eagles are 2-0 in the Summer tests after defeating both Russia and Scotland, while Canada is 0-2 against the same teams. This is a rivalry match between Canada and the U.S. will seek to continue to improve as a team. The Eagles hope to continue their unbeaten streak in 2018.

USA

Head Coach Gary Gold has made three changes in the starters from the 30-29 win over Scotland. Joe Taufete’e has been a force at hooker, but he returns home for personal reasons, giving Dylan Fawsitt the start. John Quill also sustained an injury against Scotland and Ben Landry replaces him at flanker. Nate Augspurger will also start at wing with Marcel Brache switching to outside center as Bryce Campbell is a reserve. Vili Toluta’u can earn his first international cap as a reserve.

In an interview release from USA Rugby, Gary Gold indicated that the team needed to dominate the gain line, keep up their success in the set pieces and continue to improve defensively. They gave up a couple of soft tries against Scotland. That will need to change. They also want to take advantage of opportunities to score.

With the exceptions of a couple of injuries, there is an attempt to keep continuity. The USA can expect a physical battle against a well-coached Canadian team.

Captain Blaine Scully also added that the team seeks to go full throttle for the entire 80 minutes. They prepare by looking at tape, train to get better and have a defensive mentality to build a team around. They try to get off the line and try to win the ball at the breakdowns.

Scully picked out a couple of key players for Canada, indicating that Phil Mack and Jeff Hassler are key players to their attack.

In looking down the road to the November tests and to the Rugby World Cup, the team will look to improve the depth of the team at certain positions. The team is expected to improve.

The formation of a professional league, Major League Rugby has been tremendous. Some of the teams will continue to play 4-5 fixtures after the season ends on July 7. Other players will rejoin their professional teams in Europe, while other players will be encouraged to play in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, or in South Africa when the season ends.

Canada

Head Coach Kingsley Jones has made eight changes to his starting roster to face the USA on Saturday at Wanderers Ground in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Djustice Sears-Duru and Jake Ilnicki replace Noah Barker and Cole Keith, while Ray Barkwill retains his place in the number two jersey. Lucas Rumball will again captain the team, with Matt Heaton and Luke Campbell making up the back-row.

Jones has opted for experience against an in-form Eagles side with Phil Mack and Shane O’Leary coming back in at nine and ten. The pair started in Canada’s Summer Series opener against Scotland in Edmonton. Jones has also decided to bring UBC’s Ben LeSage back into the midfield alongside Nick Blevins.

The back-three sees two changes from the defeat at Twin Elm. Pat Parfrey slots back into the full-back position after recovering from injury, while Kainoa Lloyd gets his first chance on the wing alongside Jeff Hassler.

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