USA Rugby Men’s Eagles defeated 16th ranked Romania 31-5 on Saturday, Nov. 17 at Ghencea Stadium, Bucharest, Romania. The Eagles have won 10 consecutive international matches in 2018, with their lone loss of the year to the Maori All Blacks. The team now turns its attention to the match next Saturday in Dublin against the 2nd ranked Ireland.

Match Recap

The USA struck first after a Paul Lasike break and a finish by Ruben de Haas for a try and a 5-0 lead. Will Magie’s conversion was wide right.

Romania came right back on the restart and advanced int USA territory. They swung the ball right and Catalin Fercu sliced through a gap and offloaded to fullback Ionel Melinte for a try to tie the match at 5 all. Romania’s conversion was also wide.

The USA went through multiple phases from a lineout at the Romania 22-meters. From a USA 5-meter scrum, Paul Lasike threw in defenders and offloaded to Bryce Campbell for a try under the posts. Will Magie converted for a 12-5 lead.

After a turnover, a USA high ball resulted in a penalty by Romania for not releasing. The USA attacked and was held up in-goal. A Will Magie cross kick to Blaine Scully was caught in-goal, and Ionel Melinte hit him while in the air and he landed into touch. Scully called for a penalty try, but after a TMO, the ball was returned across the pitch for a 5-meter scrum. An obstruction penalty then enabled Romania to clear.

A USA turnover a midfield led to a USA attack with Blaine Scully scoring an apparent try by Blaine Scully in the corner. A TMO ruled that the Romanian attacker was on the ground, and Fonoval Tangimana led with a forearm and was sent to the bin. The try was also voided based on Quill’s strip while the tackler was down.

The Eagles attacked with 5 minutes remaining before the break advancing to within 10 meters before a knock on resulted in a Romania scrum. The USA was then penalized for a scrum infraction allowing Romania to clear. Cam Dolan stole another lineout and swung the ball wide, but the ball was knocked forward from Lasike’s hands. Another scrum penalty by the USA allowed Romania to clear.

The Eagles had one last attack from a lineout and advanced to within 10-meters of the line. The Eagles crossed the line, but a try was not awarded with the referee indicating that Taufete’e was held up.

The USA took a 12-5 lead into the break. The Eagles controlled the majority of possession during the first half. They had three more opportunities to score, but TMOs negated two of them and were held up prior to the break.

Second Half

The Eagles struck first with Ryan Matyas gathering a Ruben de Haas box kick and racing in for a try. Magie slotted the conversion and the lead was 19-5.

An Eagles attack was paused by the referee as Tony Lamborn was injured on a tackle and he was booted on the pitch and helped off the pitch and replaced by Hanco Gemishuys. It is hoped the injury is not serious. A USA scrum was then awarded.

The Eagles increased their lead to 24-5 after a skip pass to Hanco Germishuys and an offload to Bryce Campbell for the try.

The USA mishandled the restart and after several phases, Vladut Zaharia scored a try in the corner. The apparent try was voided when Razvan Ilisescu started an attack from an offsides position.

Romania had the next opportunity, but a stellar defense by the Eagles held up the maul and a turnover to the USA resulted in a scrum. Engaging too early then resulted in a scrum to Romania. After consecutive penalties by the Eagles, the team was given a warning by the referee. A hit by Bryce Campbell then saved a potential try with the ball being lost forward.

The Eagles took the ensuing scrum and advanced the ball to their 22-meters before losing the ball forward. Romania was penalized for a scrum infraction and the Eagles dodged the sustained pressure from Romania.

Ruben de Haas limped off in the 72nd minute and Nick Boyer came on for his first cap. The concern for scrumhalf availability continues to be a concern with the match next week against Ireland looming.

A cross-kick by Magie went into Tim Maupin’s hands for a try in the 78th minute. Magie slotted the conversion pushing the lead to 31-5.

The USA claimed the Pershing Cup with the win over Romania. Their record on the year is 10-1, with ten international test wins and their lone loss to the Maori All Blacks. The USA will travel to Dublin for next Saturday’s concluding November test against Ireland.

Prior to the match, there was a late scratch of Will Hooley. Will Magie moved to the starting XV at flyhalf and Tim Maupin joined as a replacement.

The Eagles will be happy to leave Romania with the win, but will also be concerned about the halfback situation as they begin preparations for facing Ireland next week. Tony Lamborn also suffered a leg injury and it is hoped that he recovers quickly.

Should Samoa beat Georgia later today, the Eagles could move up to 14th in the World Rankings.

Squads

Romania: 1 Ionel Badiu  2 Andrei Radoi  3 Alex Gordas 4 Adrian Motoc (Cap) 5 Marian Drenceanu 6 Adrian Ion 7 Johan Van Heerden 8 Cristi Chirica 9 Florin Surugiu 10 Daniel Plai 11 Ionut Dumitru 12 Fonovai Tangimana 13 Catalin Fercu 14 Vladut Zaharia 15 Ionel Melinte 16 Eugen Capatana 17 Alexandru Savin 18 Constantin Pristavita 19 Marius Iftimiciuc 20 Razvan Ilisescu 21 Valentin Calafeteanu 22 Tudor Boldor 23 Vladut Popa

USA Men’s Eagles: 1 Titi Lamositeli 2 Joe Taufete’e 3 Paul Mullen 4 Greg Peterson 5 Nick Civetta 6 John Quill 7 Tony Lamborn 8 Cam Dolan 9 Ruben de Haas 10 Will Hooley Will Magie 11 Ryan Matyas 12 Paul Lasike 13 Bryce Campbell14 Blaine Scully (Cap) 15 Marcel Brache 16 Dylan Fawsitt 17 David Ainuu 18 Dino Waldren 19 David Tameilau 20 Hanco Germishuys 21 Nick Boyer* 22 Gannon Moore 23 Tim Maupin