ARC 2019: Argentina XV vs USA

The USA Rugby Men’s National Team will face two-time runners-up Argentina XV in the second round of the Americas Rugby Championship 2019 this Saturday, Feb 9 at 3 PM ET, LIVE on FloRugby.

Eagles Head Coach Gary Gold has made no changes from the previous week’s roster, who beat Chile 71-8. The team has a cumulative total of 365 test caps with 13 of the 23 players having played in last year’s first ever 17-10 win over Argentina XV.

Against Chile, nine USA players scored tries with AJ MacGinty scoring three tries and five conversions for 25 points and earning ARC 2019 Player of the Week honors.

Hooker Joe Taufete’e scored his 15th try, tying him with Irish veteran Keith Wood as the highest scoring front row forward in test match rugby history. Taufete’e is only one try away from breaking the record through Saturday’s match won’t count as Argentina XV plays as a secondary national side. Test caps will not be awarded for the game.

Tadhg Leader, captain of the New England Free Jacks, earned his first cap against Chile and scored a try and added a conversion. Marcel Brache, continues in his role as captain in place of Blaine Scully, who is injured.

Head Coach Gary Gold said: “Argentina XV will be a massive physical challenge for us this week, not only at the breakdowns but also they have a strong set piece. It’ll be important for us to keep our penalty count low as a good discipline is extremely crucial in tight games. Consistency is also a critical factor in both our preparation and the way we assemble our team from week to week. We’re confident not only in the 23 players named to this roster but also that the contributions made by the guys not named will play a huge role in our efforts this week.”

The Eagles and Argentinians met three times in the ARC with the first two meetings ending in a draw while the USA claimed the first victory, 17-10 last year. Argentina XV won the ARC in 2016, while the USA has won consecutive titles in 2017 and 2018.

Last week the Eagles beat Chile 71-8, while Argentina XV beat Brazil 54-3. Both teams top the ARC standings after the bonus point wins. Uruguay sits in second place with 4 points after coming back to beat Canada 20-17.

The Americas Rugby Championship will pause for a week, with several players returning to their home clubs. Following the break, the Eagles will face Brazil on February 23 in Austin, TX, Uruguay on March 2, and Canada on March 8, with the latter two matches in Seattle, WA. Tickets are available at usarugby.org/tickets.

All Men’s Eagles matches of the Americas Rugby Championship 2019 may be streamed live on FloRugby exclusively in the USA.

Argentina XV head coach Fernandez Lobbe has kept his starting XV intact and has made three changes in the reserves with Garcia Botta, Ciccioli, and Castiglioni replacing prop Javier Corvalán lock Martín Fernández Segurotti and flyhalf Martín Roger with Jaguares prop Santiago Garcia Botta and tighthead prop Marco Ciccioli, along with Argentina U20s back Teo Castiglioni.

Argentina XV: 1 Nicolás Solveyra 2 Gaspar Baldunciel 3 Lucas Favre 4 Jerónimo Ureta 5 Franco Molina 6 Francisco Gorrissen 7 Lautaro Bavaro (capt.) 8 Nicolás Sbrocco 9 Felipe Ezcurra 10 Martín Elías 11 Julián Domínguez 12 Lucas Mensa 13 Agustín Segura 14 Matías Osadczuk 15 Santiago Carreras 16 Axel Zapata 17 Santiago Garcia Botta 18 Marco Ciccioli 19 Santiago Portillo 20 Benito Ortíz de Rosas 21 Gregorio del Prete 22 Teo Castiglioni 23 Facundo Cordero

USA: 1 Titi Lamositele, 2 Joe Taufete’e, 3 Dino Waldren, 4 Greg Peterson, 5 Nick Civetta, 6 John Quill, 7 Hanco Germishuys, 8 Cam Dolan, 9 Shaun Davies, 10 AJ MacGinty, 11 Marcel Brache (capt.), 12 Paul Lasike, 13 Bryce Campbell, 14 Gannon Moore, 15 Will Magie 16 James Hilterbrand, 17 Chance Wenglewski, 18 Paul Mullen, 19 Nate Brakeley, 20 David Tameilau, 21 Ruben de Haas, 22 Tadhg Leader, 23 Dylan Audsley

USA Men’s Eagles Staff

Head Coach Gary Gold
Assistant Coach, Backs & Attack Greg McWilliams
Assistant Coach, Forwards Shawn Pittman
Strength & Conditioning Coach Huw Bevan
Performance Analyst Jimmy Harrison
Team Doctor Mark Sakr (Chile, Argentina Uruguay, Canada)
Head Athletic Trainer Kevin Ng
Assistant Athletic Trainer Kristen Douhan
Team Manager Chris Hanson