Head Coach Gary Gold has made two changes to his match-day 23 for Saturday’s finale of the Americas 1 qualifier. The USA beat Uruguay 19-16 last week and the USA Eagles need one more victory, on aggregate, to confirm their place in Pool A at Rugby World Cup 2023. The kick-off is set for 4:30 PM local time (2:30 pm ET) with a live stream on florugby.com
Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz will start in place of Hanco Germishuys, who did not travel to Montevideo due to family obligations. Benjamin Bonasso could make his national team debut from the bench at flanker.
Head Coach Gary Gold said that “It was a long travel day into the country but now that we’re here; and with one good training session under our belts, things are going smoothly and we look forward to the weekend. Looking back on this journey from our first match with Canada to where we are at the moment, this group of guys has put in a tremendous amount of work and now it’s all about making some significant improvements, maintaining our discipline, and playing our brand of rugby. Uruguay continues to prove how capable they are of shaking things up and we know this will be an 80-minute shift for us.”
Last Saturday, the USA hosted the first leg of the series at Infinity Park at Glendale, Colorado with the team jumping to a 19-3 lead before second-half penalties had Los Teros took advantage and cut the final score to 19-16. See match Highlights and read the Match Report.
The forwards forced penalties at the goal line and set-piece while disrupting Uruguay’s attack and capturing momentum. “Ruben De Haas and Kapeli Pifeleti had a pair of runs that set up Cam Dolan for a brilliant first try. Then Dolan combined with Christian Dyer for another and Mikaele Kruse scored in the second half. Even though the USA’s classic maul didn’t function as it normally does, the squad adapted, playing patiently through phases, to find a way to score. That same versatility will be necessary from whistle to whistle as Saturday approaches.”
Match Information: October 9, 2021, at Estadio Charrua, Kick-off: 4:30 PM Uruguay Time (2:30 pm ET), Broadcast: FloRugby.com
USA Men’s XVs National Team Roster
NAME | POSITION | CLUB | CAPS |
1. David Ainu’u | Prop | Toulouse (FRA) | 14 |
2. Kapeli PIfeleti | Hooker | Saracens (ENG) | 7 |
3. Joe Taufete’e | Prop | Lyon (FRA) | 32 |
4. Nate Brakeley | Lock | Rugby United New york | 28 |
5. Nick Civetta | Lock | Rugby United New York | 26 |
6. Andrew Guerra | Flanker | NOLA Gold | 4 |
7. Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz | Flanker | Old Glory DC | 5 |
8. Cam Dolan | No. 8 | NOLA Gold | 56 |
9. Ruben De Haas | Scrum half | Saracens (ENG) | 22 |
10. Will Magie | Flyhalf | Austin Gilgronis | 30 |
11. Mika Kruse | Wing | Utah Warriors | 4 |
12. Tavite Lopeti | Center | Seattle Seawolves | 3 |
13. Bryce Campbell | Center | Austin Gilgronis | 37 |
14. Christian Dyer | Wing | USA Sevens | 5 |
15. Marcel Brache | Fullback | Austin Gilgronis | 27 |
16. Dylan Fawsitt | Reserve Hooker | Rugby United New York | 18 |
17. Matt Harmon | Reserve Prop | NOLA Gold | 3 |
18. Paul Mullen | Reserve Prop | Utah Warriors | 23 |
19. Greg Peterson | Reserve Lock | Newcastle Falcons (ENG) | 33 |
20. Benjamin Bonasso | Reserve Flanker | Rugby United New York | Debut |
21. Nate Augspurger | Reserve Scrumhalf/Wing | San Diego Legion | 29 |
22. Luke Carty | Reserve Flyhalf | LA Giltinis | 4 |
23. Will Hooley | Reserve Fullback | Unattached | 16 |
Men’s XVs National Traveling Team Staff
- Head Coach Gary Gold
- Asst Coach Rob Hoadley
- Asst Coach Steve Brett
- Performance Analyst Jimmy Harrison
- Team Doctor Brady Bowen
- Head Physiotherapist Kristen Douhan
- Massage Therapist Daliah Hurwitz
- Athletic Trainer Ron Klingensmith
- Team Manager Oscar Alvarez
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