Since the final whistle in a victory over Spain last November, Head Coach Scott Lawrence and the USA Men’s Eagles staff have had consistent connectivity with the greater playing group during the club season in 2025.
Through regular touch points and tools like Eagles DNA, the program has named the Extended Player Squad (EPS) for 2025; comprised of positional players available for selection to touring squads this year. The late-summer Pacific Nations Cup headlines this year’s schedule as the competition will serve as the Eagle’s qualifier route to Rugby World Cup 2027. The 72-man extended roster is poised for a big year with experienced names and new talent competing for the opportunity to secure qualification and represent the United States on the biggest stage.
Head Coach and General Manager, Scott Lawrence said on the player selection criteria, “There have had a number of entrance markers put in place to select an initial EPS for which this group, outside of injury, has largely met. The Men’s National Team will continue to expect players who want to be selected for this critical year, to play meaningful minutes and execute above their professional peers in order to be considered for international honors.”
Among the selected names, 12 earn their first EPS nomination with 19 in search of their USA Eagles international debut. Among them is Corbin Smith, a standout star during the USA U20s Trophy campaign and 2021 Rugby Scholz Award Winner, Emmanuel Albert. Major League Rugby veterans Ryan James, Riekert Hattingh and Matt Jensen make their way back to the Eagles radar for the first time since 2021 and 2018 for Jensen. 2024 Olympian Malacchi Esdale also puts his hand up for the international fifteens pitch since joining Major League Rugby this season. Joe Taufete’e, Tesimoni Tonga'uiha and Tommaso Boni are also on the radar as potential selections currently on injury recovery and working towards a return to play.
The first opportunity for selection comes this July during a three-match series hosted in Charlotte and Washington DC, where the Eagles face off against Belgium, Spain and England on home soil. Touring squads for the July tests are expected to be named in June as the group prepares for one of the most anticipated home test series in recent memory. All in lead up to Rugby World Cup qualification this September and the next major step in the program’s Moonshot 2031 trajectory.
Tickets for the USA Men’s Eagles July match series are now available at usa.rugby/tickets.
| NAME | POSITION | CLUB |
|---|---|---|
| Jack Iscaro | Prop | Old Glory DC |
| Payton Telea | Prop | San Diego Legion |
| Jake Turnbull | Prop | Anthem Rugby Carolina |
| Ezekiel Lindenmuth** | Prop | Houston SaberCats |
| Nate Sylvia | Prop | San Diego Legion |
| Alex Maughan | Prop | Anthem Rugby Carolina |
| David Ainu'u | Prop | Toulouse (FRA) |
| Paul Mullen | Prop | NOLA Gold |
| Pono Davis | Prop | Houston SaberCats |
| Tonga Kofe** | Prop | Utah Warriors |
| Shilo Klein | Hooker | San Diego Legion |
| Kapeli Pifeleti | Hooker | Provence (FRA) |
| Mikey Sosene-Feagai | Hooker | RFCLA |
| Sean McNulty | Hooker | Miami Sharks |
| Kaleb Geiger | Hooker | New England Free Jacks |
| Dylan Fawsitt | Hooker | Chicago Hounds |
| Sam Golla | Lock | Anthem Rugby Carolina |
| Nafi Ma'afu* | Lock | Biarritz (FRA) |
| Brandon Harvey** | Lock | San Diego Legion |
| Renger Van Eerten | Lock | Brive (FRA) |
| Cam Dolan | Lock | NOLA Gold |
| Siaosi Mahoni | Lock | Seattle Seawolves |
| Jason Damm | Lock | RFCLA |
| Mike Grandy | Lock | Anthem Rugby Carolina |
| Matt Jensen | Lock | Utah Warriors |
| Marno Redelinghuys** | Flanker | Houston SaberCats |
| Viliami Helu | Flanker | San Diego Legion |
| Keni Nasoqeqe | Flanker | Houston SaberCats |
| Emmanuel Albert* | Flanker | Houston SaberCats |
| Paddy Ryan | Flanker | San Diego Legion |
| Cory Daniel | Flanker | Old Glory DC |
| Joe Johnston** | Flanker | New England Free Jacks |
| Makeen Alikhan* | Flanker | Anthem Rugby Carolina |
| Christian Poidevin** | Flanker | San Diego Legion |
| Jamason Fa'anana-Schultz | No. 8 | Old Glory DC |
| Benjamin Bonasso | No. 8 | Miami Sharks |
| Riekert Hattingh | No. 8 | Seattle Seawolves |
| Tomas Casares | No. 8 | Miami Sharks |
| Ruben De Haas | Scrumhalf | NOLA Gold |
| JP Smith | Scrumhalf | Seattle Seawolves |
| Connor Buckley | Scrumhalf | Old Glory DC |
| Oscar Lennon* | Scrumhalf | New England Free Jacks |
| Ethan McVeigh | Scrumhalf | Old Glory DC |
| AJ MacGinty | Flyhalf | Bristol Bears (ENG) |
| Luke Carty | Flyhalf | NOLA Gold |
| Rand Santos | Flyhalf | Univ. of California - Berkeley |
| Tom Pittman** | Flyhalf | C'Chartres (FRA) |
| Chris Hilsenbeck* | Flyhalf | Chicago Hounds |
| Dominic Akina** | Center | Houston SaberCats |
| Bryce Campbell | Center | Chicago Hounds |
| Junior Gafa** | Center | Anthem Rugby Carolina |
| Dominic Besag | Center | Saint Mary's College |
| Tavite Lopeti | Center | San Diego Legion |
| Mark O'Keeffe | Center | Chicago Hounds |
| Erich Storti | Center | Anthem Rugby Carolina |
| Mika Kruse | Center | Seattle Seawolves |
| Nate Augspurger | Wing | Chicago Hounds |
| Ryan James | Wing | San Diego Legion |
| Malacchi Esdale** | Wing | Seattle Seawolves |
| Conner Mooneyham | Wing | Anthem Rugby Carolina |
| Noah Brown | Wing | Chicago Hounds |
| Rufus Mclean** | Wing | Houston SaberCats |
| Lauina Futi | Wing | Seattle Seawolves |
| Christian Dyer | Wing | RFCLA |
| Mitch Wilson | Fullback | Anthem Rugby Carolina |
| Toby Fricker | Fullback | Anthem Rugby Carolina |
| Max Schumacher** | Fullback | Houston SaberCats |
| Steffan Crimp* | Fullback | Cardiff Met. University |
| Corbin Smith* | Fullback | Hartpury College |
| EPS availability pending Return To Play | ||
| Joe Taufete’e | Hooker | NOLA Gold |
| Tesimoni Tonga'uiha | Flanker | NOLA Gold |
| Tommaso Boni | Center | Old Glory DC |
**First EPS selection
*Potential USA test debut
USA vs Belgium • July 5, 2025 • Charlotte, NC
USA vs Spain • July 12, 2025 • Charlotte, NC
USA vs England • July 19, 2025 • Washington DC
