Pace and intensity resurfaced for the USA Men’s Eagles this evening, fronting up against a physical Georgian side at Adjarabet Arena in the coastal city of Batumi.
Carrying a lead early with good ball movement and pressure, the USA were unable to match the Georgian attack in the second half, eventually falling 30-43 at final whistle. Flyhalf Luke Carty performed well from the boot and creating opportunities, while Saint Mary’s College standout Dominic Besag continued to rise with 80 minutes of energy and two tries on the day. This young-in-caps USA squad will be disappointed to have let an upset slip away today, but a good boost of confidence ahead of the final match in Romania.
Head Coach Scott Lawrence was to the point when asked about the strong start, attributing it to a “simple game plan executed with intensity” and when speaking to team development in these close matches, Lawrence added, “We’ll continue to grow experience in the team so we have a bench to come in and deliver the impact we need.”
Captain Jason Damm added postmatch, “We knew the match would be physical and a battle within the forwards. I’m really happy with the effort the fellas put in on our side, but obviously Georgia stepped up in the second half and really pushed us to the limit.”
The USA stepped out with pace and pressure early, despite conceding an opening try to Georgia in the first few minutes. USA penalties gave the Georgians a 5-meter lineout score, but only minutes later territory shifted thanks to the USA kicking game, resulting in two tries from Dom Besag and Toby Fricker. Besag’s first try came out of the ruck following a series of forwards crashing the goal line, while Fricker was able to receive a brilliant ball from Rufus McClean who reeled in Luke Carty’s kick on the left flank. Both battled and bloody coming up after the try, but the USA lead 14-7. Besag, who showed noticeable intensity through all 80min on both sides of the ball, picked up another try in the 18’ off a great inside pass from Carty that allowed him to swerve through defenders for a 21-7 USA lead.
Later in the first half, Mark O’Keefe was issued a yellow card following contact on a jump ball, giving Georgia the advantage and an opening to put up two fast tries before going into halftime. Carty’s boot kept it close at the break, slotting a penalty goal for a 24-26 score at the break in favor of Georgia.
One of the more resilient phases came in the second half when the USA held a near 4min possession with meters slowly earned before scrumhalf Ruben de Haas looked back at Carty for a 40-meter drop goal to regain the lead, 27-26 with 30 minutes to play.
Georgia would steal back momentum for the remaining minutes, winning a few crucial set pieces at scrum time. The Eagles did however have a few strong showings against the world-renowned Georgia scrum, with a few won penalties and fast movement to get the ball to de Haas.
Trailing in the last 10min, the USA were still pressuring which earned them an offsides penalty with three minutes left, Carty again to the boot chipped a penalty goal that gave one last restart chance to the USA, now only down 30-36. A missed kick and chase from the Eagles gave Georgia the final possession and one last try to end it, 43-30.
Two new Men's Eagles were capped tonight, as Brandon Harvey and Nafi Ma'afu came in as reserves, earning their international test match debuts.
The USA will pick their heads up quick, as one last fixture with Romania awaits next week. USA vs Romania kicks off Saturday, Nov 15 at 10am ET live on Paramount+.
| Name | Club |
|---|---|
| 1. Ezekiel Lindenmuth | Unattached |
| 2. Kaleb Geiger | New England Free Jacks |
| 3. Pono Davis | Unattached |
| 4. Tevita Naqali | Old Glory DC |
| 5. Jason Damm | CA Legion |
| 6. Marno Redelinghuys | Unattached |
| 7. Paddy Ryan | Unattached |
| 8. Makeen Alikhan | Anthem Rugby Carolina |
| 9. Ruben de Haas | Unattached |
| 10. Luke Carty | Anthem Rugby Carolina |
| 11. Rufus McLean | Unattached |
| 12. Tavite Lopeti | Chicago Hounds |
| 13. Dominic Besag | Saint Mary's College |
| 14. Mark O'Keefe | Chicago Hounds |
| 15. Toby Fricker | Bristol Bears |
| 16. Mikey Sosene-Feagai | CA Legion |
| 17. Payton Telea-Ilalio | CA Legion |
| 18. Tonga Kofe | Leicester Tigers |
| 19. Nafi Ma'afu | Montauban (FRA) |
| 20. Brandon Harvey | Unattached |
| 21. Viliami Helu | Unattached |
| 22. Christian Poidevin | CA Legion |
| 23. Michael Baska | Chicago Hounds |
Scott Lawrence | Head Coach + GM
Nick Easter | Assistant Coach - Defense
Steve Brett | Assistant Coach - Attack & Skills
Agustin Cavalieri | Assistant Coach - Forwards
Blake Bradford | Assistant Coach - Scrum
Jimmy Harrison | Analyst
Declan Oorloff | Analyst
Rodolfo Broggi | Athletic Performance Coach
Matoko Noudehou | Strength and Conditioning
Michael Sheridan | Lead Athletic Trainer
Delaney Cassidy | Assistant Athletic Trainer
Willie Berlanga | Massage Therapist
Matthew Schmitz | Team Doctor (Scotland & Georgia)
Marc Kowalsky | Team Doctor (Romania)
Nick Colling | Team Manager
Scotland vs USA | (L) 85-0
Scottish Gas Murrayfield | Edinburgh, SCO
Georgia vs USA | (L) 43-30
Adjarabet Arena | Batumi, GEO
Romania vs USA | Nov 15, 10:00am ET
Arcul du Triumf | Bucharest, ROM
Watch LIVE on Paramount+
