Last Match Day 23 confirmed for Pacific Nations Cup Bronze Final

Thu, Sep 19, 2024, 10:53 AM
CC
by Calder Cahill.

Fresh off the bullet train from Tokyo to Osaka, the USA Men's Eagles have named their final roster for the 2024 Pacific Nations Cup, taking on Samoa in the third place playoff.

With two building block games against Japan and Fiji in the rearview, the USA are looking to better engage their offense against and close out the tour in the win column. USA vs Samoa kicks off Saturday, September 21 at 3:00AM ET, live on Peacock.

Coming off an admirable defensive effort against Fiji, Head Coach Scott Lawrence said on keeping continuity, "I know we back our defensive system, and the way we run it right now. The key thing is not to get bored with a team that holds on to the ball. We'll just need to keep our discipline and don't get bored with it, just keep getting off off the line."

When asked about defending the attack, Captain Greg Peterson answered, "We've really looked at this matchup, and what we expect from Samoa. They've got a lot of key players but when it comes to it, we've got a really good defensive plan. In the past two games we haven't gotten as many turnovers as we wanted to, but we spent a little bit extra time and worked hard at it this week. We're sticking to our guns and some the same plan, because we know it's a big area we can make some improvements on."

Injuries to starters Jack Isacro and Nate Augspurger will shift the final roster against Samoa, with Jake Turnbull starting in the loosehead position and Alex Maughan back at tighthead. Mitch Wilson will also move from Fullback to Wing in place of Augspurger. Wilson primarily plays wing with the New England Free Jacks. Lastly, Flyhalf Luke Carty will jump back in to the #10 jersey.

2020 Rudy Scholz Award Winner and San Diego Legion Prop, Payton Telea earns his first USA Eagles roster selection, with an opportunity to debut off the bench.

Looking back on the long tour, Lawrence added, "When you're away for seven months, you learn how to communicate with each other. A first it's about getting the big things right, but the more time you spend with each other, the more you realize the details that can be improved. It's like peeling an onion, so to speak. You just keep finding new layers and the best part about sport is that it's a constant improvement environment. We're always looking beyond game play, we're focused on the way we operate, the way we communicate, hold meetings, travel, etc. It's a consistent improvement mentality, all the time."

USA Men's Eagles Roster | USA vs Samoa
NAME CLUB CAPS
1. Jake Turnbull Anthem RC 10
2. Kapeli Pifeleti Saracens 14
3. Alex Maughan RFCLA 5
4. Jason Damm RFCLA 5
5. Greg Peterson San Diego Legion 47
6. Paddy Ryan San Diego Legion 10
7. Cory Daniel Old Glory DC 6
8. Jamason Fa'anana-Schultz Old Glory DC 13
9. JP Smith Seattle Seawolves 5
10. Luke Carty Chicago Hounds 20
11. Mitch Wilson New England Free Jacks 10
12. Tommaso Boni Old Glory DC 8
13. Dominic Besag Saint Mary's College 5
14. Conner Mooneyham Anthem RC 4
15. Toby Fricker New England Free Jacks 1
16. Sean McNulty Miami Sharks 3
17. Payton Telea San Diego Legion Debut
18. Pono Davis Houston SaberCats 2
19. Viliami Helu San Diego Legion 10
20. Tesimoni Tonga'uiha NOLA Gold 8
21. Thomas Tu'avao Utah Warriors 9
22. Ethan McVeigh Old Glory DC 2
23. Rand Santos Univ. California - Berkeley 1
USA Men’s Eagles Staff | Pacific Nations Cup

Scott Lawrence | Head Coach

Alama Ieremia | Backs and Attack Coach

Nick Easter | Forwards and Defense Coach

Blake Bradford | Scrum Coach

Alex Ross | Head of Athlete Performance

Jimmy Harrison | Head Analyst

Rodolfo Broggi | Athlete Performance

Michael Sheridan | Head Athletic Trainer

Ron Klingensmith | Assistant Athletic Trainer

Willie Berlanga | Sports Massage Therapist

Marc Kowalski | Team Doctor

Oscar Alvarez | Team Manager

Calder Cahill | Media Manager

USA Men’s Eagles Schedule | Pacific Nations Cup

USA vs Canada | 28-15 (W)

USA vs Japan | 24-41 (L)

USA vs Fiji | 3-22 (L)

USA vs Samoa

Saturday, September 21 | 3am ET

Live on Peacock

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