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."
| 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 |
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 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
