The USA Men’s Eagles fell 7-42 to Scotland in Washington, D.C. Friday night in a tough match against the number 6-ranked team in the world. While a tough loss, the match brought the USA major experience as they continue to build upwards.
The Eagles put in a good effort, but tales in discipline were the lessons learned for the Eagles, as penalties gave away tries to Scotland and the USA missed out on executing scoring plays. But the Eagles had some positive moments, especially with debuts Conner Mooneyham, Saia Uhila, and Ethan McVeigh bringing new energy to the team. American defense showed positive improvements as well, as the squad put the pressure on at moments to frustrate Scotland.
The Eagles take a short break, with several athletes heading back to their MLR teams to finish out the season toward the MLR Championship game on August 4. The team reconvenes mid-August ahead of their final match in the American Series in Los Angeles. USA plays northern rivals Canada on August 31, 2024, at DignityHealth Sports Park.
“When we got it right, it was right. We just need to get it right more times. That’s test rugby, we need to be more consistent … The big thing is about winning races to the breakdown. There’s some skill set work to do around our carry. We have to be more clean and do things better.
Conner Mooneyham was fantastic and brilliant on test debut. Saia Uhila came on and was very physical and Ethan McVeigh brought energy. Generally overall, I was happy they did the job we asked them to do on debut. Conner was lights out good today on debut.
The big thing is to increase our overall speed and athleticism. That’s a big part of our game and how we play it. So we’ll continue to add those pieces.
Scotland knew when to push, to squeeze, and kick through. They know how to play test rugby, and that comes from the number of games that they play and who they play them against. The more opportunities we get and time we get together the better it’s going to be for us.
Our mantra is the score doesn’t matter, as long as we get better. We’re building toward something, we want to inspire young players to want to be an Eagle someday. I think the players put it all out there. Win or lose, regardless of the score, they got better and they finished the way they started.”
“As a captain, I’m happy the boys stuck at it. There were some times we were up against the wall and we put in really good defensive efforts to apply pressure on them. When we did have the ball inside their half, we hurt them at times. We weren’t able to execute and get into scoring position well enough, which I think will take time, a little more patience. The game plan was to apply pressure and frustrate them, and I think at points in time we really did that.
As long as we’re growing each game, getting better, the more time we get will just compound. We’ll get together in August, have a couple weeks together, play a couple games in Japan. It’s a really exciting time for the group and we’ll keep shooting upwards.”
Scotland saw themselves on attack first, while the Eagles held strong in defense. A knock on advantage gave Scotland the first scrum of the game, and a penalty conceded by the USA gave Scotland a line out, setting them up for their first try of the game.
Scotland was dominant to take back possession, and a kicking game ensued for territory. Luke Carty caught the ball and touched it down in the USA try zone for a goal line drop out, and the Eagles found themselves in their first scrum of the night.
Both teams continued to concede penalties, many going in Scotland’s favor, who earned several line out opportunities. But the Eagles took advantage of an overthrown ball to get an attacking opportunity. A penalty in USA’s favor put AJ MacGinty in position for a kick, but nudged it just past the posts, leaving the USA off the scoreboard for the time being.
The exchange of possession continued, and Scotland put up another seven points off a scrum. It turned into a physical fight for possession. An urgent and scrappy USA side took on a yellow card, sending David Ainu’u to the sin bin for 10 minutes. But the USA remained vigilant and grew more urgent. A USA scrum set Tommaso Boni up for the first and only try by the USA, converted by AJ MacGinty.
The Eagles found themselves with another penalty kick opportunity from midfield, but Luke Carty just missed the posts, giving Scotland a drop out kick and ball in hand with the final minutes of the first half to score.
The USA kicked off the second half, working to play more disciplined. Conner Mooneyham showed promise on the wing, catching Scotland kicks and barring them from gaining a lot of territory. The Eagles put on more defensive pressure in the second half, but penalties slowed down the game and exchanged possession several times.
On attack, Scotland found the space to add a few more tries to their score tally. Several penalties gave way to USA opportunities, but the squad couldn’t capitalize on them or were held up by Scotland. Despite only one try through the game, the Eagles worked into Scotland territory multiple times and kept them away from scoring in several moments.
Saia Uhila and Ethan McVeigh subbed in later in the game, making their debut and earning their first Eagles test caps. As the clock ticked down, the fresh feet from subs reorganized the Eagles and brought some new energy to their gameplay, hoping to end with the final say. A penalty let the Eagles tap and go deep in Scotland territory, and they were inches from the try line before being held up, the ref blowing the final whistle and ending the game 7-42.
The squad gets a break for a few weeks before they head to Southern California for their final match in the American Series. USA v Canada kicks off August 31 at DignityHealth Sports Park.
| Name | Club | Caps |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jack Iscaro | Old Glory DC | 7 |
| 2. Dylan Fawsitt | Chicago Hounds | 29 |
| 3. David Ainu’u | Stade Toulousain (FRA) | 23 |
| 4. Viliami Helu | San Diego Legion | 7 |
| 5. Greg Peterson (C) | San Diego Legion | 44 |
| 6. Sam Golla | Dallas Jackals | 7 |
| 7. Paddy Ryan | San Diego Legion | 8 |
| 8. Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz | Old Glory DC | 11 |
| 9. JP Smith | Seattle Seawolves | 2 |
| 10. AJ MacGinty | Bristol Bears | 37 |
| 11. Nate Augspurger | Chicago Hounds | 43 |
| 12. Tommaso Boni | Old Glory DC | 6 |
| 13. Tavite Lopeti | Seattle Seawolves | 14 |
| 14. Conner Mooneyham | Seattle Seawolves | 1 |
| 15. Luke Carty | Chicago Hounds | 18 |
| 16. Kapeli Pifeleti | Saracens (ENG) | 11 |
| 17. Jake Turnbull | Anthem RFC | 7 |
| 18. Paul Mullen | Utah Warriors | 36 |
| 19. Saia Uhila | Utah Warriors | 1 |
| 20. Ben Bonasso | Miami Sharks | 6 |
| 21. Ethan McVeigh | Old Glory DC | 1 |
| 22. Bryce Campbell | Chicago Hounds | 46 |
| 23. Mitch Wilson | New England Free Jacks | 8 |
Scott Lawrence | Head Coach
Alama Ieremia | Backs and Attack Coach
Nick Easter | Forwards and Defense Coach
Jono Phillips | Skills Coach
Blake Bradford | Scrum Coach
Alex Ross | Head of Athlete Performance
Jimmy Harrison | Analyst
Rodolfo Broggi | Athlete Performance
Dehra Harris | Performance Psychology
Michael Sheridan | Head Athletic Trainer
Ron Klingensmith | Assistant Athletic Trainer
Deanna Sisti | Assistant Athletic Trainer
Willie Berlanga | Sports Massage Therapist
Steve Levin | Team Doctor
Sam Akhavan | Team Doctor
Oscar Alvarez | Team Manager
USA vs Romania | 20-22 (L)
USA vs Scotland | 7-42 (L)
USA vs Canada | August 31, 2024
Dignity Health Sports Park, Los Angeles, CA
