USA Men’s Eagles travelled to Charlotte, North Carolina following a dramatic win in Denver where Chris Hilsenbeck slotted the kick in the 79th minute to seal the USA victory 30-29 over Portugal.
The Eagles will light up Charlotte’s American Legion Memorial Stadium this Saturday at 7:30 PM ET where they will take on Zimbabwe for the first ever international test match between the two sides. Tickets are available here. Fans can catch the action live on Paramount+.
After moving up 2 places to 14th on World Rugby rankings following their victory over Portugal, the Eagles are primed to take on 25th ranked Zimbabwe for their second match of their Nations Cup campaign.
Head Coach Scott Lawrence and staff have named the match day squad to take on Zimbabwe which remains relatively consistent. Alex Maughan comes in as hooker replacing Kapeli Pifeleti who has been ruled out from injury, while Makeen Alikhan and Lance Williams step in as flankers. Williams will be in line to make his USA debut in the 15’s jersey.
Conner Mooneyham joins the starting XV on the wing with Rufus McLean unavailable due to injury.
Moving from the Colorado altitude to the North Carolina heat, Lawrence commented on the team’s focus following their season opening win.
“We now know the priority areas where we need to improve, and our attention is now fully on next week’s performance against a talented team and staff from Zimbabwe.”
Fans can watch the USA’s second match of the Nations Cup before the squad travels to Cary, NC to take on Spain for their final match of the series. Tickets for both matches are available at here.
Fans can get closer to the action with USA Eagles Experiences at https://usaeagles-experiences.com or catch every minute of the action live on Paramount+.
| Position | Name | Caps |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Iscaro | 19 |
| 2 | Alex Maughan | 8 |
| 3 | Tonga Kofe | 7 |
| 4 | Nathan Den Hoedt | 1 |
| 5 | Jason Damm (C) | 16 |
| 6 | Lance Williams* | Debut |
| 7 | Cory Daniel | 18 |
| 8 | Makeen Alikhan | 7 |
| 9 | Ruben De Haas | 45 |
| 10 | Chris Hilsenbeck | 7 |
| 11 | Perry Mayo | 1 |
| 12 | Dominic Besag | 19 |
| 13 | Tavite Lopeti | 27 |
| 14 | Conner Mooneyham | 7 |
| 15 | Mitch Wilson | 19 |
| 16 | Shilo Klein | 7 |
| 17 | Ezekiel Lindenmuth | 8 |
| 18 | Mason Pedersen | 1 |
| 19 | Brandon Harvey | 2 |
| 20 | Nafitalai Ma'afu | 3 |
| 21 | Ethan McVeigh | 9 |
| 22 | Luke Carty | 28 |
| 23 | Julian Roberts | 1 |
July 4th | USA vs Portugal (W) 30-29
DICK’S Sporting Goods Park, Denver, CO
July 11th | USA vs Zimbabwe
American Legion Memorial Stadium, Charlotte, NC - 7:30pm ET
July 18th | USA vs Spain
First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary, NC - 7:30pm ET
Scott Lawrence | Head Coach
Agustin Cavalieri | Assistant Coach - Forwards
Blake Bradford | Assistant Coach - Scrum
David Williams | Assistant Coach - Transition and Attack
Nathan Grey | Assistant Coach - Defense
Steve Brett | Assistant Coach - Attack and Kicking
Andy Friend | Technical Advisor
Davie Gray | Mindset Coach
Jimmy Harrison | Head of Analysis
Jim Molony | Head of Performance
Rodolfo Broggi | Strength and Conditioning Coach
Lauren DeLuca | Team Registered Dietician
Michael Buonopane | Head Athletic Trainer
Michael Sheridan | Athletic Trainer
Willie Berlanga | Massage Therapist
Dr. Corey Wells | Team Doctor
Alana Gattinger | Head of High Performance Operations
Nick Colling | Team Manager
