USA Men’s Eagles land in Tokyo for second round of Asahi Dry Pacific Nations Cup

Thu, Sep 5, 2024, 11:47 AM
CC
by Calder Cahill.

Immediately after defeating Canada from Los Angeles on Saturday, the USA Men’s Eagles jet off to Tokyo for the latter half of this year’s Asahi Dry Pacific Nations Cup, ready to face Japan for the Pool B finale.

This will be the first time in over five years that the USA and Japan will meet, last clashing in 2019 from Fiji for the previous edition of the Pacific Nations Cup. Head Coach Scott Lawrence and staff have selected the match day 23, with a few positions seeing changes. USA vs Japan kicks off from Kumagaya Rugby Stadium, 6:05 AM ET and live on Peacock.

When asked about the keys to this game, Head Coach Scott Lawrence said there are three pillars, “Our discipline, our physicality and how brave we are when we take our opportunities. That’s what it will come down to.”

Captain Greg Peterson echoed the sentiment, “I think it will be first 20 min and that last 20 min of the game, that is very much going to be the decider. With how we play and how Japan played against Canada, you can see where the team strengths and weaknesses are. It this team starts off hot and they finish strong, we think that will be the game.”

Ruben de Haas gets the start in the #9 jersey, his first match back from injury since 2022. Viliami Helu and Jasom Damm swap starting roles to fill out the changes from last week's match against Canada.

The Men’s Eagles have competed against Japan on a number of occasions, dating all the way back to 1985. This Saturday will be the 25th test match between the two nations, with most historical fixtures staged before the Rugby World Cup and Pacific Rim Championship. 2024 sees the return of regular contests with Japan as the Asahi Dry Pacific Nations Cup looks to renew the meeting between both rugby nations. The 2019 Pacific Nations Cup was the last match, where Japan won 34-20. Four of the 23 stepping onto the field in Kumagaya were named to that match day roster, in Paul Mullen, Nate Augspurger, Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz and Captain Greg Peterson.

USA Men’s Eagles Roster | Pacific Nations Cup | USA vs Japan
NAME CLUB CAPS
1. Jack Iscaro Old Glory DC 8
2. Kapeli Pifeleti Saracens 12
3. Alex Maughan RFCLA 4
4. Viliami Helu San Diego Legion 8
5. Greg Peterson (C) San Diego Legion 45
6. Paddy Ryan San Diego Legion 8
7. Cory Daniel Old Glory DC 4
8. Jamason Fa'anana-Schultz Old Glory DC 12
9. Ruben de Haas Cheetahs 31
10. Luke Carty Chicago Hounds 19
11. Nate Augspurger Chicago Hounds 44
12. Tommaso Boni Old Glory DC 7
13. Tavite Lopeti Seattle Seawolves 13
14. Conner Mooneyham Anthem RC 2
15. Mitch Wilson New England Free Jacks 9
16. Sean McNulty Miami Sharks 1
17. Jake Turnbull Anthem RC 8
18. Paul Mullen Utah Warriors 37
19. Jason Damm RFCLA 3
20. Thomas Tu'avao Utah Warriors 7
21. Tesimoni Tonga'uiha NOLA Gold 6
22. JP Smith Seattle Seawolves 3
23. Dominic Besag Saint Mary's College 3
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

Corey Wells | 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 | Sep 7, 2024

Kumagaya Rugby Stadium, Kumagaya City, JPN

Watch Live on Peacock

Playoff Rounds start Sat, September 14

Watch Live on Peacock

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