One week removed from a convincing win over Romania in Bucharest, the USA Men’s Eagles have landed off the beaches of Algarve, by way of a short stay in Lisbon, for their Saturday match against Portugal.
A town otherwise known as a vacation destination; Faro will transform into a rugby town for the late-night showdown at Estadio do Algarve. Head Coach Scott Lawrence has made a few changes to the match day 23 for the second of three tour stops, with two names in line to earn their first cap. Rematching the Portuguese about 10 months post the 2022 Final Qualification Tournament in Dubai, the returning and new Eagles remain focused on coming away from Saturday with a win, and opportunity to leap their opponents in the World Rugby rankings. USA vs Portugal kicks off Saturday, 4PM ET on The Rugby Network.
11 of the 23 selected were on the pitch against Portugal in November, including this weekend’s Captain, Greg Peterson, who recalls the strong backs the opposing teams will lean on, “We know what the opposition can bring, they’ve got a good back three, good kicking and line out that function really well. I think if we do what we did in the first 60 minutes against Romania, stick to our processes and our drills then we can keep the game in our control. That’s been the main focus this week. Similar to last week, very much just focusing on ourselves.”
“Energy has been pretty good this week, the boys are buzzing after a good result, but the want and need to learn and keep the growth mindset is still very much there and present. Energy has been awesome, the intent has been awesome. It’s been a hard week, but the boys just got in and grafted.”
Head Coach, Scott Lawrence reflected on the week, “We spent the first two and half days in Lisbon, it was a nice stop over and I think we got a lot accomplished with the bulk of the work done there, during the early part of the week. We’ve recharged out batteries a bit here in Algarve, so we’re going into the weekend feeling pretty fresh.”
When asked what the primary focus for Saturday’s match will be, Lawrence answered succinctly, “It’s about winning races to the ball.”
A few superlatives of note for the upcoming fixture, with Kaleb Geiger and Lauina Futi in line to earn their first USA cap. Seattle Seawolves veteran, Peter Malcolm will also return to the pitch in a USA shirt, for the first time since 2018. Tavite Lopeti will get the start at Center, while Viliami Helu also steps in to the 23 looking for his first appearance of the year.
| Name | Club | Caps |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jack Iscaro | Old Glory DC | 3 |
| 2. Dylan Fawsitt | New York Ironworkers | 23 |
| 3. Kaleb Geiger | New York Ironworkers | Debut |
| 4. Cam Dolan | NOLA Gold | 64 |
| 5. Greg Peterson (C) | Unattached | 40 |
| 6. Sam Golla | Dallas Jackals | 1 |
| 7. Paddy Ryan | Coventry (ENG) | 1 |
| 8. Luke White | Chicago Hounds | 1 |
| 9. Nick McCarthy | Leinster | 1 |
| 10. Luke Carty | Chicago Hounds | 12 |
| 11. Nate Augspurger (VC) | San Diego Legion | 37 |
| 12. Tavite Lopeti | Seattle Seawolves | 8 |
| 13. Mika Kruse | Utah Warriors | 6 |
| 14. Christian Dyer | Houston SaberCats | 12 |
| 15. Mitch Wilson | New England Free Jacks | 4 |
| 16. Peter Malcolm | Seattle Seawolves | 11 |
| 17. Jake Turnbull | Seattle Seawolves | 1 |
| 18. Paul Mullen | Utah Warriors | 31 |
| 19. Thomas Tu'avao | Utah Warriors | 1 |
| 20. Viliami Helu | Unattached | 3 |
| 21. Ruben de Haas | Free State Cheetahs (RSA) | 29 |
| 22. Chris Mattina | Chicago Hounds | 1 |
| 23. Lauina Futi | Seattle Seawolves | Debut |
Head Coach | Scott Lawrence
Assistant Coach - Attack | Alama Ieremia
Assistant Coach - Forwards and Defense | Nick Easter
Head of Athlete Performance | Alex Ross
Head Analyst | Jimmy Harrison
Head Physiotherapist | Kristen Douhan
Assistant ATC | Ron Klingensmith
Sports Massage Therapist | Daliah Hurwitz
Team Doctor | Sam Akhavan
Assistant Team Doctor | PJ Warmoth
Team Manager | Oscar Alvarez
Aug 5 | USA vs Romania | (W) 31-17
Aug 12 | USA vs Portugal | Algarve, POR
Aug 19 | USA vs Georgia | Tbilisi, GEO
Sep 17 | USA vs Stade Toulousain | Salt Lake City, UT
