54 athletes have been selected for the 2023 USA Men’s Eagles player pool, announced today by interim General Manager and Head Coach Scott Lawrence. Familiar faces return to camp while 19 new prospects will put their hand up for their first international appearance.
Lawrence and staff will review the pool of 54 to eventually select traveling rosters for the upcoming three-match Europe tour in August, and a hopeful test series later in the fall. Captain AJ MacGinty, a mix of notable veterans, and new faces find themselves on the Elite Player Squad List. Collin Grosse, Devin Short, and Line Latu join the pool after standout performances with the Men’s Falcons during the 2022 Americas Pacific Challenge in Uruguay in October 2022.
A short roster of contributing names will also sit out this summer tour as they recover from injury, including Benjamin Bonasso, Cory Daniel, Hanco Germishuys, Jason Damm, Mike Dabulas, Nafi Ma’afu, and Paul Lasike.
“We’re grateful to the Eagles DnA group who watched all of our American players in detail each week in order to form a more complete profile for selection. I believe we achieved a fair balance of enhanced analytics from Jimmy Harrison and coach intuition from the DnA group into the selection process.
The EPS named is as of today, there are several more players outside of the 54 knocking on the door that can still make their way into the EPS through the remainder of this season.
Final selection will now come down to character above talent. That means the degree to which our values of love, work, and energy show up. Every game we watch in these final few weeks we’ll be checking to see who can consistently deliver the intensity we need to play a dynamic American game plan.”
The player selections come following a recent alignment camp hosted by Lawrence and staff in North Carolina this past March. The gathering brought current team leadership together with influential Men’s Eagles alumni to recalibrate the identity and the team environment going forward. Attending players included AJ MacGinty, Nate Augspurger, Tavite Lopeti, Dylan Fawsitt and Jamason Fa'anana-Schultz, alongside Eagle alumni Alatini Saulala, David Hodges, Chris Wyles, and Blaine Scully. Also in attendance was U20 Head Coach and Eagle alumni Kyle Sumsion.
“We set out to connect the past Eagles with current Eagles to define the characteristics of an ideal Eagle that thrives in a great Eagle environment.
The group established a new vision for the 2023 Eagles team and more importantly alignment on an action plan we’ll put in place over the next four months to produce ideal Eagles and great Eagle teams in both the U20s and senior team. There is real clarity now that we are part of an unbroken chain of past Eagles that have experience on offer and want to see the team do great things, things never done before. I’m proud of the group’s focus and inspired to do my part in implementing the vision.”
| Name | Position | Club |
|---|---|---|
| AJ MacGinty | Flyhalf | Bristol Bears |
| Aki Pulu | Inside Center | American Raptors |
| Angus MacLellan | Tighthead Prop | Utah Warriors |
| Ben Landry | 2nd Row | Seattle Seawolves |
| Ben Mitchell | 2nd Row | Seattle Seawolves |
| Bryce Campbell | Inside Center | Chicago Hounds |
| Cam Dolan | 2nd Row | NOLA Gold |
| Chance Wenglewski | Loosehead Prop | Rugby New York |
| Chris Mattina | Flyhalf | Chicago Hounds |
| Christian Dyer | Wing | Houston SaberCats |
| Collin Grosse | Blindside | Old Glory DC |
| Conner Mooneyham | Wing | Seattle Seawolves |
| David Ainu’u | Loosehead Prop | Stade Toulousain |
| Devin Short | Openside | NOLA Gold |
| Dominic Akina | Outside Center | Houston SaberCats |
| Duncan van Schalkwyk | Flyhalf | Rugby ATL |
| Dylan Fawsitt | Hooker | Rugby New York |
| Faka’osi Pifeleti | Loosehead Prop | San Diego Legion |
| Greg Peterson | 2nd Row | Newcastle Falcons |
| Jack Iscaro | Loosehead Prop | Old Glory DC |
| Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz | Number 8 | Old Glory DC |
| Joe Taufete’e | Hooker | Houston SaberCats |
| Joseph Mano | Wing | Utah Warriors |
| Kaleb Geiger | Tighthead Prop | Rugby New York |
| Kapeli Pifeleti | Hooker | Saracens |
| Keni Nasoqeqe | Blindside | Houston SaberCats |
| Lauina Futi | Wing | Seattle Seawolves |
| Line Latu | Fullback | American Raptors |
| Luke Carty | Flyhalf | Chicago Hounds |
| Luke White | Number 8 | Chicago Hounds |
| Malon Al-Jiboori | Openside | Houston SaberCats |
| Martin Iosefo | Wing | Seattle Seawolves |
| Michael Baska | Scrumhalf | Chicago Hounds |
| Mika Kruse | Outside Center | Utah Warriors |
| Mikey Sosene-Feagai | Hooker | Agen |
| Mitch Wilson | Fullback | New England Free Jacks |
| Moni Tonga’uiha | Openside | NOLA Gold |
| Nate Augspurger | Wing | San Diego Legion |
| Nate Brakeley | 2nd Row | Rugby New York |
| Nathan Sylvia | Tighthead Prop | San Diego Legion |
| Nick McCarthy | Scrumhalf | Leinster |
| Pat O’Toole | Hooker | NOLA Gold |
| Paul Mullen | Tighthead Prop | Utah Warriors |
| Peter Malcolm | Hooker | Seattle Seawolves |
| Riekert Hattingh | Number 8 | Seattle Seawolves |
| Ruben de Haas | Scrumhalf | Saracens |
| Ryan Rees | Scrumhalf | Rugby ATL |
| Sam Golla | 2nd Row | Dallas Jackals |
| Siaosi Mahoni | 2nd Row | Houston SaberCats |
| Tavite Lopeti | Outside Center | Seattle Seawolves |
| Thomas Tu’avao | Number 8 | Utah Warriors |
| Vili Helu | Blindside | Rugby ATL |
| Will Hooley | Fullback | San Diego Legion |
Head Coach | Scott Lawrence
Assistant Coach - Attack | Alama Ieremia
Assistant Coach - Forwards and Defense | Nick Easter
Assistant Coach - Scrum | Blake Bradford
Head of Athlete Performance | Alex Ross
Individual Skill Development | Elvis Seveali’i
Head Analyst | Jimmy Harrison
Technical Adviser | Grant Keenan
Head Physiotherapist | Kristen Douhan
Sports Massage Therapist | Daliah Hurwitz
Team Manager | Oscar Alvarez
| Date | Match | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 5-Aug | USA vs Romania | Bucharest, ROM |
| 12-Aug | USA vs Portugal | Algarve, POR |
| 19-Aug | USA vs Georgia | Tbilisi, GEO |
