World Rugby today announced the schedule and competing teams for the Vila International Rugby Cup, a four-team event hosted in partnership with the Federación Española de Rugby in Villajoyosa, Spain where the USA will compete with Canada, Brazil and hosts Spain.
The new tournament will be played at El Pantano stadium over two match days, with the Men’s Eagles facing Brazil and Spain playing Canada on November 11. The winners and losers of the first round matches will then play each other for a tournament final. Broadcast details for the tournament will be confirmed shortly.
Looking ahead to the first round match up, the USA will meet Brazil for the first time since 2019, last defeating Os Tupis in Austin, TX for the Americas Rugby Championship. Again touring overseas, the Men’s Eagles this time will see one addition to the traveling roster as David Ainu’u joins for his first USA tour of 2023, having just competed against the Eagles in September with his club, Stade Toulousain. Captain AJ MacGinty will miss the tour having recently sustained an injury at Bristol, joining Ruben de Haas, Kapeli Pifeleti, Paul Lasike, Joe Taufete’e, Christian Dyer and Mikey Sosene-Feagai as 2023 pool players to sit out while recovering. This summer's Captain, Greg Peterson is also unavailable with club commitments while starting Prop Paul Mullen is also on leave.
Continuing to introduce new players to the program and identify talents on the international stage, Joseph Mano and Line Latu have been named to the traveling squad with an opportunity to make their test match debut. Both Mano and Latu stepped on the field in the exhibition match against Stade Toulousain last month, however will now compete for the opportunity to earn an Eagle number in Spain.
Head Coach Scott Lawrence said on the program’s third assembly, “We’re grateful for the opportunity to spend additional time together, preparing and playing in test matches as we wrap up 2023 Project Mercury. We aimed to get the right players on board this year, and believe we have a solid core both on tour and extended through the player pool that will push positive momentum into 2024.”
| NAME | CLUB |
|---|---|
| Bailey Wilson | Utah Warriors |
| Bryce Campbell | Chicago Hounds |
| Cam Dolan | NOLA Gold |
| Chris Mattina | Chicago Hounds |
| David Ainu'u | Toulouse (FRA) |
| Dominic Besag | St Mary's College |
| Dylan Fawsitt | New York Ironworkers |
| Jack Iscaro | Old Glory DC |
| Jake Turnbull | Seattle Seawolves |
| Joseph Mano* | Utah Warriors |
| Kaleb Geiger | New York Ironworkers |
| Lauina Futi | Seattle Seawolves |
| Line Latu* | Houston SaberCats |
| Luke Carty | Chicago Hounds |
| Luke White | Chicago Hounds |
| Michael Baska | Chicago Hounds |
| Mitch Wilson | New England Free Jacks |
| Nate Augspurger | San Diego Legion |
| Nate Brakeley | New York Ironworkers |
| Nate Sylvia | San Diego Legion |
| Nick McCarthy | Chicago Hounds |
| Paddy Ryan | Coventry (UK) |
| Peter Malcolm | Seattle Seawolves |
| Sam Golla | Dallas Jackals |
| Siaosi Mahoni | Houston SaberCats |
| Tavite Lopeti | Seattle Seawolves |
| Thomas Tu’avao | Utah Warriors |
| Tommaso Boni | Zebre (ITA) |
| Viliami Helu | San Diego Legion |
*USA Eagles Test Match Debut
Scott Lawrence | Head Coach
Alama Ieremia | Assistant Coach - Attack
Nick Easter | Assistant Coach - Forwards and Defense
Blake Bradford | Assistant Coach - Scrum
Elvis Seveali’i | Assistant Coach - Individual Skills Development
Alex Ross | Head of Athlete Performance
Jimmy Harrison | Head Analyst
Kristen Douhan | Head Physiotherapist
Jenn Roney | Athletic Trainer
Daliah Hurwitz | Sports Massage Therapist
Matt Schmitz | Team Doctor
Oscar Alvarez | Team Manager
10:00AM ET - Match 1 - USA v Brazil
2:00PM ET - Match 2 - Spain v Canada
10:00AM ET - Loser Match 1 v Loser Match 2 (Third place play-off)
2:00PM ET - Winner Match 1 v Winner Match 2 (Final)
*Broadcast details for the tournament will be confirmed shortly.
World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont added, “Rugby World Cup 2023 has demonstrated how much our performance unions benefit from playing regularly, not only against the best teams in the world but also in competitive matches against each other. World Rugby is continuing to work extremely hard to create and fund opportunities like this, working with new towns and partners with the ultimate goal being able to increase competitiveness across the board.”
