The latest installment of the USA-Canada rivalry this Saturday in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is a case of two teams going in different directions.

The visiting Eagles head into their Summer Series finale with a 2-0 record after blowing out Russia and upsetting Scotland in back-to-back weeks. Meanwhile, the Canadians went winless against the same two teams this month and now host a red-hot USA team that hasn't tasted defeat yet under new coach Gary Gold.

Watch USA vs. Canada LIVE on FloRugby

Saturday, June 23 | Kickoff 3 PM ET

Can Canada halt a slide that has seen the Maple Leafs fail to beat the USA since 2013? Can the Eagles keep their momentum going? The answers may lie with a small number of players:

Dylan Fawsitt

After Joe Taufete'e's departure to be with his wife, who is expecting, the job of being great at hooker falls to Fawsitt. And here's the thing: there's not backup. Certainly, there are a few players who can slot in at hooker, but no specialist No. 2 after Fawsitt. So, really, he has to do the job. What he doesn't need to do is run the ball like Taufete'e. Instead, he needs to make sure the lineout works and play defense. If he does that, Gold will be a happy man.

Phil Mack

One of the great thorns in the USA's side for many years, the scampering, annoying (on the field—off the field he's a peach) Mack can torch you on quick-taps, scrap with the big guys, and run the offense. He's as smart a rugby player as they come and as savvy a scrumhalf as you'd want.

AJ MacGinty

He really was superb against Scotland. He's an excellent running flyhalf, who was also perfect on his kicks at goal. That's a big one. If he can keep that goalkicking mojo working, then Canada will have to be honest in the breakdowns and that works for the Eagles.

Lucas Rumball

The Canada captain plays blindside flanker, and he will have a tough job containing the USA forwards around the fringes and leading the way in tight. This will be a battle. The Eagles took on Scotland and Russia up front and won, and they will do it again this weekend. Rumball has to get his players matching the USA hit for hit and keep them at it.

Cam Dolan, Hanco Germishuys, or Samu Manoa

With Taufete'e not there as the main ball carrier and John Quill hurt, too, we get the feeling that one of these guys will explode in terms of carries and meters gained. Manoa has relished his role so far, making some key runs and also massive hits. But he has also accepted the job of the decoy and sometimes opted to offload rather than run. It keeps defenses guessing and makes you wonder: Will he tuck it and bull ahead or offload to someone like Dolan? You never know.