The last time Canada hosted the USA Men's 15s team in the Maritimes, Canada won by 49, so it's likely the Eagles are wary heading into their Summer Series finale on Saturday in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The outcome of this USA vs. Canada game is not a done deal. Just because Canada hasn't beaten the United States since 2013 (a period of eight games), doesn't mean it's automatic for the Eagles. There's plenty of drama and some extra-special reasons to watch.

Watch USA vs. Canada LIVE on FloRugby

Saturday, June 23 | Kickoff: 3 PM EDT

Canada Needs A Win

Desperately. The Canadians qualified ahead of the USA in every Rugby World Cup until 2019, when the Eagles got there first. After a series loss to Uruguay, Canada now has to survive a brutal four-team playoff in November to retain its record of qualifying for every RWC since the first event in 1987.

Winning now would go a long way toward boosting the team's confidence. USA head coach Gary Gold knows this, too.

"Canada playing at home," Gold warned. "We expect a physical battle against a very well-coached Canadian team."

Added USA captain Blaine Scully, you underestimate Canada at your peril.

"They’re always a very tough team; they’re a very proud rugby country," Scully said. "They have some dangerous players—you can’t discount how good a player Phil Mack or Jeff Hassler is. We know the quality opposition they are and we’re giving them all the respect that they deserve."

Can The USA Shift Things Around?

Joe Taufete'e is not in the lineup for personal reasons, and that means the Eagles, already down two other hookers due to injury, have to hope Dylan Fawsitt goes 80 minutes and gets those lineout throws right. There's no reason to think he won't, but the backup situation isn't ideal.

And with a couple of other lineup changes, could we be seeing a little different approach?

Also... will we see Vili Toluta'u get a cap, and if so, will it fit?

Power vs. Power

This USA team is as physical as any Eagles squad we've seen, and Gold wants the Eagles to continue to embrace that mentality following their 30-29 win over Scotland last weekend.

"We want to dominate the gain line against Canada and we thought there (were) parts of the game against Scotland where we didn’t do that," he said. 

Scully has touted his team's effort on defense—and well he should.

"We think defense is something we build a team around," said the captain. "Gary talked about making it personal. We want to get off the line and we want to try to get the ball back."

It's A Sellout

Wanderers Ground in Halifax has sold out the game. It won't be a friendly crowd for the USA—it's not easy to get to The Rock (what Nova Scotia is called) and this province cares about its rugby legacy. This will be an excellent test of how the Eagles play in hostile territory. 

SOLD-OUT! Well done to @RugbyNS, @ProducedBySEA & Eastern Canada for packing the house to cheer on Canada against @USARugby at Wanderers Ground ???? #RugbyCA pic.twitter.com/5XkManBkzQ

— Rugby Canada (@RugbyCanada) June 22, 2018

Remember, of the USA's seven wins this season, only two were played outside the country. This game, with a wounded and angry Canada team playing in a hotbed of Canadian rugby, will be a true test match.

More To Do

Gold and Scully say there is more to do and that this current USA team has not scaled the mountain yet.

"There’s a whole lot of KPIs that we follow on a weekly basis," Gold said. "They’re around our attacking game, they’re around our defensive game. They’re around our set piece, as well. We have set some very tough goals. We won the game last week but we conceded 29 points, and that’s too much. A couple of those tries were quite soft tries, as well. We want to work very hard to keep the scoresheet as clean as possible... and we need to expand on our ability to score tries."

Scully added: "We’re not a finished product. One of those things in sports is you’re never as good as you think you are and you’re never as bad. All we can do is look at the tape and try to be the best you can be."

USA vs. Canada is streaming live on FloRugby this Saturday. Kickoff is 3 PM EDT (noon PDT).