Back when he was playing in Italy and hadn't been capped yet, Nick Civetta said he wanted to be a “great Eagle,” not just make the national team, and that goal was born out of a meeting he had with a coach in New York. 

“That’s a Bruce McLane quote,” said Civetta, referring to the current Iona College and former NYAC coach. “I had lunch with him when I moved to NYAC after grad school and he said, ‘What do you want to do, do you want to be an Eagle or do you want to be a great Eagle?’ Well I want to be a great Eagle, but I know I’ve got a long way to go. Hopefully I can get a few more opportunities to wear the jersey and keep on going.”

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USA vs. Russia
USA vs. Scotland
USA vs. Canada

Success Has Sunk In

The 28-year-old now has 15 caps for the Eagles and was a big part of the USA's successful run through June. The Eagles beat Russia, Scotland, and Canada, on the backs of a hard-nosed defensive effort, grinding it out in set piece, and some excellent work in the backs.

“It was an exciting three weeks for us,” Civetta said. “It kind of sunk in after we beat Canada and we had a good celebration. We hope to keep that continuity and unity we found. It’s going to be November when we see each other again and so it’s a bit bittersweet, we want to keep it going.”

The Eagles were very cognizant of the fact that a poor performance against Canada on June 23 would have undercut global opinion on the USA’s 30-29 defeat of Scotland a week earlier.

“One of the things we talked about immediately after the Scotland game was that our jobs weren’t over yet,” said Civetta, a former University of Notre Dame All-American. “In order to legitimize the win against Scotland, to some extent, we had to put a really good performance against Canada.”

And Canada, said Civetta, played its best against the USA despite losing 42-17, while the Eagles “weren’t firing on all cylinders.” 

Time To Move

It was a series won thanks to a lot of tackles.

All of that hard work has led to an offseason in which, by his own admission, Civetta has been "doing nothing." 

What got Civetta moving last week was his brother, who is moving and needed a big, strong guy to lug boxes. That time has given him a chance to reflect on how he went from being an afterthought to an Eagles regular.

“It’s been sort of a wild six years or five years or whatever it’s been,” Civetta said. “One of the first trainings I went to at Notre Dame, Sean O’Leary was the coach, and he said to me: ‘Oh, Nick, I think you can be an Eagle one day.’ That stuck with me in a weird way. Over the years when I was in Italy and playing semi-professionally and probably should have focused on other things—that was sort of in the back of my mind. I didn’t even know it was possible, but I knew if I had that opportunity I would jump at it.”

Signing with the Newcastle Falcons was that opportunity. Civetta didn’t get a lot of playing time at Newcastle, but he worked hard, found a chance to play on loan at Doncaster, and made his presence felt.

'I Want To Be The Guy Who Makes The Most Tackles'

“I feel like I’ve come into the national team and put in some consistent performances the last almost two years and I just want to keep that going,” he said. 

He'll do that by doing his job. 

“If there’s one thing in world rugby I can be world class at is in the lineout and winning ball there—it’s a big part of the game,” he said. “Beyond that I just try to be the guy who makes a tackle and then gets up and makes another tackle. I know I’m not going to be a big carrier or a big hitter, but if I can make the most tackles and carry a few times when I need to then I can do a good job.”

He can also block a kick or two, as he did against Ireland last summer.

“It’s important to do the things that require no talent—we talk about it—get up off the ground fast, put your body on the line, and never stop running. Those are things anybody can do,” he said. “And if you’re like me and you’re a bit slow and a bit lanky, you’ve got to do that.”

Next up for Civetta is another season in the Rugby Championship in England for Doncaster. It’s a good standard and a chance to play against some Eagle teammates. He’s hoping, everyone’s hoping, they become great Eagles teammates.