Should the USA deep three run or kick?

Eagles head coach Gary Gold has made a crucial choice in his selections against Chile. Given that Chile, like all of the South American teams, kicks very well, he has opted to put an extra boot at the back.

USA vs Chile kicks off in Santiago on Saturday, Feb 2 at 1 PM ET, Noon CT and is  LIVE on FloRugby

This is the same decision he made against Scotland, starting AJ MacGinty at flyhalf and Will Hooley at fullback. This time, it's Will Magie at fullback, but it's the same thinking. Both players can play flyhalf, and both can cover at fullback if the other runs ahead.

And both can kick.

This allows still-new Gannon Moore, who distinguished himself in his cover defense against Samoa, and the always experienced Marcel Brache to assist Magie as counter-attacking threats. Brache, captaining the team on the weekend doesn't see the plan as a run-first or kick-first plan, but more a plan about being smart.

"If the opportunity arises, we’ll try to make the most of it," he said. "That being said, making the correct decision in the moment will deliver a more desired outcome and that’s what the key is - finding that balance between running and kicking."