Eagles Name Strong Squad To Face Canada
Eagles Name Strong Squad To Face Canada
Eagles Name Strong Squad To Face Canada
USA men's 15s head coach Gary Gold has named a strong gameday 23 to face Canada Saturday LIVE on FloRugby.
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Amid speculation that he would rest some players, Gold has indeed put a few regulars on the bench and a few more on the sidelines, but he has also retained a few mainstays such as Cam Dolan, Paul Lasike, Greg Peterson, and captain Blaine Scully.
Starters Eric Fry and Joe Taufete’e as well as reserves Olive Kilifi and Mike Te’o return from injuries that kept them out of the Pacific Nations Cup. AJ MacGinty, Thretton Palamo, and Nick Civetta are all still coming back from injuries of various severity.
“This game on Saturday will be very beneficial for us in not only cementing months-long preparation but allowing us to make our final selections for Rugby World Cup," said Gold. "I am proud of the guys for how much work they’ve put in over these past several weeks as the heat and altitude in Colorado have provided the challenging setting we need to prepare at the highest level."
Gold will be looking at a somewhat changed backline, with Will Magie at flyhalf and Nate Augspurger at scrumhalf. Marcel Brache, as indicated in an earlier interview with FloRugby, will get time at outside center.
But it's not really an experimental pack. Gold's front row, however, while experienced, is a combination we haven't seen much of.
Notable on the bench is Malon Al-Jiboori, who has logged some pretty impressive athletic and fitness stats.
Gold, meanwhile, is also thinking about beating Canada.
"Canada are a very well-coached team and have a number of experienced players within the squad who will be a serious threat to us if we don’t execute with precision," he warned. "We need to approach this game in the same way we will approach our pool in Japan in terms of our focus, our mindset and our ability to respond under pressure.”
USA
PLAYER NAME | POSITION | CLUB | XVs CAPS |
1. Eric Fry | Prop | Vannes (FRA) | 44 |
2. Joe Taufete'e | Hooker | Worcester Warriors (ENG) | 22 |
3. Titi Lamositele | Prop | Saracens (ENG) | 27 |
4. Ben Landry | Lock | Ealing Trailfinders (ENG) | 21 |
5. Greg Peterson | Lock | Newcastle Falcons (ENG) | 25 |
6. Hanco Germishuys | Flanker | Glendale Raptors | 16 |
7. John Quill | Flanker | Rugby United New York | 35 |
8. Cam Dolan | No. 8 | NOLA Gold | 46 |
9. Nate Augspurger | Scrumhalf | San Diego Legion | 23 |
10. Will Magie | Flyhalf | Unattached | 24 |
11. Martin Iosefo | Wing | USA Sevens | 5 |
12. Paul Lasike | Center | Harlequins (ENG) | 15 |
13. Marcel Brache | Center | Western Force (AUS) | 18 |
14. Blaine Scully (C) | Wing | Unattached | 49 |
15. Will Hooley | Fullback | Bedford Blues (ENG) | 11 |
RESERVES
PLAYER NAME | POSITION | CLUB | XVs CAPS |
16. Dylan Fawsitt | Reserve | Rugby United New York | 11 |
17. Olive Kilifi | Reserve | Seattle Seawolves | 26 |
18. Paul Mullen | Reserve | Unattached | 13 |
19. Nate Brakeley | Reserve | Rugby United New York | 20 |
20. Malon Al-Jiboori | Reserve | Unattached | 4 |
21. Shaun Davies | Reserve | Glendale Raptors | 24 |
22. Bryce Campbell | Reserve | London Irish (ENG) | 27 |
23. Mike Te'o | Reserve | San Diego Legion | 23 |
MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM XVs STAFF
General Manager | Dave Hodges
Head Coach | Gary Gold
Assistant Coach, Attack | Greg McWilliams
Assistant Coach, Set Piece | Shawn Pittman
Assistant Coach, Defense | Jaque Fourie
Strength & Conditioning Coach | Huw Bevan
Performance Analyst | Jimmy Harrison
Assistant S&C and Analyst | Tom Kindley
Team Doctor | Mark Sakr
Team Doctor | Sam Akhavan
Head Athletic Trainer | Kevin Ng
Athletic Trainer | Kristen Douhan
Massage Therapist | Daliah Hurwitz
Team Manager | Chris Hanson
Assistant Team Manager | Mark Drown