Ex-Patriots NFL draftee set for USA Eagles debut against Canada

TOKYO: 2020 NFL draftee Cassh Maluia will debut for the USA Eagles against rivals Canada this weekend, with the prospect’s inclusion headlining a series of changes to the starting side that was beaten by Japan last Saturday evening in Osaka.

USA coach Scott Lawrence has made multiple changes as the Eagles look ahead to the Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup 2026 third-place playoff in Tokyo, with the Canadians also looking to bounce back from a defeat.

Canada won by 14 points when these sides last met about 13 months ago, but much rugby has been played since then, with players from both sides eager to take part in the latest instalment of this rivalry.

Maluia was taken 204^th overall by the New England Patriots in the 2020 NFL Draft, spending time with the six-time Super Bowl champions before signing with the Tenesse Titans on August 26, 2021, and later moving onto rugby.

The midfielder comes off a strong Major League Rugby campaign with the California Legion, who faced an unbeaten Chicago Hounds side in the championship decider. Chicago were able to complete an undefeated season with a win at home.

Maluia will partner Dominic Besag in the midfield, with Tavite Lopeti shifting to the bench after scoring a try last weekend. Luke Carty swaps place with Chris Hilsenbeck too, in another key change to the backline.

“We just want Cassh to express himself. That’s the most important thing. He’s worked really hard to get an opportunity and get himself in a position where we’re happy for him to do that,” Lawrence told RugbyPass.

“He offers us something unique in the way that he plays and in his abilities. We just talk about him being able to access 100 per cent of Cassh. I think that’s the big thing we want for him and to do that we support him, and we want him to feel in a first Test match which is probably nervous, but comfortable that he can perform. I think he’s prepared himself well for that.

“We just want the Cassh that we’ve seen every day for the last three months. That’s all we’re asking.”

Ruben De Has, Noah Brown and Mitch Wilson have retained their starting roles, while Julin Roberts gets a shot to wear the No. 14 jersey. The Eagles have got with a 5-3 split on the bench, with Michael Baska also providing backline cover.

In the forwards, former HSBC SVNS Series star Lance Williams has been selected for what will be his second start at Test level. Williams will line up at openside flanker, with Marno Redelinghuys at blindside and Makeen Alikhan at No. 8.

USA captain Jason Damm will again partner Nathan Den Hoedt in the second-row. Up front, hooker Shilo Klein will pack down with loosehead prop Fakaosifolau Pifeleti on one side, and tighthead prop Tonga Kofe on the other.

“It’s part of the overall plan for the year. We talked about building depth within the squad and you don’t really know until you know,” Lawrence said.

“The things that we have to build is experience so we have to provide those experiences and those opportunities.

“We’ll see a couple of changes this week. Probably the two bigger changes would be Cassh Maluia and Lance getting a crack back. Julian has started before and he’s rotated with Lopeti in the past so that’s not much new.

“Those are the two different ones and then we’ve got Mason [Pedersen] has returned to play, which gives him an opportunity on the bench.”

USA Eagles to take on Canada