Three key takeaways from USA Eagles' two-match Australia XV series

The USA Eagles opened their World Rugby Nations Cup campaign well, putting together 3 consecutive wins to leap to the top of their pool. However, after successive defeats to Japan and Canada in the Pacific Nations Cup and a 113-13 cumulative loss to Australia A over two matches, it’s safe to say that whatever momentum Scott Lawrence’s men had going into the November test window has been halted.

With three more test matches before entering a World Cup year, Lawrence will have to quickly shift the mentality in the camp to find a way to finish the calendar year strong. Despite the heavy defeats to Stephen Larkham’s men, there were positive developments that the Eagles can hang their hat on.

Most importantly, Lawrence has used the two matches against an elite-level opponent to continue growing the USA’s squad depth and prepare it for the grueling nature of a Rugby World Cup.

“I think if you look at the roster and the way that we’ve gone through these 3 months, there’d be 12 players who wouldn’t even be in camp with us, who have been in camp with us for the last 2 months,” Lawrence told the media after the second match. “That’s always been a gap for us.”

The second match was a “capture match” for both fullback David Coetzer and replacement utility back Dan Kriel, meaning they, as well as Wayne van der Bank, will both be available for the Eagles in test matches next year.

Even in defeat, Lawrence felt that many of his new additions showed what they are capable of. “I think we saw a little glimmer of what’s possible next year when you look at the way Wayne [van der Bank] and David Coetzer all played tonight,” Lawrence said post-match. “I thought they made an impact. So that’s a little bit of a window into what’s possible for us going into next year.”

Blending veteran players with youngsters isn’t an easy task even when results are going your way, but there seems to be an excitement around the group and a growing understanding on the field.

“Once you’re out there on the field with the boys, we trust each other, we believe in each other,” said Marno Redelinghuys, the matchday captain against Australia A in New Jersey.

Eagles fans can expect to continue to see some of the new faces moving forward. When asked who will be given opportunities based on their performances in the past two matches, Lawrence said:

“We’ll see Cash. He gave us a really solid 40 minutes. He’s still bringing some more robustness into the game, so I thought he’d put his hand up. Connor Mooneyham was energetic and went forward. He’s physical tonight, so I thought he did well.

I think Vili [Helu] will go back to Japan now to finish out the season there. I thought Vili came in and had a shift for us tonight, which was probably his best game for us. And Oscar Lennon will get some opportunities.”

The two additional matches against the Wallabies A side also served to improve the Eagles’ conditioning. One of the consequences of Major League Rugby’s 10-game season is that the US-based Eagles are left short of competitive game time. In the Southern Hemisphere, Super Rugby players play 14 regular season matches before the postseason. In England, that number is 18, and in France it’s 26.

Lawrence acknowledged the difficulty of bringing player fitness up to the necessary levels to compete at the Tier 1 level. “We were calling on guys that came in without playing, or maybe they were training in a park, running. We took a cohort of players; we added another 12 to the mix, and they all got minutes over time.”

What remains clear after the two losses against Australia A, is that the USA’s consistency in attack and set-piece is lacking.

While their scrum was mostly steady, the Eagles really struggled at lineout time in the second match. Starting hooker Kaleb Geiger only played 46 minutes be he failed to connect with his jumpers on multiple occasions, squandering at least three good opportunities inside the Australian 22 meter line.

“You’ve got to win your set piece, you’ve got to correct your scoring opportunities,” Lawrence said after the match. “If you give them the ball enough times, they’re going to score.”

The errors were both technical and tactical. While Geiger can be accused of some wayward throws, the Australians were knew exactly where the ball would go and when to jump. The USA will have to change their lineout calls and execute better in attacking positions if they are to compete with Georgia and Romania, let alone France next year.

Lawrence was particularly annoyed by the lack of progress in attack and at lineout. When asked about them after the match he provided a blunt response: “Well, they didn’t get better.”

Patience and a deeper understanding of in-game momentum and possible gaps may be the key to finding consistency in attack. “I think from our attacking continuity standpoint, we need to be patient,” Lawrence said in the post-match press conference. “When we started playing through and not around [the defensive line] in the second half, and we’re going forward our game drivers need to stay in it and not get too excited and try to pull the trigger when it’s not on.

That’s a game understanding of how to continue to apply pressure, go forward, build continuity in the game. I thought our forwards in that second half in particular played really well, gave us a really good go forward, but we’ve got to hold on to the ball and we’ve got to go in those opportunities.”

Despite giving up 113 points across two matches, the Eagles’ defensive effort remains unquestioned. Time after time the Eagles’ reformed their line and scrambled back to make tackles and limit Australia’s linebreaks.

Early in the second half, replacement scrumhalf Oscar Lennon scrambled back after getting beaten and helped Luke Carty hold up a potential try. In the closing minutes of the match, Wayne van der Bank tracked down a barnstorming Joe Brial and jackled the ball inside his own 5 meter line to prevent a certain try.

“We stayed in the fight,” Scott Lawrence said. “So if you look at the amount of time that we defended and how we defended, I think there were some real nice patches there. There was no give up in it. I mean, if you want to know the character of a team, you look at a 30-meter line break and Tonga Kofe is the first guy back at tighthead prop. It tells you a lot about where they’re at.”

Lawrence believes that the team’s defensive effort will translate well to the Eagles next match against Hong Kong China. “I think if you look at Hong Kong, they have the highest number of phases, and throw the highest number of passes of any team in the Nations Cup. They like to hold on to the ball and play. We defended a lot. We’re comfortable in defending for long periods of time now. I think that bodes well.”

Fans across America can watch every match live and for free on RugbyPass TV.