USA Eagles chasing ‘best performance’ in latest chapter of Canada rivalry

TOKYO: The USA Eagles are looking to finish their Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup campaign on a positive note, taking lessons from a 63-14 defeat to Japan into the third-place playoff against rivals Canada in Tokyo.

Japan started their quest for the Pacific Nations Cup title with a dream-like passage of attacking flair and dominance on the scoreboard, as they raced out to a commanding 28-0 lead over the USA after just 16 minutes.

Shilo Klein and Tavite Lopeti hit back for the Eagles, who mounted a bit of a comeback during the second quarter at Osaka’s Hanazono Rugby Stadium. But a yellow card to USA captain Jason Damm was another key moment, as Japan took charge during the second half.

The Eagles have made their way to Tokyo for another important hit-out, as they continue to build towards Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia. They took the field for their captain’s run on Friday, with players slotting long-range shots at goal and sharpening various other skills.

“Really great learning experience for our players last week against a strong Japanese side. We’re really looking forward to the challenge of Canada – a big rivalry between the two countries and we’re looking forward to playing our best game so far in this tournament,” Rugby World Cup-winning Wallaby and USA assistant coach Nathan Grey told reporters.

“For us it was about our speed to set, and also being able to deal with a setback. They scored straight away, very quickly [and] the guys sort of went a little bit into their shells. We want to make sure that whatever happens we focus on the next outcome,” he added.

“Probably defensively, it’s just dealing with the speed of the game early on. We train that a lot but actually executing it, we weren’t that great.”

The USA had cut their once 28-point deficit in half during the opening 40, before Japan struck back with another try in the final play of the half. But the Eagles still believed they could fight their way back, before a yellow card made things even tougher in humid conditions.

Damm was sent to the sin bin and the Brave Blossoms made the most of their advantage, as they continued to pile on points. Japan continued to play their fast, game-breaking style of attacking rugby, as they ran away with a big win.

“It’s all about getting used to different scenarios and different experiences,” Grey said when asked about the yellow card to Damm.

“The playing group were really good. We’ve got a plan and it’s about going out and executing that plan when we’re down to 14.

“It does put you under pressure and reflecting… you’re never pleased to lose a game but the opportunity to learn from that experience was really embraced by the coaches and all the players as well. We saw it as a positive.”

Canada are looking to bounce back themselves, having suffered consecutive losses in back-to-back weeks to Japan and Fiji, respectively. Japan produced some highly entertaining running rugby in the JRFU’s 100^th anniversary match, which resulted in a convincing victory.

The Canadians conceded less than 30 seconds into their semi-final against defending PNC champions Fiji, but mounted an impressive comeback on multiple occasions. Canada put 29 points on one of the sides in the top 10 on the World Rugby rankings.

“They play a fast brand of rugby as well. They like to move the ball to width and their maul is quite strong.

“We’ve had quite a good look at them but the big focus for us this week has been us and our execution. We’re really looking forward to putting out our best performance we have so far in the tournament on the grass, because that’s where it counts.”