USA Eagles face defining November tests with Nations Cup title in sight

Fresh off a five-week stay in Japan, which included two Pacific Nations Cup losses to Canada and the Brave Blossoms and three in-house scrimmages with Japan League One clubs. The USA Eagles are shifting their focus to the final weeks of their 2026 season.

Heading into November, Scott Lawrence’s men sit atop their World Rugby Nations Pool with 14 points and a +24 scoring differential. With a four-point margin between them and Chile going into the second half of tournament play, the USA is in pole position to be crowned champions of Pool A and build momentum going into a Rugby World Cup year.

After two home matches against Australia XV, the first of which resulted in a 61-12 loss. The Eagles will head to Europe to challenge three Pool B sides: Hong Kong China, Romania, and Georgia.

Lawrence is under no illusion that each November opponent will pose a unique challenge for his men. He’s been keeping one eye on each of them ahead of their match-ups, and plans to use these two Australia XV tests to blood new talent and layer the USA game plan going into 2027.

“I think we’ve been pretty clear all year that the competition cycles are in July and November around the Nations Cup,” Lawrence told the media before the first Australia XV match. “Everything in between is about developing the playing base towards the World Cup next year. You know it’s a great opponent, there are 12 Wallabies in the squad, so it’s a really good opportunity to see how guys will perform. It’s our second pressure test, and we’ll give guys opportunities to play.”

“Yeah, we’re always watching international play across the board during the year,” Lawrence added. “We keep tabs on a lot of teams during the year. [We’ve seen] some good results. Hong Kong beating Uruguay in the July series, and Romania tied. So they’ve had a bit of a resurgence. And, I think Georgia is playing really well at the moment. They’ve got back to their identity.”

Lawrence was tight-lipped about what performance areas need improving after the Pacific Nations Cup, but he was clear that the Eagles are drilling down certain elements of preparation.

“We had some really clear things that we needed to get better at coming out of Japan, and those things are relevant in every test match, including November. So that’s where our focus is at the moment.”

First up for the Eagles is Hong Kong China. The Dragons had a tough start in their pool, losing twice before picking up their maiden victory, but their speed of play could pose threats to the USA.

Hong Kong China began their campaign with a 66-19 loss against Samoa. The Polynesians scored four tries by the time Hong Kong managed to get on the board. Despite maintaining 59% of ball possession and 62% of territory, the Dragons couldn’t break through a stalwart Samoan defense and failed to tackle effectively, completing just 57% of their tackles.

A week later, their performance improved against hosts Chile despite consistent disciplinary problems. Trailing by just two points at half-time (19-17), a 35th-minute red card for lock Lachlan Doheny and two second-half yellow cards forced Hong Kong China to make more than double the number of passes as their opponents in attack (108) without generating meaningful territory. Their blunt attack and low tackle completion (75%) allowed Chile to win 38-17.

However, the Dragons finally found victory in their final July test, overcoming 17th-ranked Uruguay in Montevideo, 42-40. Smart goal-kicking and second-half doggedness saw them score four tries in twenty minutes and kick a last-minute game-winning penalty.

While the Dragons may feel they have momentum going into November, the Eagles will back themselves to overpower their opponents, especially on neutral ground. Hong Kong China have consistently shown fragility in defense, with tackle completion percentages hovering around 75% or under. And while the Dragons put 42 points on Uruguay, they have had to work extremely hard to win meters, consistently carrying and passing more than their opponents while rarely generating meaningful post-contact meters.

The last time the USA and Hong Kong China faced off was in qualifying for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. The Eagles won emphatically, 49-7, with current Eagles Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, Luke Carty and Ruben de Haas all featuring.

Few conclusions can be drawn from that result as both teams have been overhauled, with the USA bringing in a new coach and lots of fresh blood from Major League Rugby rosters.

After taking on Hong Kong China in France, Lawrence and Co. head to Bucharest to face Romania. The test is a repeat of last year’s match during the same window and will be a good barometer of how much both sides have improved in the interim. The Eagles won 26-18 in 2025, thanks largely to Jack Carty’s ability to convert from repeated penalty shots.

Romania are trending in the right direction. They began their campaign with a 48-31 loss against Chile, which saw them lose 14 balls at the breakdown and struggle to convert entries inside the 22-meter line into points, but then drew against Uruguay 36-36 and snuck past Samoa 38-37.
They remain susceptible at the breakdown and are prone to conceding plenty of tries even when dominating possession. They remain stalwart at set piece, consistently win their own scrums and line-outs. The Eagles will have to deliver at set piece time to find their footing in the game and challenge the porous Romanian defense.

However, the Stejarli will have the benefit of home field advantage, no travel, and an extra day’s rest as they take on the Eagles.

Last year during the November test window, the USA fell to Georgia in Tbilisi 43-30. This season’s rematch will come with more pressure, as Georgia is the only other perfect side in the Nations Cup, and with a point differential of 33 more points than the Eagles.

The Lelos are Europe’s proverbial underdog challenger, the nation often talked about as a potential replacement for Italy in the Six Nations. With a team chock full of powerful Top 14-based forwards and explosive stars like La Rochelle’s explosive fullback Davit Niniashvili, there is good reason to fear Georgia.

Georgia’s game is based around sturdy set piece play and dominant tackles and turnovers in defense, all of which set the platform for electric back play when space opens up.

“We’ve made some changes here around the environment to accelerate front row development,” Lawrence told the media. “So we’re looking for Tonga [Kofe] to really put himself in the showcase window. I still believe Tonga should be playing in Europe somewhere, sooner rather than later.”

Kofe and Co. will have to show that the front row work the Eagles put in during their time in Japan has translated into an improved platform for their backline if they are to have a chance of winning in Tbilisi.

“We’ve talked more recently about not just being a Tier 1 set piece, but just being a dominant set piece, no matter who we play against,” said Captain Jason Damm ahead of their Australia XV match in Nashville.

Matching the Georgian physicality in the scrum and pilfering their lineout will showcase how much the American set piece has improved in the past year.

A positive performance against Georgia in Tbilisi would go a long way to show that USA Rugby is on the right path one year out from the next World Cup. For now, though, Lawrence is just hoping to see continued progress as they add in more variety to their attacking structure.

“We want to continue to grow in terms of our productivity and intensity,” said Lawrence.

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