LONG READ Meet the college wrestling star propelling the USA towards Rugby World Cup 2027

For Cory Daniel and the USA Men’s Eagles, the inaugural Nations Cup arrives at a useful point in their journey to next year’s Rugby World Cup.

The July window will give Scott Lawrence’s side three Tests against Portugal, Zimbabwe and Spain, with the wider competition also featuring Tonga. For the USA, it is a block that should offer a clearer read on where the squad is, which players are forcing their way into the picture, and how much progress has been made since the start of the year.

For Daniel, it is another chance to keep building.

The Old Glory DC back-row has never had the standard rugby route. He came to the sport late, having first competed in wrestling and American football, and only started playing rugby when he was almost 24. His college wrestling coach connected him with the game, and although there was plenty to learn, Daniel found a way to digest it.

“I started playing it, and I fell in love with it pretty early on,” Daniel told RugbyPass. “There were definitely challenges, for sure, but with my football background, I understood that, if you simplify the game as much as you can, one team has the ball and is trying to score, and the other team is trying to stop them.”

That football background helped with the basics of handling, evasion and contact skills. Wrestling however shaped far more of the player he has become.

“With the wrestling, that really helped me, especially in the tackle area and the breakdown area,” he said. “I did not realise early on, but it was probably the best sport I could have transitioned from.”

That remains clear in his game. Daniel has become one of the Eagles’ more dependable defensive forwards who regularly gets through heavy contact work and has built much of his value around tackling, breakdown pressure and repeat effort.

Lawrence sees that value in straightforward terms.

“Cory is the kind of no-nonsense, work hard, love your family, love your country individual that represents the true heartbeat of our country.”

Daniel did not brush off the comment when asked about it.

“I think that is a good way to describe someone like myself, and it is pretty special he said something like that.”

Scott’s big message this year is that we want to hone a 45-player roster and get it down to about 33, 34, 35 guys for next year.

The Nations Cup should suit that type of player. Portugal and Spain give the USA familiar European opposition, and both fixtures should act as useful markers for a team trying to become more consistent against sides in and around its competitive tier. Zimbabwe brings something different, and for Daniel, that is the game that immediately caught his attention.

“I have never played against them. The USA has never played against them when I have been with the Eagles, so I think that will be a pretty cool experience.”

There is a selection edge to the window too. Lawrence has used this year to widen the playing group, bringing more promising talent to camp to get a better sense of who can be part of the Eagles picture moving forward.

“Scott’s big message this year is that we want to hone a 45-player roster and get it down to about 33, 34, 35 guys for next year,” Daniel said. “That will be the big thing with the Eagles this year, seeing which guys can play where, which guys can play with the Eagles.”

That puts pressure on the next few Tests. Results matter, but so does the information the coaching staff can take from them. The USA need to know which players can settle quickly, which combinations work, and which younger players are ready for the demands of international rugby.

Taking into account the meticulous approach of his head coach, Daniel believes the process has already started.

“We have been in two camps already this year, and both times we have seen a lot of the newer guys, the younger guys, maybe a little less experienced, getting into camp and getting bedded in early,” he said. “That will only help them develop later in the game.”

Daniel is part of that assessment as well, even if he is already one of the more established figures in the squad. At club level, he has spent more time at blindside flanker with Old Glory this season, after playing the bulk of his career to date at openside.

When asked about the effect a new role has had on his game, Daniel was emphatic that the shift has added to his skillset.

“I have found it to be great,” he said. “It has been very good for me, just playing seven my whole career and then switching to six now. First of all, it gives me the ability to play both sides. But then also, I am finding myself carrying more, which I really enjoy and which I am pretty good at.”

I think I have taken my game to another level this year, and I would like to see that continue with the Eagles. Keep making my dominant tackles, dominant carries with ball in hand.

Lawrence has noticed that development, while also crediting the work being done with Daniel at Old Glory under head coach Simon Cross.

“A credit to Simon and his staff in continuing to develop Cory to be a more complete back row who continues to lead in dominate tackles but has added an edge play component to his game that gives us more options.”

For Daniel, the equation is not complicated. He wants to keep improving without moving away from the things that have earned him trust at Test level.

“I think first, just to continue to develop my game,” he said. “I think I have taken my game to another level this year, and I would like to see that continue with the Eagles. Keep making my dominant tackles, dominant carries with ball in hand, getting over the ball and jackals. Just doing anything I can to help the team win.”

That final line fits the way Daniel speaks about the team. There is no attempt to overcomplicate it. He wants to contribute, and he sees the wider progress of the Eagles as something built through repeated camp work, stronger relationships and a better understanding of the people around him.

Making no secret of his admiration for his head coach who himself is a former international back-row, Daniel credits Lawrence for helping foster that side of the environment.

“Scott does a very good job of building the culture,” Daniel said. “Just doing little things, maybe bringing in a picture, something that is valuable to you, talking about it, building connections with your teammates, learning about someone’s family and someone’s background.

“It really just helps you play together. If you are learning about someone off the field, you can play with them even more on the field.”

That matters for a side still trying to establish what it wants to be before Australia 2027. It also matters because 2031 is sitting in the background. A home World Cup will bring attention, and the Eagles know they have to be a team capable of making that attention count.

Daniel said that sense of responsibility is already part of the conversation in camp.

“Whenever we get into camp, Scott always talks about inspiring at home,” Daniel said. “Inspire the younger generation, inspire family, friends and the fans at home. Every time you put on the Eagles jersey, you want to inspire people.”

We had about 20,000 people there. It was just a great environment, a great night of rugby.

This July gives the USA a chance to do that in front of home crowds. Daniel still remembers last year’s match against England at Audi Field in Washington DC, and the feel of playing in front of a strong American rugby audience.

“We had about 20,000 people there,” he said. “It was just a great environment, a great night of rugby.”

The Nations Cup is an entirely different challenge that offers the Eagles something they need: competitive games, different styles of opposition, and a chance to keep putting the programme in front of American supporters.

For Daniel, the focus remains the same in principle. Make tackles. Carry hard. Compete at the breakdown. Keep adding enough to his game to give Lawrence more options and be a leader within the squad.

For the USA, the value of the next three Tests will be measured in more than the scoreline. By the end of the window, they should know a little more about their squad, their depth and the players they can trust as the next stage of the cycle starts to take shape.