2018 ARC Preview – USA

The USA enters the 2018 Americas Rugby Championship as defending champions for the first time. Their campaign begins on Saturday in Los Angeles against their most difficult opponent of the past two seasons – the Argentina XV.

 

2017 FORM

Last year was, for the most part, very good for the Eagles. They started the season with a wonderful ARC tournament that saw them score 50 points in three matches and secure a last-gasp draw with the Argentina XV to snatch away the title on bonus points.

The June tests weren’t as sharp. Dull matches against Ireland and Georgia and a draw against Canada in the first leg of the Americas 1 World Cup Qualifiers threatened to derail their progress but they redeemed themselves in San Diego with a wonderful performance to qualify for Japan 2019 in style.

Disappointingly they only had two tests on their year-end tour to Europe. The first against Germany went well, the second against Georgia much better than their June encounter but they still came up short.

 

PLAYERS TO WATCH

The Eagles have a new Head Coach in Gary Gold to impress, and there are 13 newcomers who aim to do so. The most notable of those are flyhalf Will Hooley, center Paul Lasike, and winger Josh Whippy. All three have the ability to make a difference for a full-strength USA test side.

Back in the squad after several months on the sidelines is loosehead prop Titi Lamositele. He appears to be healed from his neck problems and should be fired up to represent his country for the first time since November 2016. It’s not clear how long he’ll be with the squad but hopefully Saracens will see value in letting him get game time before returning to England.

Nate Augspurger captained the side in last year’s ARC but now finds himself a reserve halfback. He’ll be looking to make an impact at every opportunity, as will fellow San Diego Legion signing Ryan Matyas. With several options available to Gold on the wing, the hard-working Matyas will have to be at his very best to retain a starting position.

 

 

VERDICT

The USA enter as champions but the favorites tag arguably remains with the Argentina XV. Certainly the biggest test will be at the StubHub Center this weekend but the trip to South America to end the tournament will not be a walk in the park, particularly in Montevideo. Given the strength of the squad top-two finish looks probable with the championship on the line straight out of the gate.

 

FIXTURES

DATE	OPPONENT	VENUE	KICK_OFF TIME
Feb 3	Argentina XV	StubHub Center, Los Angeles	5pm local, 8pm Eastern
Feb 10	Canada	Papa Murphy’s Park, Sacramento	3pm local, 6pm Eastern
Feb 17	Chile	Titan Stadium, Fullerton	2pm local, 5pm Eastern
Feb 24	Brazil	Estádio Pereira, São José dos Campos	5:30pm local, 3:30pm Eastern
Mar 3	Uruguay	Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo	3:30pm local, 1:30pm Eastern

 

SQUAD

NAME	POS	HGT	WGT	DOB	CAPS	CLUB
Lamositele, Titi	LH	1.80 5-11	127 280	Feb 11 1995	20	Saracens (UK)
Mo’ungaloa, Huluholo	LH	1.88 6-2	120 265	Dec 13 1989	2	Life West
Purpura, Tony	LH	1.90 6-3	118 260	Nov 11 1986	8	San Diego Legion
Wenglewski, Chance	LH	1.89 6-2	113 250	Sep 4 1997	–	Lindenwood

Fawsitt, Dylan	HO	1.83 6-0	102 225	1990	–	Old Blue
Hilterbrand, James	HO	1.84 6-0	108 240	May 21 1989	13	Sydney Rays (AU)
Malcolm, Peter	HO	1.85 6-1	108 240	Mar 4 1994	9	Austin Elite
Taufete’e, Joe	HO	1.84 6-0	125 275	Apr 10 1992	13	Worcester Warriors (UK)

MacLellan, Angus	TH	1.85 6-1	116 255	Aug 24 1992	2	Chicago Lions
Ryan, Paddy	TH	1.86 6-1	125 275	Dec 11 1990	4	Austin Elite
Waldren, Dino	TH	1.82 6-0	113 250	Jul 11 1991	9	London Scottish (UK)

Brakeley, Nate	LO	1.96 6-5	118 260	Aug 31 1989	13	NYAC
Civetta, Nick	LO	2.03 6-8	115 255	Nov 5 1989	10	Newcastle Falcons (UK)
Daly, Brendan	LO	1.93 6-4	110 240	Dec 20 1990	–	SFGG
Jensen, Matt	LO	2.03 6-8	118 260	Apr 21 1992	5	Utah Warriors
Landry, Ben	LO	1.98 6-6	123 270	Mar 26 1991	8	Glendale Raptors

Al-Jiboori, Malon	FL	1.91 6-3	102 225	Aug 1 1997	–	USA 7s
Durutalo, Andrew	FL	1.86 6-1	110 240	Oct 25 1987	21	Worcester Warriors (UK)
Germishuys, Hanco	FL	1.86 6-1	105 230	Aug 24 1996	2	Austin Elite
Lamborn, Tony	FL	1.87 6-2	105 230	Jul 31 1991	12	Hawke’s Bay (NZ)
Wooching, Psalm	FL	1.93 6-4	105 230	Jan 16 1994	–	Seattle Saracens

Dolan, Cam	N8	1.98 6-6	114 250	Mar 7 1990	30	San Diego Legion
Schirmer, Aladdin	N8	1.90 6-3	102 225	Dec 31 1992	2	Seattle Seawolves

Augspurger, Nate	SH	1.71 5-7	75 165	Jan 31 1990	14	San Diego Legion
Davies, Shaun	SH	1.75 5-9	83 180	Jun 20 1989	11	Glendale Raptors
de Haas, Ruben	SH	1.83 6-0	84 185	Oct 9 1998	–	Free State (SA)
Ferris, Devereaux	SH	1.72 5-8	82 180	Oct 24 1994	–	Life West

Cima, Ben	FH	1.85 6-1	89 195	Mar 20 1996	7	San Diego Legion
Hooley, Will	FH	1.85 6-1	89 195	Nov 28 1993	–	Bedford Blues (UK)
Magie, Will	FH	1.85 6-1	87 190	Feb 23 1992	9	Glendale Raptors

Audsley, Dylan	CE	1.80 5-11	89 195	Jan 15 1994	–	San Diego Legion
Brache, Marcel	CE	1.90 6-3	92 200	Oct 15 1987	7	Perth Spirit (AU)
Campbell, Bryce	CE	1.85 6-1	104 230	Sep 21 1994	11	Glendale Raptors
Lasike, Paul	CE	1.80 5-11	113 250	Jun 18 1990	–	Utah Warriors

Elkins, Alex	WI	1.93 6-4	108 240	Aug 27 1990	–	USA 7s
Matyas, Ryan	WI	1.83 6-0	89 195	Dec 24 1990	8	San Diego Legion
Tagive, Peni	WI	1.91 6-3	102 220	Oct 3 1988	–	USA 7s
Whippy, Josh	WI	1.87 6-2	99 220	Oct 30 1990	–	Utah Warriors

Scully, Blaine	FB	1.90 6-3	100 220	Feb 29 1988	36	Cardiff Blues (UK)
Te’o, Mike	FB	1.75 5-9	93 205	Jul 23 1993	17	San Diego Legion