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Live on RugbyPass TV: Greg Peterson set for milestone as USA name team

Greg Peterson of the United States looks on during the first half against Scotland at Audi Field on July 12, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Caean Couto/Getty Images)

Following their gritty win over Portugal, the USA Eagles have set their sights on delivering “a full 80-minute performance” against Tonga. As part of a double header hosted by World Rugby, Saturday’s Test match in Chambery, Franc, will be broadcast live on RugbyPass TV.

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San Diego Legions’ Greg Peterson will lead the USA into battle in his 50th international appearance for the Eagles. Peterson will pack down alongside seven-Test lock Jason Damm in the team’s second row.

Jack Iscaro, Shilo Klein and Alex Maughan make up a solid front-row combination, while the backrow consists of San Diego Legions’ Viliami Helu, Old Glory DC’s Cory Daniel, and 12-Test enforcer Paddy Ryan.

In the backs, scrumhalf Ruben de Haas will link up with Bristol Bears flyhalf AJ MacGinty in a halves duo that boats 72 Test caps between them. Tavite Lopeti and Dominic Besag are the centre pairing, with Besag being a highly touted prospect from Saint Mary’s College.

 

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The outside backs consist of an incredibly exciting trio, including veteran Nate Augspurger who lines up on the left edge. Former Major League Rugby No. 1 overall pick Conner Mooneyham has been named on the right once again, while Mitch Wilson is the starting fullback.

There are two potential debutants on the bench with Mikey Grandy and Mark O’Keeffe both in line to enter the Test arena for the first time. The bench boasts a mix of potential and experience, also including one-Test Eagle Tomas Casares and 37-Test veteran Paul Mullen.

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“We will continue to work toward delivering a full 80-minute performance focus,” head coach Scott Lawrence said in a statement. As this team grows, we are learning the consistent intensity required in both preparation and Test matches.”

The USA and Tonga both participated in World Rugby’s Pacific Nation Cup but they didn’t get the chance to meet during that tournament. Tonga are coming off a loss to Romania last time out, while the USA got the better of Portugal 21-17 last Saturday.

This clash between Tonga and the USA in Chambery is scheduled to get underway at 11:30 am ET on Saturday, November 16. This is the Eagles’ second of three matches in November, with the Americans set to take on Spain in Madrid next weekend.

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USA Men’s Eagles to take on Tonga

  1. Jack Iscaro
  2. Shilo Klein
  3. Alex Maughan
  4. Jason Damm
  5. Greg Peterson (c)
  6. Viliami Helu
  7. Cory Daniel
  8. Paddy Ryan
  9. Ruben de Haas
  10. AJ MacGinty
  11. Nate Augspurger
  12. Tavita Lopeti
  13. Dominic Besag
  14. Conner Mooneyham
  15. Mitch Wilson

Replacements

  1. Kapeli Pifeleti
  2. Jake Turnbull
  3. Paul Mullen
  4. Tomas Casares
  5. Mikey Grandy*
  6. Ethan McVeigh
  7. Mark O’Keeffe*
  8. Luke Carty

*Denotes potential debut

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Louis Rees-Zammit joins Jim Hamilton for the latest episode of Walk the Talk to discuss his move to the NFL. Watch now on RugbyPass TV

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J
JW 36 minutes ago
Scott Robertson explains the new halves pairing for the All Blacks ahead of France

More indecision and excuses from Razor.


You've given a spot at 6 to Finau whom you haven't even had the courage to use off the bench in the last two games. Now the young enforcer is going into a big much with no rugby, we should expect a similar result to how Aumua struggled to impact a game after he'd hardly been given any chances of the bench either.


Weve now dropped a back three player who also wasn't even given any game time off the bench for someone coming in cold when they really need to have been playing constantly to perform at their best. There are just so many better pictures that should have been present rather than this mickey mouse selection.


I really hope Finau can overcome this, it won't be the first time he's had to. How is the bench even made up? Could you not just have included these changes in the article as well? I actually like BB coming back in, it highlights how courageous he is after sitting out through another concussion that could just as easily sent him back into months of symptoms again.


Dmac was also off his game last week, as was Ratima, with the poor platform Razor and his team have been setting the players up with. He needs to freedom to clear his mind from the clutter that saw him make so many bad decisions last week. It will still probably be a net loss for the team performance not having him on from the start but it should be better for them in the long run if he's allowed to just come on late and play his game trying to claw things back for the team.


With Roigard starting that might prove an outlet for the team to actually get on top first however. Along with Ardie busting a gut in his new role and emptying the tank by halftime, and being replaced by another new star, might mean that Dmac is just icing on the cake at the end.

12 Go to comments
F
Flankly 1 hour ago
Jake White: If I was England coach, I’d have been livid

I am not an England fan, but still very disappointed at what Borthwick is serving up. Regardless of winning or losing, they should be executing the basics at a world class level. That was the reason they replaced Eddie with Steve. After two years England has not built the solid foundations that the RFU were presumably after. Its hard to see it as anything other than a coaching problem.


Having said that I really hope that Rassie has got his team fired up for the game. The Boks at maximum intensity and with no crises (eg red cards) would be expected to win this game. But it does not take much reduction in pressure for Bok teams to lose. The Boks lose when complacency sets in.


On Felix Jones, my guess is that they can't agree on a non-compete so they kept him on payroll for the duration of the Nov tests. The risk was that he would be hired by Rassie or Razor prior to the tests.


As relates to law tweaking, it feels like WR are more comfortable discussing changes in laws than insisting on implementation. For my money the biggest thing they could do is to be strict and consistent in officiating ruck behavior. In every game we see flopping, lazy lying, clearing of unbound players, making plays while off your feet, delays in placing the ball, side entry, offside line infringements, and similar nonsense. It's really really bad, and the WR attitude seems to be that we should turn a blind eye in pursuit of "flowing rugby". In truth it's just boring, because it randomizes the outcome.

9 Go to comments
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