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'Picked on weaker players': USA Eagles' successful game plan for Canada
By Ben Smith
The USA Eagles got off to the perfect start in their Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup campaign with a 28-15 victory over Canada in Los Angeles.
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And while the second half relied on dogged defence and determination to withstand Canada’s push to bring the game alive again by getting within one score, it was a comfortable win in the end.
“Test wins are rare, and test matches in general, rare for us. So we’ll take we’ll take that,” head coach Scott Lawrence told RugbyPass.
“We made some progress on the things we worked on coming into the game, around just our ball retention and our discipline, and we’ll continue to build on those things.”
A first-half clinic by flyhalf Luke Carty got the Eagles off to a fast start, while Canada’s set-piece issues plagued them and allowed the United States to dictate terms.
On attacking Canada wide early, Lawrence praised his side for identifying the space and going after it.
“I think they just recognized the opportunity. We were going to play what they gave us tonight. And the boys recognized that and took advantage of it.”
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Both sides are very familiar with each other with most of Canada’s players suiting up in the MLR alongside the majority of the US players.
That familiarity became an advantage for the US who knew what they needed to do to shut down Canada’s game.
Lock Greg Peterson, a key leader and contributor on the night to the set-piece dominance, was happy with how his forward pack nullified Canada.
Once Canada’s maul was stopped dead in part due to the new laws, the US forced the visitors to play away from their traditional strength.
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“We knew that Canada was going to have a very strong line out a couple good, very good operators with a very, like, very strong, very good maul,” he said.
“So we knew we wanted to play around them in terms of not taking on where they were strong. So we picked on some of their weaker players.
“And then when it came to the maul time with that new law change, we knew we just had to stop it for a couple of seconds, wait for the ref to kind of give us that ‘use it’ call and then, you know, then they’d have to play it. So use the laws a bit to our advantage at times.”
After a disappointing July series which featured two defeats to Romania and Scotland, the United States forward pack wanted to respond the right way.
“We just had to front up, we’ve practiced that a lot because obviously our performances against Romania and Scotland went up to par for, you know, this the standard of pack we want to be,” Peterson said.
“We really stepped it up in terms of working on those aspects of the game and knowing that Canada were going to be strong in those areas. We knew we had to double down.”
Star midfielder Tomasso Boni was one of the United States’ best on-field against Canada, with powerful carries propelling their launch attacks over the gain line, class touches in attack and an impact on defence with multiple turnovers won.
The former Azzurri midfielder went as far as saying the intensity of the United States training camp was greater than the match, allowing the team to dominate.
“I think we, we really did well on more than having the ball and pulling the trigger,” Boni said.
“I believe that we train harder than the game and today was, was, was an evidence of the fact that we were more tired during our trainings than this game, so it means that it’s working.”
Flyhalf Luke Carty, named player of the match in the win, had the ball on a string in the match using all his skills in the toolbox to take apart Canada.
Whether by cross-field kicks, long cutout passes, chip kicks, end-over-end kicks, he had complete control over the game.
“I think he had good control. You know, we talked about him commanding the game in between the 22s, and I think he did a good job of that tonight. His kicking game was it was fairly accurate and on a really, kind of a strange ball had a weird flight to it tonight, for both teams. So yeah, I was really pleased with Luke tonight,” Lawerence said of his No.10.
He was credited for two try assists, the second an absolute “worldie” with a chip chase regather and inside pass to his fullback to draw the last man.
His outside midfielder Boni said it was “his day” and was really pleased with how their combination worked.
“I think Carty had a great, great game, obviously, and when he had a plan that has so much confidence and shout all the time everything, it’s kind of easier, and we all try to help him,” he said.
“But today, it was his day, right? So I think, I think we found a really good balance.”
This is more appropriate for you Benni
Relegated to commenting on North American rugby.