Eagles

In Praise of Mike Te'o

So a little note in praise of Mike Te’o.

Mike Te’o came to national prominence a few years ago, when Belmont Shore Head Coach Ray Egan said to me and colleague Pat Clifton that he had a U19 player who was good enough to play for his men’s team. He’s a n odd player, said Eagan, because he’s a hooker, who can play center, and we’ve got him playing on the wing.

Eagles Shut Out Russia

On a very hot evening in Sacramento, the USA shut out Russia 25-0 in a game that showed some tenacity, but not always precision. 

The USA and Russia both struggled to make their chances pay off with a try, but finally the Eagles got on late through Mike Te'o.

Captain Blaine Scully said after the game that the performance was good in places, but the team was a little loose in structure at various moments.

The Russians started the game inauspiciously with as the kickoff went out on the full, and in fact the Eagles did well to use that starting scrum to probe into Russian territory. But a turnover saw the Bears quickly decide to attack the other way, and that would be a hallmark of Russia’s approach for the rest of the evening. They knew they would have few chances, so they wanted to run when they had them.

HSAA Team Off to Ontario Soon

The USA High School All American team has now been chosen for the 1st of two HSAA trips this summer.

The team will be assembling in the Buffalo, NY area and will bus out to Oakville, Ont. There, the HSAA East squad will face the Ontario Blues U19 team on Wednesday, June 29 at 7pm Eastern Time. The game will be played at Appleby College in Oakville.

The two teams will have two days to recover, and enjoy local Canada Day festivities, and then will face off again on Saturday, July 3 at 3pm Eastern, once again at Appleby College.

Eagles Stick to the Plan, and Stick to the Lineup

The USA Men’s National Team looks to finish off their two-game series in June with Saturday’s clash with Russia in Sacramento.

USA Head Coach John Mitchell has made a few changes to the team that lost 24-20 to Italy last weekend in San Jose. James King will start at lock in place of Greg Peterson, who was injured in the game against Italy. Tony Lamborn, who made his debut last week coming on for Peterson, and scoring a try in the process, will start at flanker in place of Andrew Durutalo, who is now at Chula Vista getting ready to try out for the USA 7s team. And Mike Te’o comes in at right wing, where he played 76 minutes on Saturday after Taku Ngwenya left with a head injury.

Eagle Lineup for Russia - Clever Sets Record

USA captain Todd Clever will set a new record for most caps by a USA player Saturday when he leads the Eagles out against Russia.

Ths start will ensure Clever of his 68th cap, bypassing Mike MacDonald's old record of 67.

Clever at last week's coin toss, all smiles as he prepared for his 67th test match. Colleen McCloskey photo.

Clever has captained the USA 47 times, also a USA record, well past the second-most, which is Dave Hodges at 28.

Club Helps Olympic Hopefuls Train

The Olympics came to Olympia, sort of, as the USA, Canada, and Brazil women’s 7s teams scrimmaged in the Washington state capital this week.

The meeting worked out nicely for all concerned, as the Canadians took the ferry from Victoria, BC to Port Angeles and then drove south to Olympia. The USA was then able to fly up to Seattle and drive to Olympia, and the Brazilians needed to make the trip anyway. Somehow it worked, and it wouldn’t have come off were it not for the Budd Bay Rugby Club.

(Full disclosure, this is the writer’s home rugby club.)

Some Roster Shifts for USA as Russia Approaches

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The USA Men's 15s team gets ready to face Russia Saturday at Bonney Field, with some changes in the squad both forced and by choice.

Eric Fry returns to the Eagles with the hope of playing once more in his hometown. Fry was left off the original squad, with (if you read between the lines of various coaches' comments) the idea that maybe he was giving up too many penalties in the scrum. Well, the penalties remain, and Fry is back, but only as a day-camper.

Video - Alev Kelter at USA 7s Team Training

USA standout Alev Kelter was with the women's 7s team as they scrimmaged with Canada and Brazil in Olympia, Wash. June 21, and she spoke with Goff Rugby Report Editor Alex Goff.

Kelter discussed the team's chemistry, the work they've been doing, and how nice it is to be (sort of ) close to her home state.

If you don't see the embedded video below, please refresh the page.

Three-Nation Pre-Olympic 7s Prep

The USA Women’s 7s team is scrimmaging Canada and Brazil at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash. this week.

It’s an excellent chance for the three programs to test some players and get some live action. USA and Canada have two squads in action and Brazil one as the teams play games through Tuesday and Wednesday at TESC’s extensive fields in the middle of campus.

The Evergreen State College is familiar with rugby as many local youth and adult games and tournaments have been played on those fields. there’s room for four full rugby fields on campus, and the players and coaches were appreciative of the space the venue afforded them.

Eagles v Italy Game Analysis

In our analysis of the USA v Italy game we’ve come up with a few key areas that made a difference, one way or the other.

Refereeing - let’s get this out of the way early. Referee Mariu Van Der Westhuizen did pretty well in a number of areas, but he made a couple of key missteps, as well as some smart, gutsy calls. The gutsy call of the penalty try for the USA was right and fair, but took guts to do, for sure.

He also pinged Italy for holding onto the ball in the ruck a few times. The problem? He didn’t do it enough. Italy held onto the ball when isolated in the breakdown, or when a USA player was there to take it, far too often. Maybe this was a case of interpretation, but it was critical anyway.

Scully Talks Eagles, and the Arm Wrestle

Several USA players have said this weekend that Saturday’s game again Italy was the true beginning of the John Mitchell era.

The reasoning is fairly logical - this was the first game where Mitchell got to pick his own players, as he was hired too late to do that in the Americas Rugby Championship in February.

But, unlike the beginning of other coaches’ tenures, then, Mitchell got a soft opening, where he was able to see, in general, the types of players he has at his disposal, and what he needs to accomplish and fix with them.

So coming into this weekend, he knew the program needed work on things like scrums, and avoiding penalties, and fitness.

Holder Handles Fullback

Will Holder’s performance at fullback for the USA Saturday was a nice highlight for player, team, and fans.

The former West Point All American is in the USA 7s program, and has been capped at flyhalf, but looked very much at home in a #15 jersey.

“It was fun,” Holder told Goff Rugby Report. “It was a great new experience, and the guys made it easy for me.”

Holder fielded Italy’s many kicks nicely, and did some pretty effective kicking himself. On attack he was certainly dangerous, and set up the USA’s first try with a nice counter.

“When I  caught that ball I knew I had the #9 screaming down on me,” said Holder, referring to Italian scrumhalf Edoardo Gori. “I made him miss, and after that I just saw open space.”

Injury to Ngwenya Worrying, Scary

Wings Leonardo Sarto of Italy and Taku Ngwenya of the USA both left the field after four minutes on Saturday with nasty head injuries.

The problems came when Ngwneya chased down a kick that Sarto had caught. Ngwenya came in very fast, looking to make a tackle. Sarto's head dipped a little bit, and the two crashed into each other, with heads colliding. Both appeared to be unconscious before they hit the ground. Both lay prone and motionless as play went on. The game was stopped quickly and the medical staff came on. Both left the field.

"It's scary stuff," said USA wing Blaine Scully. "You want to play with that feeling of invincibility, but there is that side of the game, and knowing something like that could happen. And it shakes you up to see not only a teammate but a really good friend go down. We're all hoping for the best for Taku."

Italy Edges USA 24-20

Italy held on to defeat the USA 24-20 in a tense, physical test match in San Jose.

The Eagles looked very capable at times and scored two tries, but penalty trouble hurt them at crucial moments.