Sunday is arrival day for the USA players as they prepare to face the mighty All Blacks in less than a week.

 

The USA players, some of whom played this weekend in overseas pro games - Samu Manoa helping Northampton win, Blaine Scully on the wing in Leicester’s loss -  will have a regular week to prepare for the #1 team in the world. They will train hard Monday and Tuesday, take Wednesday off, train again Thursday, have the captain’s run Friday, and suit up for the game on Saturday afternoon.

 

New Zealand, by contrast, has been together for several months, playing test matches every two weeks.

 

The expect starting lineup for the USA will include players only available for this game. Manoa, Scully, Chris Wyles, Eric Fry, Cam Dolan, Scott LaValla and Hayden Smith will all return to their pro clubs after Saturday. This is because Saturday’s game is outside the official test match window, and so clubs didn’t have to release those players. They agreed to, but only if those players gave up playing for the Eagles for the rest of November. (LaValla will be available a little later in the month.)

 

The tradeoff was necessary to ensure the USA puts its best foot forward against New Zealand, but it also meant that Head Coach Mike Tolkin was scrambling around desperately trying to fill in holes. In the end he named 35 players, and of those, only 17 will be around for every game.

 

“What is nice is that we got a roster for November and it’s not a bad roster,” said Tolkin. “It could have been tough but the work we have put in over the last two years has given us some depth.”

 

In fact, some good players, such as Graham Harriman, Brian Doyle, Zackt Test, or Andrew Durutalo could have been on that squad, too. Test and Durutalo were left home because the risk of injury would have really hurt the 7s team. Harriman and Doyle were just unlucky.

 

But the selections also made for some interesting choices, such as Taku Ngwenya, out of favor for all of this year until now, but back in the fold.

 

“On the field we want him to bring that electricity that got him where he is today,” Tolkin said of the speedy wing. “We want him to have that energy on the field that made him a good Eagle for many years. I thought he’d lost his energy in his last stint with the Eagles. That may have led to some of the communication breakdowns.”

 

Things weren’t going well for Ngwenya at his club - Biarritz was losing - and that might have had an influence. Tolkin added, “we’d had a good relationship, and those positives mean a lot over the years.”

 

But, Tolkin added, “this is his last shot at making the World Cup squad.”

 

Ngwenya’s presence is even more critical because Luke Hume is injured, and Brett Thompson picked up an injury last week and is potentially doubtful for the All Blacks.

 

Another player who was out and is back in is flanker John Quill. Quill is aggressive, and emotional, in a good way, but got hurt at a time when some young loose forwards started playing well.

 

“He kept sending film and staying updated,” said Tolkin. “John is a very tough player.We want to see a little bit more in his individual skills - his catch-pass. But she’s tough, he’s physical, he’s excellent over the gall. And having an out-and-out #7 is a big deal.”

 

Also out for a while was Mate Moeakiola, but he brings experience up front, physicality as a prop, and has been playing regularly.

 

“Any level in France is tough,” said Tolkin. “Scott LaValla saw him recently and said he looked good, so he could be a big help for us."

 

The Eagles squad also includes a couple of players who have not been a part of the roster at all. Angus MacLellan is profiled here. Ben Tarr, like MacLellan, is a young prop with a lot of potential. 

 

MacLellan has performed at every level, said Tolkin. For Tarr, who played U20s this past spring, “he showed some signs of good propping. Scrummaging is his thing and if he can win us ball, great. We will see these guys. At the beginning it won’t be a lot, but at the very least they will with us a month and will learn.”

 

And then there’s Greg Peterson. The 6-8 lock has been playing for the Waratahs in New South Wales, and while he has grown up in Australia, his father is American who played football for Northwestern, and he is an NFL fan.

 

“He identifies with American culture, he comes to Chicago a bit; there’s definitely a cultural connection which I think matters,” said Tolkin. “Greg would have been an ARC guy is his contract allowed it. We were looking to get him into camp for about a year. We didn’t just pluck him out of the blue.”

 

As a pro who has physical gifts, Peterson could be an asset.

 

“The preparation and training habits are there,” said Tolkin. “The next question is, what can he do at the international level?”

 

And what can the USA Eagles do on the international level? We find out on Saturday, but in getting to Saturday, Tolkin and his staff don’t want to overwhelm the players.

 

“We’re going to look at the basics of attack and defense rather than trying to worry about the All Blacks and going over everything,” said Tolkin. “We don’t have time. We’re going to focus on how we play the game and not try to clutter the players’ minds. Simplicity, clarity, freshness.”

 

Tolkin sent a note to every player to help them handle al of the questions this week - the main one being, do you think you’ll beat the Al Blacks? That, said Tolkin, shouldn’t be how they think.

 

“Every rugby game is the same in your approach - let in as few points as you can and score as many points as you can,” said the coach. “We have everything to gain, and nothing to lose. We will leave our guts out on the field and we will walk off the field with pride. That’s it.”