Busy 2015 for Eagle Men
Busy 2015 for Eagle Men
The USA Men’s National Team will not have to dance around too many pro player availabilities in 2015 as they look ahead to the Rugby World Cup.
The Eagles’ season looks to include five or six test matches, plus as many as three non-test games before they arrive in England for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
That should mean a 2015 slate of ten full tests, one of their busiest years ever.
The domestic forwards up for USA consideration are slated to meet for a scrum camp in January. Head Coach Mike Tolkin and forwards coach Justin Fitzpatrick will be joined by a guest scrum expert to help solidify an aspect of the game where the Eagles have struggled.
After that, all domestic players will get another assembly in late winter to work on tactical aspects and skills.
Most domestic players will then play in their club or college seasons, but will potentially take a break from those season in April. It looks as though a USA team will play a three-game series in Uruguay against Uruguay and the Argentina Jaguars - a sort of spring ARC.
It’s unclear if the Uruguay game will be a capped test, but it’s likely it won’t be. And after the spring trip South, everyone playing overseas will be able to join the Eagles for the remainder of the summer and the World Cup.
All players will finish off their overseas or domestic seasons in May and get June off. The Pacific Nations Cup will be held in July, with the USA looking to host two games, and playing as many as three.
And then to August, where the Eagles will probably play a home-and-away series with Canada, along with a game against an Aviva Premiership team (several are looking to enhance their connection to the USA - Saracens, Wasps, and Northampton to name three).
The Eagles then play a minimum of four games at the Rugby World Cup, opening with Samoa in Brighton on September 20.
