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Discilpine Key for Eagles Say Peterson, Lawrence

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Discilpine Key for Eagles Say Peterson, Lawrence

Greg Peterson is captaining the USA this weekend. Photo USA Rugby.

With the USA vs Canada game coming Saturday evening, USA Heah Coach Scott Lawrence and 

Canada Names Lineup to Face USA

USA Names Side to Face Canada Saturday

"Canada did very well in terms of getting tries and finding them pretty much out of nothing," said captain Greg Peterson. "They did that very well of some scrappy ball, too. But in temrs of focusing on them ... we've really been just focused on ourselves. I the Romania game and the Scotland game we probably hurt ourselves the most."

That was a clear message for the Eagles not to get too sloppy with possession. And that was backed up when Peterson and Lawrence talked about the breakdown. Asked about how the banning of the gator roll has resulted in more secure ball in the breakdown, Lawrence said "I think it has placed greater emphasis on winning the race to the ball on both sides."

Kickoff is 6PM and Tickets can be had here>>

And that's what it's all about. Avoiding penalties, being clear in how you win ball, and being quick in how you win ball, is the key.

And doing it legally. Lawrence has been emphasizing physicality, American bravery ... and discipline.

"We're have a couple of MLR referees come i...  [analyst] Jimmy Harrison is just exceptional at what he does and knows every little in-and-out of the game. Scott's really cracked down on the penalties. We've coded every session that we've done ... [it's] given us greater learnings about the game. With the majority of the team being MLR players, the standard does change from an MLR ref to an international ref. And it's really just sparking that and making us know the these refs are going to be a lot righter, a lot harder on smaller things so we've just got to be a bit sharper."

GRR asked Lawrence about some of the players on thw squad with few caps—17 of the gameday 23 will come into Saturday at Dignity Health Sports Park with fewer than 10 caps. Notably, the front row includes Jack iscaro (7 caps) and Alex Maughan (3 caps) and on the bench Sean McNulty and Pono Davis will come on at hooker and prop to make their debuts.

Lawrence said the presence of new players is energizing. 

"I think you get an increase in energy when you get new guys in camp ... that's been pretty prevalent," said Lawrence. "We'll see hopefully a high tempo game from us this weekend, and I think they will deliver that.

Kickoff is 6PM and Tickets can be had here>>