As they prepare to face Georgia Saturday in Batumi, the Eagles have some changes in their lineup following Saturday's loss to Scotland.
Head Coach Scott Lawrence has made some adjustments to add some size in the forwards—Marno Redelinghuys slides over from lock to blindside flanker, with Tevita Naqali coming into the second row.
Makeen Alikhan comes in at No. 8, while Vili Helu moves to the bench.
In the backs there are more changes, with Toby Fricker moving from wing to fullback, while Rufus McLean and Mark O'Keefe come in for Mitch Wilson and Erich Storti. Tavite Lopeti replaces Tommaso Boni at center.
Luke Carty replaces Chris Hilsenbeck at flyhalf.
Overall it's pretty clear Lawrence expects an intense physical battle, as he also has a 7-to-1 split of forwards-vs-backs on the reserves bench. However, Lawrence did say that needing a forward to play on the wing is an expected risk of this setup, and, he added, that he has a couple of players (potentially Pa'afu and Poidevin) who can play on the wing.
Michael Baska can play a variety of positions and he provides some flexibility.
Overall this is expected to be an excellent test for a team that has done well to put the Scotland loss behind them. Skipper Jason Damm said this has been an excellent week of training and he felt the selection process had to be tough. The players are hungry to do better, he said, and carry with them the knowledge that they had the chances to score against Scotland and were just a little impatient, and let little disconnects creep into their game.
Georgia vs USA
KO Nov 8, 7AM ET from Adjarabet Arena | Batumi, Georgia. Live on Paramount+
