Eagles Seek Third Straight; How Does Spain Match Up?

07.17.2026Eagles

USA players celebrate a try against Zimbabwe. Photo Greg Sabin for USA Rugby.

Author: Alex Goff

One of the places of control in the Nations Cup relies on Saturday's test match between the USA and Spain on Saturday night in Cary, NC.

Kickoff is 7:30PM ET at Wake Med Soccer Park in Cary. The game is also live on Paramount+.

Going into the game, the two teams match up in an interesting way.

For example, the USA kicks the most of any team. Spain turns the ball over the least.

USA is just about average on gainline success. Spain is better.

Their average ruck speed is below that of the competition, but one factor there is when the Eagles put up box kicks., they take a long time. Spain is faster in rucks.

Both teams are 100% on their scrums. But in the lineouts there's a big difference—USA is 92.6% (the average is 78.9%) while Spain is 77.4%.

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USA has conceded at least three line breaks fewer than any other side at the 2026 Nations Cup (six times6). But they have given up a try on two-thirds of those, which is the highest strike rate allowed.

USA kicks the most of any team (61 kicks in open player). Spain leads in total meters and meters per kick. Tani Bay of Spain is the biggest kicker in the competition.

Spain leads the Nations Cup in tackles made at 347 and their tackle rate of 88.3% leads the competition. But the USA is close at 87.2%.

The key, said lock and captain Jason Damm, is to not get pulled away from what works.

"I think, really, we just need to stick to our identity," Damm said. "We just need to be relentless in how we approach that. I think we want to create some better speed of ball than we had against Zimbabwe, and maybe control some of their more dynamic players."

Eagles Name Side to Face Off with Spain

The USA has seen a number of hookers run through the squad and we will see more as players come up through the ranks and back from injury. So it's been interesting that the set piece has functioned well despite changes.

"They're here for a reason and they know that," Damm said about the players at that position, including Saturday's starter Kapeli Pifeleti, reserve Shilo Klein (who has been the reserve every week), or last week's starter Alex Maughan. "They all bring a little bit of something different, but they all know they're here for a reason and we back them 100%. Really with all the guys, I think we've got 35 guys here, that are capable of stepping on the pitch and making an impact in the USA jersey."

Having that confidence is crucial.

That runs into the USA's ability to push aside some rough moments and come back to their level.

"Just in terms of our ability to problem-solve; I think the more cohesion you get as a group, the better you get in problem-solving and in real time we're seeing that," said Head Coach Scott Lawrence. "They've done that in-game. There's a lot of that that's done in the learning environment here [in training]. For the team. we're still building the capacity, then, to play the way we want to play. It's a big jump, to go from domestic professional rugby to test rugby. We've got an excellent athlete performance staff, and the players are growing in their efforts, and that's a big part of what we're doing as well."

Next step, then, is to take care of Spain.