On a very hot evening in Sacramento, the USA shut out Russia 25-0 in a game that showed some tenacity, but not always precision. 

The USA and Russia both struggled to make their chances pay off with a try, but finally the Eagles got on late through Mike Te'o.

Captain Blaine Scully said after the game that the performance was good in places, but the team was a little loose in structure at various moments.

The Russians started the game inauspiciously with as the kickoff went out on the full, and in fact the Eagles did well to use that starting scrum to probe into Russian territory. But a turnover saw the Bears quickly decide to attack the other way, and that would be a hallmark of Russia’s approach for the rest of the evening. They knew they would have few chances, so they wanted to run when they had them.

Tries were hard to come by. David Barpal photo.

The Eagles showed a desire and ability to run as well. Will Holder slotted nicely into the line after a Thretton Palamo crash ball. That got the Eagles going, but they couldn’t close. Russia, however, was offside, and AJ MacGinty slotted a fairly straightforward kick for a 3-0 lead after ten minutes.

The USA players on defense were aggressive, occasionally missing tackles but trying to make big hits and sending a blitzed. Tony Lamborn forced a turnover that was, and that led to another USA break, and another offside by Russia. MacGinty kicked this one, too to make it 6-0 at 14 minutes.

Back came the Eagles. Lamborn and Cam Dolan set up Mike Te’o for a break, and eventually the Eagles got an attacking lineout. They set up the maul, and James Hilterbrand seemed to be over the line, but he lost the ball before he could touch down and Russia countered quickly. That turned it all around for Russia and they spent a period in the USA half. Todd Clever was penalized for taking the jumper down while in the air, and Russia went for the lineout and maul, hoping to exploit what was an issue for the USA last week.

However, this time, the Eagles defended the mail very well. Key for this was Hilterbrand remaining in the middle and battling, while props Chris Baumann and Titi Lamositele quickly ran back to an onside position and started driving low. 

So that play allowed the Eagles to get out of trouble, and after some kicking from both sides, Holder stabbed a left-footed kick into space and raced after it. He tried to pick the ball up on the gallop. He didn’t, and had he done so he might have scored.

Instead Russia escaped again, but soon thereafter the Russians were pinged for offside (a  little harshly as Augspurger clearly kicked the ball back into the ruck), and MacGinty hit his third penalty for a 9-0 lead.

Soon it was 12-0. Russia’s restart was out on the full and a nice right-side move set up a 3-on-1 on the left. But the three for the USA were all forwards, so they didn’t score, and the USA went back to a penalty in front of the posts, which MacGinty hit.

As the half wound down the USA had one more shot. Russia was offside again, and MacGinty hit a difficult kick to make it 15-0 at the break.

Russia was quick to get on the front foot as the second half began, but the Eagles defense was just good enough - Palamo making a key tackle to stop the attack. The USA replied with a run down the wing by Dolan, who linked with Shalom Suniula and then Blaine Scully. Somehow the Russians stopped it, and while the Eagles had numbers to recycle, they couldn’t quite finish it off. Russia was penalized again, and this time got a yellow card for their troubles. MacGinty hit his 6th penalty - tying a USA record he already shared with Matt Alexander  - and it was 18-0.

But somehow the Americans couldn’t make the man advantage work. It was Russia that had the run of play for the next ten minutes or so, and even when the USA had a penalty chance, it didn’t go well. They opted for the scrum to expose the shorthanded Russian pack, but they instead gave up a free kick for not engaging soon enough.

The USA defense held well enough, partly due to some Russia mistakes, but it wasn’t the best sequence for the Eagles.

Finally, then, it seemed like the try might come. Scully burst onto a pass, powered through a tackler, and was off. But was he got to the tryline he was tackled and expertly flipped - over the line but no touchdown.

Finally, then, it happened. The Eagles only needed to stop the mistakes. After a couple of box kicks out on the full, they executed a kick-and-chase properly. Then the Eagles worked their way into Russia’s half, and MacGinty ghosted left and popped a perfect ball to Te’o, who broke away from one tackler and was in. MacGinty converted and it was 25-0.

Russia he’d the majority of the ball after that, bashing into the Eagles and trying to find a little room to run. Some small gaps opened up but there was always an Eagle defender to come in to fix the problem. New cap Stephen Thomasin made a superb tackle in that role, and another new cap, Langilangi Haupeakui, laid out two Russians in startling style. Overall it was the commitment to defense in the second half that made this game a success.

The Eagles ended the game on the front foot - MacGinty broke through after switching positions with Shalom Suniula, and then Clever looked to be in for a dream try. With no time left Russia was penalized five meters from the line, and called for the scrum - a perfect spot for Haupeakui to pick up and run. However, Russia stole it, then lost it, and then got it back when Clever tried to send a pass through his legs. It ended not with a try but a knock-on, and the Eagles had a second shutout this year. 

Mike Te'o was the guy who found paydirt. David Barpal photo.

Among the players who showed well for the USA, Todd Clever, not the captain on the day but playing in his 68th test match, was aggressive, hard-working, and made some key lineout steals. Lamborn was defensively outstanding and was good over the ball. Baumann was very active, too. MacGinty was brilliant with his goalkicking - had he missed the easy ones things could have been very different. But he also ran the ball nicely, and was part of a good backline defense. Scully worked hard all night.

Will Holder looked very good as an attacker, but was taken out at halftime in favor of Luke Hume, who was his own version of dangerous.  In fact, the subs all made an impact, and Head Coach John Mitchell used his entire bench, thus awarding new caps to Haupeakui, Thomasin, and Harry Higgins.

It was a very nice finish to the all-too-short summer series, and a fitting result for Todd Clever as he set the all-time caps record.

 

USA 25

Tries: Te’o

Convs: MacGinty

Pens: MacGinty 6

 

Russia 0

 

USA Lineup
1. Titi Lamositele
2. James Hilterbrand
3. Chris Baumann
4. James King
5. Nate Brakeley
6. Todd Clever
7. Tony Lamborn
8. Cam Dolan
9. Nate Augspurger
10. AJ MacGinty
11. Blaine Scully (C)
12. Shalom Suniula
13. Thretton Palamo
14. Mike Te'o
15. Will Holder
Reserves
16. Joe Taufete'e	at 45 for Hilterbrand
17. Ben Tarr	at 68 for Baumann
18. Angus MacLellan	at 60 for Lamositele
19. Harry Higgins	at 72 for King
20. Langilangi Haupeakui	at 60 for Lamborn
21. Stephen Tomasin	at 65 for Augspurger
22. Chad London	at 60 for Palamo
23. Luke Hume	at 40 for Holder