It’s already gameday.
From just having arrived to have a game to play the US Military Team is getting down to business.
At 7PM Friday night Nov. 7, UK time, the team will play the British Army Masters, which is the British Army’s 35-and-over team. Many of the USA players are also over 35, and they will start that game, with some of the younger players held out for the next match, which will be November 11 against the British Army side.
Both games are capped matches for the British Army players—not every game gets you a cap; it has to be an official inter-service match, and this US team is being honored with the capped status.
The team has been at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst since November 1, training and coming together as a team.
Head Coach Allen Clarke has come back for another tour and he loves this. The former Ireland international and the Seattle Seawolves Head Coach has a quiet seriousness about him that the players respond to well. Clarke’s respect for the armed forces helps this relationship.
With Gareth Baber coming in for some intense breakdown and defensive work, Mike Tolkin working on attack and backline and consulting with Clarke closely, and Andrew Kaminsa on skills and kicking, they have developed a good coaching team.
West Point and current Old Glory player, Koikoi Nelligan says he still considers himself a player on the team, but he is injured and thus has taken on coaching duties, especially on scrum and lineout. He replaces Scott LaValla, whose Army job has called him away. Nelligan and his former West Point teammate (and current Old Glory teammate) Collin Grosse combine nicely to help operate the lineout.
Mickey Bressler, who, like Nelligan and Grosse, played on the tour last year, was hit with a hugely surprising heart attack this year. He still looks like he could lift the entire pack on his own, but he is not able to play (much to his chagrim), so he is coaching the scrum and breakdown.
Add to that the MLR experience of James “Doc” Irey (rugby players seem to make very good combat medics), who, when he speaks, always garners attention, and the coaching and experience of Jackson Bristol, you have a team that knows what it’s about.
Drew Dawson has stepped up to take on some warmup duties.
Meanwhile, Air Force lawyer Saleem Razvi has moved from coaching last year to being on the field again at scrumhalf.
In the backs, things are a little different. There wasn’t an obvious top leader in the group, but Cliff Davidson has shown he has playmaker ability and he is vocal. Newcomer Dennis Munter is an excellent onfield communicator.
The team has the ability to showcase some flair with Mac Griffin, Dale Sturdifen, and Mike Melendez on the outside and Moliki Mulitalo and Mattie Tago making plays and forcing gaps, Mulitalo with guile, Tago with power.
Some of the players are being moved around. Kevin Harrison was a power-running center who played at Arizona. They are making him a hooker. Ben Haapapuro has a long history playing in 7s and 15s and often as a back … he’s now a flanker.
Hard to pin down is Adam Castle, who sound like he should be playing for the other side. English parents, but grew up in the USA and is serving in the US Army. He’s a scrumhalf/flyhalf/utility playmaker who could be an excellent wild card.
All of that is about the rugby. Off the field, Melendez is the DJ most of the time, unless Tago or Mulitalo or Sili Masina get a chance to mellow it out. Michael “Fletch” Fletcher is just a really funny guy and keeps everything light. And, interestingly, like many of the players on this tour, he’s a coach.
