August 22 in Ottawa won’t be a cakewalk for the Eagles as they face a tough rematch with a wounded Canadian team.

Canada, like the Eagles, have left off their current roster a player of significance, with fullback and all-time-leading scorer James Pritchard not in the squad. The USA, of course, are without Todd Clever after he was dropped July 19. The Eagles will also play Canada without Taku Ngwenya and Samu Manoa (visa issues), and Hayden Smith (nursing an injury). 

USA Coach Mike Tolkin has also made a few more adjustments to the squad. Joseph Taufete’e is a young front-rower who plays a lot of No. 8 at Belmont Shore. He is quick, and has some good ball-handling skills, and is a message from Tolkin that he’s not completely sold on his team’s front-row depth. Back from injury is Olive Kilifi, who is a different sort of player than Taufete’e, more of a charging bull than a wildebeest who can change direction, Kilifi is there to make sure the set piece sets up right. Taufete’e is something of a wild card.

Also in the squad is Niku Kruger. The Kutztown University scrumhalf has impressed in training opportunities, and with Toby L’Estrange struggling, Kruger comes in as a legit backup scrumhalf, sliding Shalom Suniula into more of a flyhalf/scrumhalf role rather than scrumhalf/flyhalf.

The lineup to face Canada will be  thin at second row, then, with Smith and Manoa not available. This gives Lou Stanfill (precious little playing time in part thanks to injury) and Greg Peterson (two rough performances and one good one) potential opportunities to make an impact.

We’ll probably see Kilifi get some playing time, and John Quill certainly is in a battle with Andrew Durutalo for the #7 shirt.

We could also see either Scott LaValla or Cam Dolan in at second row, given that Tolkin has several fine back-rowers at his disposal. 

So the forwards should be fine. They handled Canada’s forwards well enough, and even if Tolkin shifts some players around, expect a solid day at the office. As for the backs, well they need to open up the game.

“Going into the PNC we focused on building pressure through maintaining possession in the right parts of the field,” said center Seamus Kelly, who has produced a few line breaks for the Eagles. “The next step for us is recognizing when to strike and execute on the back of that built-up pressure. With a large sample size and a better understanding of the way our attack operates we will be able to turn possession through multiple phases into more points.”

The backline defense looks good, especially off set piece and organized play, so they have to avoid a fractured field. But more than one player has said that it’s not only what you do with the ball, but where you do it.

You have to be very conscious of where you’re playing the game and where the game plan is,” said Smith. “We have to be smarter about where we choose to play rugby and having a clearer idea of what we’re trying to achieve in each part of the field.”

So that means kick when it’s time to kick, keep it tight when it’s time to keep it tight.   

The newer players will have to buy right into that, and they don’t have much time to do it.