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07.01.2026Eagles
USA Men's Eagles huddle up during training in Colorado.
USA Men's Eagles huddle up during training in Colorado.
Author: Alex Goff

Moving on to the USA vs Portugal test match at Dick's Sporting Good Park, this week has to be a busy one for the USA team.

While the players will have had plenty of information before assembly, working together can't be done remotely.

"You've got to move the big rocks first," said Head Coach Scott Lawrence. "You have to know your set piece, you have to know your kicking game, you have to convert in the 22. You get get the foundational things of your game plan together."

It will take time, especially with newer callups, to fit into the program, and it's true that Portugal has been active already.

Portugal in training.

Os Lobos played five matches in the Rugby Europe Championships, which they won, going 5-0.

There is no doubt that experience puts them in a better position as a playing unit.

"As you spend more time together, you get to know more intimately a player's game and about how the team performs together, and so you begin to kind of adapt over time," said Lawrence. "So if you're sitting on the sideline in July, that's why things can look clunky, why passes might not go to hand, why there might not be connections. And that's because those connections take time."

 

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