That's Why They Call It a Test Match
That's Why They Call It a Test Match
The USA men's 15s team will have about as much of a USA-centric year in 2025 as they have ever had.
As mapped out this week, the Eagles will play three test matches in the early summer test window. Eagles Matches Set for Spring and Summer
Then, for the Pacific Nations Cup, which will double as the World Cup Qualifiers for these teams, they will play Canada in Canada, Japan in the USA, and then the playoff rounds will also be in the USA. For the teams involved this will mean one simple thing: win a game. With two of the six teams in the PNC already qualified (Fiji and Japan), there are three spots for the remaining four teams. All you have to do is win a pool game, and thus be in the top four, or win the 5th-6th game. The team that finishes 6th will move on to the Final Qualification Tournament.
But the point for the Eagles is, they do all of this on home soil.
"We have never had a more exciting calendar of games than we will have this year," said USA Head Coach Scott Lawrence. "So that's massive. And it's a really fun challenge for us to have is to have these these opponents. And then there's this pressure of qualifying again for a World Cup, so that part's exciting; it opens up some different thought process around the selection and the way that we handle things."
Over the last two years Lawrence had worked with over 50 players through the system. They have tested some in internationals, and moved people around. For the Head Coach, this year is a little different as he looks to select a squad that achieves the key goal—qualification.
"But I think the last two years we've worked really hard with bringing players like through that [process]," said Lawrence. "They can understand the expectations it is to be an international player and to play for the Eagles and the environment that we're trying to create. So it's created a competitive base, and the best players will be picked for this year. The years leading up to this were about preparing to perform, and now, this year is about performance, and and so our selections and our methodology and the way we go about things will be about exactly that this year."
Leading up to the PNC the USA plays a game against the Netherlands, a team the USA men have never faced but is an up-and-coming nation. That fixture is a big deal for the Dutch as they look to move up the rankings. Then they play Spain, a Tier 2 nation on the rise that made the final of the Rugby Europe championship. Selections for those games will be affected by what players in what competitions will be either playing for their professional club or will just have finished playing for their pro club. Yes, there is a regulation that says players should be released, but the reality is that releasing a player in the playoffs doesn't help the professional club nor does it help the player.
"I think we have to look at where the playing base is in relation to the end of their professional season," Lawrence explained. "There is a final. That happens right before, six days before that actual test match. And so if there's players in that final, their ability to perform in a test match is probably going to be limited. So you're going to see some player transition and selection transition, probably in those weeks. And really we have to remember that July of last year will be the same as July of this year. We afford a lot of time back to our partners in the domestic professional game in that we don't pull players out during the year. But as a result of that, our July is about building connection within the team and performing to the best of our ability, but actually building through July into the PNC."
So the test match schedule seems to be formulated for that, with the opposition getting increasingly difficult. The Netherlands is ranked #27 in the world right now; the USA is #15. Spain is ranked #16.
"That's going to be a really tough contest," said Lawrence, whose team edged Spain 26-23 last fall. "And I think it just shows the value of that [European] championship. And in return, you can project that to the value of what the PNC is to us and to Canada and the teams involved in that."
And then after that is England. Now, at GRR the point has been made repeatedly that a Tier 1 nation fielding a team when there's a British & Irish Lions tour going on is still a Tier 1 team. Yes they might have players missing (and England will probably have close to a third of the 37-man B&I Lions squad), but it's not uncommon for players on these Lions Tour years who tour North America to end up on the next Lions tour. Marcus Smith, who made his England test debut against the USA in 2021, is but one example of many.
"Regardless who's missing from that squad I think you're you're still looking at a Tier 1, top-level team," said USA prop Jack Iscaro. "They're guys that are superstars in their respective leagues and I think you're still playing really quality top level opposition; guys that are hungry to put their hand up for Lions Tours going forward."
Lawrence agreed.
"You're gonna find some players in there that are fighting for a [Lions] spot, and they're going to play with energy. And you know they're going to want to put on the England jersey again, so it's an it's an international game, it's a it's a capped test, and those players get capped for England, and our players are gonna get capped for the United States. Everybody's going to do their job to the best of their ability."
After all, you've got to take the field and perform.
