In a thrilling game the USA tied England 21-21 in pool play in Hong Kong and won their pool on points difference, setting up Sunday’s Cup Quarterfinal against Samoa.

The Eagles went into the game knowing they were ahead of England on points difference, and thus a tie would see them pool winners. Won or lose, the USA was in the Cup Quarters.

The USA won the kickoff through Danny Barrett, sent Perry Baker quickly ahead, and then worked it back left. They got a penalty, Zack Test tapped, and when Madison Hughes won the ruck Baker came in as halfback, faked going wide, and literally stepped into in-goal from short-range. 7-0 USA. 

England replied, winning the restart and working right then left. They expiated a matchup and put Jeff Williams away - the pass to Williams was forward but not called, but still good work from the English to tie the game 7-7.

The Eagles did exactly the same from the next restart that they did at the beginning - out to Baker and then a penalty in the England 22. This time, they tried the grubber ahead, and an excellent chase by Barrett and Folau Niua forced a scrum-five. From there a beautifully-timed pass from Niua set up Maka Unufe to go in under the posts. 14-7. 

Strong execution from the USA in a game that seemed to be all about who had possession.

England got possession next. The USA chased for the tackle and sent too many men into contact. That left Tom Mitchell with space and he went 80 meters. 14-14.

So it came down to the second half.

Test went up high to win the restart and the Eagles worked their way forward.  The key move we’re starting to see from the USA is a quick release of the ball when the ballcarrier is tackled, and then quick to the feet to pick up the ball and surge forward again. Maka Unufe did this to keep the attack moving and then a nice pass over the top from Barrett gave Unufe - who somehow had rolled out of the ruck and got out wide - a chance to spin out of one tackle and score next to the posts. 21-14.

Test almost nabbed the restart again, and had he done so this game might have been put away. Instead, England got a couple of penalties and attacked. The USA tackling was OK but England did a very good job of exploiting matchups - and some saw an obvious knock-on not called. Williams against Andrew Durutalo on the wing was a mismatch, and Williams was good for the try. No one stopped him from rounding in near the posts, and the kick tied it up. 21-21.

So every possession had resulted in a try. Somehow, though, with 2-1/2 minutes left, that was it for the scoring. An offload from Barrett didn’t go to hand and Engand got it. Unufe caught Dan Norton. Then Norton fell over when it seemed as if he was away. England got a penalty in the USA 22 when it seemed the USA had a legal ruck going. Niua got a yellow card for the penalty, and down a man, the USA were up against their goal line. Somehow they held. But the USA held, thanks in large part to their captain. Hughes made a huge tackle on the wing to stop a try and force a loose pass. A knock-on by USA, but still the Eagles were alive.

Then from the scrum, five meters out, Hughes made another tackle to stop a try, popped up and went for the poach. That was good enough to earn a penalty for the Americans, and Hughes checked with the referee, confirmed time was up, and booted the ball into touch.

In the end, it was a good-enough performance by the USA, but one where they had to feel they could have executed a little bit better to win the game. The Eagles now face Samoa in the Cup Quarterfinals at 11:42 am Hong Kong time on Sunday, which is 8:42pm PT Saturday night, or 11:42pm ET Saturday night.

USA 21

Tries: Unufe 2, Baker

Convs: Hughes 3

England 21

Tries: Williams 2, MItchell

Convs: Mitchell 3

Notes: Carlin Isles was listed as a starter for this game but did not play at all. Usually Isles and Baker trade off halves, but Baker played the entire game this time. It’s not clear whether Isles was injured.