The USA Men’s Eagles won the La Vila International Rugby Cup, clinching the trophy with a 42-12 final win over hosts Spain.
Led by captain Nate Brakeley, who had announced his retirement from international rugby, the Eagles overcame a shaky start Saturday to control the match. Chris Mattina, who was strong in support and from the boot, scored five points from a conversion and a penalty goal, earned himself Player of the Match honors.
“Happy for the men that we were able to show improvement again over the previous week, and a big credit to the assistant coaches for preparing them and Alex Ross in getting us to a level of conditioning that we need to be to play in zero G," said Interim Head Coach Scott Lawrence.
Spain had the early advantage when the Eagles conceded a penalty, and Los Leones opted for goal. They missed, however, giving the Eagles a chance to respond. Both sides had chances to made inroads but their opportunities fell away, fumbling the ball with missed passes and knock-ons. But the USA kept up their drive, using kicking to their advantage.
No one scored for the first 15 minutes until Spain finally capitalized on a long kick downfield and Matt Foulds went on to score; Iñaki Mateu converted and it was 7-0. The Eagles worked to get back into scoring position and when Spain infringed Luky Carty punished them for two penalty goals.
The remainder of the first half continued to be a scramble on both sides, and it remained 7-6 for Spain until just before the break. The Eagles set a nice maul and worked the phases that set up Bick McCarthy to go through a fap.
The Eagles looked more organized and dominant as the game went on, trying to control the ball and keep the lead. The kicking game continued, with the wind knocking a few off course. USA vice captain Nate Augspurger took advantage of a bad pass by Spain and grabbed the ball to run it in untouched. That made it 20-7 with Carty's conversion, but Spain immediately responded by blocking a kick and Mario Pichardie over, but that would be their last try for the remainder of the game.
