The USA Boys U18s are returning to the Corendon Summer Tour event in the Netherlands after a successful showing in 2022.

The extra good news, really, is that the team is going back for another shot—the event doesn't seem to offer a U23 option, which is probably good because last year's wasn't great, while the USA U20s have other fish to fry. But for the U18s this was an idea tournament, with games against other national teams of the same age.

Some might be surprised, then, that with the tournament being the same place and same time of year, and being successful, that USA Rugby would actually go there twice in a row. Cynical to look at it that way, for sure, but it's worth pointing out that this event is a really good one for both the USA and Canada as it broadens horizons, plays like against like, and is a good practice run for would-be internationals.

Head Coach Dom Wareing is taking a long-term approach with the U18s, as he should.

"One of the core goals is to see them progress through the pathways," Wareing told Goff Rugby Report. "We want to do that without shutting the doors to other players. This year selections were one of the most competitive I have seen so we're going to see some of the players not selected develop."

Three-WIn Day for USA Age Grade Teams in 2022 Corendon Opener

USA U18s, U20s Win Wellin 2022 Corendon Summer Tour

U18s Win in Corendon Finale

Tying all of this into a consistent approach in coaching and games has paid off—players who moved from the U18s to the U20s were, say the U20 coaches, a little bit more prepared and showed leadership.

"All of that comes from alignment of the age-grade programs with direction from the Head Office," said Wareing, meaning interim Eagles Head Coach and HP Manager Scott Lawrence. "We know now the brand of rugby we want to play and how we are going to get back to where we should be in the world."

And part of that is producing great experiences.

"The retention piece is tough." said Wareing. "Especially here in the US we have talented athletes who have a choice of what sport to pursue. We still have players who might have been invited but they are playing other sports. It would be nice to have a bigger winter camp but it can be tough for some players coming off the back of their high school football season. We what we do is we work closely with those players monitoring them and we work closely with organizations like EIRA."

Eagle Impact Rugby Academy is currently on tour in Spain and will play the Spanish U18 team twice. That, said Wareing, is a great thing; it's international competition for more players. It gets more players that experience as they develop.

International Experience in Coaching Staff

Along with Wareing, previously capped Eagles Tai Tuisamoa and Olive Kilifi—recently nominated for Major League Rugby's Community Impact Award—bring different perspectives to the U18 team.

"I have worked with Ollie before and he is great," said Wareing. He points to last year's Corendon Summer tour in which the USA team struggled against a much taller Netherlands scrum in the opening game, but by the final match the US front row had started to dominate.

"Ollie did an absolutely amazing job with them and Canada were in for a real surprise when we played them," said Wareing. "He connects with all of the players."

Tuisamoa coached with the U20s in the Netherlands last year, and his story of coming to the sport late and the sacrifices you need to make is a good one for some of the athletes to hear.

"He has a great presence and he is inspirational," said Wareing. "And he was really effective in coaching the lineout."

The Players

As for the players, the USA U18 team is heavy with athletes from the Boys HS National Champions. They include HS Club final MVP Max Amasio, who is a huge presence up front but also has impressive open-field skills; Ryan Putka, a quiet leader by example at fullback who doesn't miss tackles; Andrew LaFrankie, who also doesn't miss tackles and was a crucial part of the back row that led Gonzaga to a national title; and Jonty Lee, San Diego Mustangs' highly-skilled flyhalf who is probably getting tired of hearing that his dad was an All Black and would be thrilled to blaze his own trail.

Players who weren't at Nationals include the likes of Seth Smith, a powerful and mobile front-rower from West Houston who played for the Houston SaberCats Academy in the recent MLR Academy tournament, and was also an all-state fullback in football, so you know he can run and can hit; Papa Matelau, the hard-running No. 8 out of Utah state champs East HS, who is a try machine; and Brice Muller, another No. 8 who can score tries and lead from the front—he was a huge part of Fairfield Prep's success this year.

There is a bit of an international flavor to the team, and this is a touchy subject for some, but Wareing said the plan within the USA system is clear—players must be eligible to play for the USA senior team or tracking to get there, and they have to make the effort ... no one's going to chase them down. French-trained Mehdi Merah, now at Xavier HS in New York, is eligible to play U18 for the USA and will cross the five-year residency threshold for senior Eagles in less than two months. Connor Nel is playing at Blackrock College in Ireland but he was actually born in Washington state.