Eagles Face Samoa in Denverโค with World Cup Qualificationโค on the Line
The USAโ Men’s Eagles fought valiantly but ultimately fell to a strong Japan side 47-21 in Round Two of the pacific Nations Cupโ at Heart Healthโข Park in Sacramento, finishing third in Pool B. Despite the loss in front of 6,079 fans, the Eagles maintainโ a pathway to Rugby World Cup 2027 qualification โคthrough a 5th place playoff against Samoa next week.
Japan’s speed and precision established an early โฃlead they wouldn’t relinquish, but theโค Eagles responded with โpersistent defence and two tries from Kapeli Pifeleti, alongside a late score from Payton Telea-Ilalio. The visitors, however, capitalized on crucial opportunities to secureโค the victory.
Head Coach Scott Lawrence acknowledged the team’s progress, stating, “We generally did well for longer โperiods of timeโค in this game, in terms โofโ executing our plan โคfor more โคminutes with ball in play. We just ran into a โฃgood team who โฃpunished us โin โthe minutes we didn’t have the ball. Going into next week,โ we’ll look to increase those minutes for ourselves.”
The match began with aโ strong start for the USA, โwith Patty โขRyan securing the โคkickoff.Early defensive pressure,including a forced turnover and a goal-line stand,demonstrated the Eagles’ urgency. Pifeleti’s powerful runs resulted in two first-half tries, keeping the game competitive and bringing the score to 28-14 at halftime.
Following the break, the Eagles disrupted โคJapan’sโฃ set pieces โฃand generated turnovers, highlightedโ by a strong tackle from Mitch Wilson. Telea-Ilalioโข then โfinished a well-executed โpassing sequence to score his firstโ international try, converted by โฃLuke carty.
While acknowledging Japan’s โขdominance,the Eagles demonstrated improvements in their defensive efforts and attackingโ play from the forward โขpack. The team now travels to Denver to prepare for a critical match โagainst Samoa at Dicks Sporting Goods Park, where qualificationโ for the 2027 Rugby World Cup remains within reach.
