Every game this year, except one, has been a game of two halves for the USA.

Only once - against Samoa in the opening game of the Rugby World Cup - have the Eagles posted essentially the same scoreline for both the first 40 minutes and the second 40. And only once, against Canada in August, have the Eagles outscored their opponents in both halves. 

In the eight matches in a 3-5 season so far, the Eagles have generally looked the better team, or close to it, for half the game - sometimes the first half, and sometimes the second half. Overall they have outscored opponents 103-64 in those good halves, and been outscored 53-156 in the bad halves.

Nowhere was this trend more obvious than Sunday in Leeds, where the Eagles went into halftime leading 13-6, and then were outscored 33-3 by Scotland to lose 39-16.

I point this out to state something outright - the USA Men’s National Team has shown in every game it has played this season that it’s good enough to win games on the international stage. The Eagles’ best 80 minutes against Tier I opposition is 23-20. Their best 80 minutes against Samoa was 21-11. Their best 80 against Canada 29-9. They play strong defense, and can put opponents under pressure, and get some, but not a lot, of points.

And then they collapse. Or they screw it up in the first half and come back.

Still it’s proof to me that I don’t have to write about “more time together” or “more money” or even a pro league. So what do I write about?

 

Execution

There’s nothing more to it than that. If the Eagles win their lineouts, they score tries. Their best lineout possession of the first half resulted in a try. They lost lineouts due to poor throws, bad lifts, players not even being put into the air, and not-straight throws. 

 

Possession

It’s just not acceptable to lose the ball in contact with the frequency the Eagles do. They lost the ball on the tryline three times in the second half against Scotland - you can’t do that in international rugby and expect to win.

 

Kicking 

It’s obvious to me now that the USA team kicks too much. Their strength is in their imposing runners. I know Mike Tolkin wants to play a territory game, but the current kicking approach doesn’t give the USA territory - the opposition deep backs are too smart, and the USA chase is really woeful.  It can be good, and at times is good, but mostly is provides attacking chances for the opposing team. 

 

Personnel 

As good as Al McFarland has been as a defender and as good as Andrew Durutalo has been throughout this year, I feel Danny Barrett needs play more. He is an offensive force, and the Eagles need offense.

Greg Peterson had a poor day tackling against Samoa, but a good day against Scotland. As well as he and Hayden Smith have performed in the scrum, Cam Dolan’s work around the park and in the lineout has been very strong - in 68 minutes he has made 12 tackles (more than either Smith or Peterson) and missed just once. He has 5 lineout takes, more than Smith and Peterson combined, and more than any other Eagle … in less than a game’s worth of minutes.

In Samu Manoa, Thretton Palamo, and Seamus Kelly they have runners who can break the gain line on a repeated basis. In Taku Ngwenya, Blaine Scully, Chris Wyles, and Brett Thompson, they have wings who can score tries, and those players are not getting the ball enough. Instead we see players make breaks and there’s no support, or no linkage. Because we’re not using the backs to break through the middle, we’re not using them enough.  

 

Dumb Penalties

Thretton Palamo slapping the ball out of the scrumhalf’s hands. Blaine Scully being told specifically to stop chasing a kick, and ignoring it. The entire line being woefully offside, repeatedly. It’s bad enough that the Eagles get his for harsh penalties and don’t get calls themselves (Scotland’s open field obstruction not being called still rankles), the players don’t need to kill their own momentum.

 

Philosophy

The Eagles scored against Scotland by getting the ball out quickly, and transferring the ball quickly; Lamositele was tackled and popped the ball to Fry; Durutalo was grabbed and handed off to Thiel. That kept the momentum going forward, and then Lamositele picked up slow ball from a ruck but stayed as low as possible and as a result scored a try - great technique and a good way to use your strength.

And then we didn’t see any more of that. This has happened before - the Eagles figure it out, and then stop doing it. 

 

So in the end, I see a team that can play against the big boys, and can scare them. But I don’t see a team that maintains its collective concentration enough, and I don’t see a team that executes at critical moments. There’s a whole lot of effort going on out there, but strategically and tactically, the USA remains too inconsistent to win.