GRR: National Teams
The improvement of the USA Men's 15s team from one week to the next was actually not that much of a surprise.
The USA started with the clear intention of attacking wide, with both wings, Christian Dyer and Ryan Matyas getting the ball early. They used prop Joe Taufete’e to crash up the middle, too, and eventually forced Canada to infringe, giving captain AJ MacGinty an easy penalty attempt, which he converted.
Going into this weekend’s second leg of the Rugby World Cup qualifying series with Canada, the USA team is certainly feeling chastened.
Captain AJ MacGinty, who was critical of his own performance, remembered the Monday team meeting after the loss.
Glendale, Colo. — USA Men's 15s Head Coach Gary Gold has made seven changes to his match roster from last week as the USA faces Canada this Saturday.
With the USA set to face Canada September 11 in the second leg of the Rugby World Cup Qualifier series, the Eagles are looking at a 13-point deficit.
It could, of course, have been larger were it not for Tavite Lopeti's try and AJ MacGinty's conversion right at the end of the first game.