USA Falcons Team to Uruguay Named
USA Falcons Team to Uruguay Named
Head Coach Shawn Pittman has selected 26 Men’s Eagles prospects to travel and compete across two matches in Uruguay as the USA Falcons.
The first game will be against Uruguay XV on Thursday, October 13 and the second will be against Argentina XV on Tuesday, October 18. Live streaming details have yet to be confirmed by event organizers.
This is part of a two-tour October preparing a large amount of players for the Rugby World Cup Final Qualifier Tournament. A USA team will be touring South Africa at the same time.
USA Falcons to South Africa, Selects to Uruguay in Qualifier Warmups
“I think it will be a positive experience for these young guys," said Pittman, who was capped 30 times by the USA at prop. "As a group, we spoke about what success looks like and I feel like we have some serious buy-in to what we’re trying to achieve on this short tour.”
The tournament also acts as an extension of the development partnership between USA Rugby and Major League Rugby (MLR) as the large majority of those selected are currently competing or committed with MLR clubs for the upcoming 2023 season. Chris Bauman and Jason Damm will bring senior national team experience and leadership to the squad as capped USA Eagles, while Ethan McVeigh joins right after his invite to Gary Gold’s senior squad camp in Glendale, Colo. last month.
Gold said in his interview with Goff Rugby Report that the split of the two touring sides was mostly on experience lines, but added that there were some players going to Uruguay who were put on that team mainly to ensure they got playing time and Gold and his staff could see them play.
The list of players is heavily influenced by college rugby.
Of the 26 players going to Uruguay, 19 played college rugby in the USA and four of those who didn't played high school rugby in the US. The colleges represented include the likely names such as Saint Mary's (Keane and Matthews), UCLA (Barry), West Point (Grosse), LIndenwood (Dietenberger), and Grand Canyon (Iacovino, Si'i).
As highlighted by GRR, Tavius Sykora-Matthess put his hand up in a bowl game for Iowa Central CC last December.
Player Spotlight: Tavius Sykora Matthess, Iowa Central CC
Former Clemson All American Jason Damm is one of the few players who have already been capped.
There are some more experienced players who are a few years past their college days, such as Mason Pedersen (Arizona) and Chris Baumann (Wyoming) and they provide some key leadership in the front row.
| USA Falcons Roster to Uruguay | |||
| First Name | Last Name | Position | Club |
| Shane | Barry | Flyhalf | Seawolves Draftee |
| Zachary | Bastres | Wing | New England Free Jacks |
| Christopher | Baumann | Prop | San Diego Legion |
| Jason | Damm | Back Row | Rugby ATL |
| Jonah | Dietenberger | Lock | Utah Warriors |
| Mikaele | Felix | Prop/Hooker | Sydenham Rugby Club(Christchurch) |
| Willis | Goodwin | Wing/Fullback | USA Rugby Academy |
| Collin | Grosse | Back Row | USA Academy/DC Old Glory Draftee |
| Dominick | Iacovino | Center | San Diego Legion |
| Karl | Keane | Halfback | Saint Mary's - Seawolves |
| Line | Latu | Flyhalf | American Raptors |
| John | Le Fevre | Halfback | DC Old Glory |
| Alex | Lopeti | Hooker | NOLA Gold |
| Michael | Matarazzo | Lock | Dallas Jackals |
| Aaron | Matthews | Center | Nola Gold |
| Ethan | McVeigh | Halfback | American Raptors |
| Patrick | Medina | Center | Unattached |
| Ronan | Murphy | Back Row | American Raptors |
| Darby | Nelligan | Hooker | USA Rugby Academy/San Diego Legion Draftee |
| Mason | Pedersen | Prop | Austin Gilgronis |
| Owen | Sheehy | Fullback | DC Old Glory |
| Devin | Short | Back Row | Nola Gold |
| Lincoln | Sii | Prop | Rugby ATL |
| Tavius | Sykora-Matthess | Lock | American Raptors |
| Jake | Turnbull | Prop | Austin Gilgronis |
| Pita | Vi | Wing/Fullback | USA Rugby Academy |