The USA men went 0-3 on Day One in Cape Town.
USA vs Ireland (Hamiltons Field)
USA opened the match with a clear intent to carry the ball into contact however Ireland found themselves up to the task. With a couple of loose passes and handling errors creeping in, in the first half, the USA quickly found themselves on the back foot. Ireland looked to exploit the space in behind the Eagles and a regathered kick and excellent footwork by the Irish led to them going ahead 7-0.
The US looked to restore momentum with a good turnover by Pinkelman, however their scrum strike plays seemed not to faze the Irish. A penalty at the ruck led to a quick-tap by the Irish and veteran Jordan Cornoy ran in for their second (14-0).
The second half saw more of the same with the Irish kicking off over the US pods and focusing on brutality at the contact points to turn the ball over within two phases from kickoff. A quick tap saw Ireland beat a couple of USA defenders and run in their first for the second half to make it 19-0. After additional pressure at the ruck the ball got dislodged and scooped up by the Irish for yet another try to make it 24-0.
The USA seemed to struggle to find their tempo and the Irish were up to all sorts of tricks, offloading well in contact, and running in a last try late in the depths making it 31-0.
This was not the ideal start for the Eagles as they were quite focused on gathering their restarts, but what to do after a receiving the kickoffs proved problematic.
Hard lesson: Don’t try to combat the Irish with physicality, and look to set up deeper in order to shift the ball.
USA vs South Africa (Main Field)
A wounded USA look to redeem themselves against Dubai Champions as they weathered the storm in the opening phases. The Eagles looked to chase the Blitzboks downfield with a kick off the base of a scrum, winning about 50 meters.
The South Africans drew first blood with excellent edge plays and their old tactic of kicking in behind the defense. The Eagles struggled to get on the front foot on the back of multiple loose passes and handling errors. The Blitzboks got their second try from the base of a scrum deep in their own half and a late switch which saw them get over. That made it 14-0.
The second half started well for the Eagles as they found space out wide off a quick tap, and good interlinking play.
A high shot on Pinkelman saw the South Africans drop down to six men which gave them the go-ahead for a clear momentum shift. The USA fully utilized the opportunity off a good strike play which saw a step inside and an offload to Lucas Lacamp close the deficit to 14-7.
Good contesting from a kickoff and a loose pass by South Africa got scooped up and saw Lacamp heading in for his brace and with Madison Hughes kicking they had it tied 14-14. With the Blitzboks back to their full complement, they looked to capitalize stretching the US defense to set up yet another kick in behind.
This time the Eagles were up to the task, securing the ball before a Blitzbok could dot it down. A short-regathered 22-meter kickoff saw the US try to attack from their own half, however their hands (once again) let them down. The Blitzboks pulled the USA in for multiple phases, releasing a floating pass allowing them to dot down for their third try in the corner and a 19-14 lead. A clever restart by the Blitzboks was regathered and an audacious dummy saw the Blitzboks go over for a last try and a 26-14 victory.
Hard Lesson: The Eagles need to tighten up their loose passing
