GRR: 1874 Cup
The All Blacks put the USA to the sword 104-14 Saturday at FedEx Field, the home of the Washington DC NFL franchise, and made it plain how good the New Zealand team is, and how far the USA has to go.
Coming off a 39-13 win against Navy in October of 2020, Army might be heavily favored in this weekend against Navy at FedEx Field, but the West Point players are too smart to get caught up in all of that.
It is, after all, Army-Navy.
It's no surprise that the USA team to face off with the All Blacks on Saturday at the 1874 will be a domestic team.
This test match is being played outside the World Rugby test match window for the fall, and so professional clubs in Europe are under no obligation to release their players to a national team.
The Army-Navy rivalry is one of the most intense in collegiate rugby, and fans who go see the USA-New Zealand test match will get to see this first-hand.
For the Navy Midshipmen, this is a special game in part because the venue—FedEx Field in Landover, Md.—is pretty much on their doorstep.
Cherish those opportunities.
That's the message for the 1984 Cup captains and probably the fans, too. As the poet Joni Mitchell said, "you don't what you've got 'til it's gone."
So traveling, or playing opponents you don't see very often, even just playing rugby, carries with it a new appreciation for both All Blacks captain Sam Cane and Eagles captain Bryce Campbell.