Men's Selects roster announced for Americas Pacific Challenge 2018
| UPDATE 9/28 | Harry Bennett replaced Tadgh Leader. Kapeli Pifeleti was added. Changes reflected below. |
| UPDATE 10/4 | Angus Maclellan replaces Olive Kilifi due to injury. Changes reflected below. |
LAFAYETTE, CO. – Head Coach Scott Lawrence has named his 28 Men’s Selects (15s) for the Americas Pacific Challenge 2018 (APC), taking place Oct. 6-14 in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Of the 27 athletes selected, nine return from the 2017 tournament, 12 are capped Men’s National Team players and three are 2018 1st Team All-Americans (15s) named from the recent Men’s Collegiate All-American Selection Camp. Together, the Selects will face Tonga A, Uruguay XV and reigning two-time champion Argentina XV as they strive to topple their runner-up finish from the previous year.
Broadcast information for the 6-team Americas Pacific Challenge 2018 will be announced closer to date.
“The makeup of this year’s touring squad is an exciting evolution leading into a World Cup year,” said Head Coach Scott Lawrence. “Not only are there a handful of current Eagles that we’re looking to build cohesion with, there are also a number of new Major League Rugby and Varsity collegiate athletes that have the film and the metrics to back up their inclusion.”
The Men’s Selects bring an accomplished group of players to the developmental tournament; allowing emerging talent to learn both from the structure of the competition and their peers. The 2017 tournament itself saw three Selects move on to become capped Men’s National Team players.
Among them, are none other than Psalm Wooching and Brendan Daly who will both feature again this October.
Men’s Eagle Hanco Germishuys joins the two, as well, having scored an instrumental try in the United States’ June upset over then No. 6 Scotland. Germishuys also appeared at last year’s APC, having already earned his first cap.
Experience and new flair combine with the addition of three of this year’s 1st Team Men’s Collegiate All-Americans (MCAAs), including Alex Maughan, Chance Wenglewski, and Mitch Wilson. Maughan represents both the capped Eagle and All-American sides of the squad.
The Men’s Selects will begin training camp for the third annual Americas Pacific Challenge later this month, adapting to the warm climate in Fort Lauderdale as a key part of preparation.
The 6-team tournament — which also includes Canada A and Samoa A — will begin on Oct. 6 with the U.S. facing Tonga A at 12:30 PM ET. Uruguay XV and Argentina XV will follow, after which the team with the most points in the first-past-the-post competition will be named champion.
2018 USA Men’s Selects Roster
| Player Name | Position | Club | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dylan Audsley | Center | San Diego Legion | Men’s Eagle |
| Harry Bennett | Flyhalf | New York Athletic | |
| Nick Boyer | Scrumhalf | San Diego Legion | |
| Nate Brakeley | Lock | New York Athletic | Men’s Eagle |
| Brendan Daly | Flanker | San Francisco Golden Gate | Men’s Eagle; 2017 APC |
| JP Eloff | Center | NOLA Gold | Men’s Eagle; 2017 APC |
| Cam Falcon | Hooker | NOLA Gold | |
| Devereaux Ferris | Scrumhalf | Life West Gladiators | |
| Kelepi Fifita | Prop | Glendale Raptors | 2017 APC |
| Hanco Germishuys | Flanker | Austin Elite | Men’s Eagle; 2017 APC |
| John Hayden | Prop | unattached | |
| Matt Jensen | Lock | Utah Warriors | Men’s Eagle; 2017 APC |
| Conor Kearns | Flyhalf | San Diego Legion | |
| Olive Kilifi | Prop | Seattle Seawolves | Men’s Eagle |
| Taylor Krumrei | Lock | Seattle Seawolves | |
| Mika Kruse | Center | Glendale Raptors | |
| Angus Maclellan | Prop | Utah Warriors | Men’s Eagle; 2017 APC |
| Ryan Matyas | Wing | San Diego Legion | Men’s Eagle |
| Alex Maughan | Hooker | Life University |
Men’s Eagle; 1st Team All-American; |
| Tim Maupin | Wing | NOLA Gold | Men’s Eagle; 2017 APC |
| Pat O’Toole | Hooker | San Diego Legion | |
| Kapeli Pifeleti | Hooker | Saracens Academy | |
| Thomas Robles | No. 8 | unattached | |
| Anthony Salaber | Center | San Diego Legion | |
| Vili Toluta’u | Flanker | Seattle Seawolves | Men’s Eagle |
| Chance Wenglewski | Prop | Lindenwood University | 1st Team Collegiate All-American; 2017 APC |
| Mitch Wilson | Fullback | Life University | 1st Team Collegiate All-American; 2017 APC |
| Psalm Wooching | Flanker | unattached | Men’s Eagle; 2017 APC |
| Holden Yungert | Scrumhalf | NOLA Gold | 2017 APC |
USA Men’s Selects Staff
Head Coach | Scott Lawrence
Assistant Coach | David Williams
Assistant Coach | Blake Bradford
Strength & Conditioning Coach | Huw Bevan
Performance Analyst | Jimmy Harrison
Team Doctor | Marc Kowalsky
Head Athletic Trainer | Kevin Ng
Assistant Athletic Trainer | Santiago Aguirre
Team Manager & Operations | Kevin McCorry II
Americas Pacific Challenge 2018 Schedule
Montevideo, Uruguay
vs Tonga A
Sat, Oct. 6 – 12:30 PM ET
vs Uruguay XV
Wed, Oct. 10 – 12:30 PM ET
vs Argentina XV
Sun, Oct. 14 – 12:30 PM ET
*Schedule subject to change; broadcast information confirmed closer to date.
