Men's National Team names starters to face Maori All Blacks at The Rugby Weekend
| UPDATE 11/3 | Nate Augspurger and Luke Hume out due to injury; Will Magie starts at fullback; Tim Maupin starts at wing; Mika Kruse added as reserve; Tony Lamborn serves as Captain |
CHICAGO, IL. – The U.S. Men’s National Team has today named its match-day 23 to face the New Zealand Maori All Blacks as part of The Rugby Weekend this Saturday (Nov 3) at 6 PM CT, LIVE on FloRugby.
In total, 13 players will return from the Men’s Eagles upset over then No. 6 Scotland during the Summer Internationals 2018. Ten of them will take the field as starters with three ready to energize the team as reserves.
The full group will be graced by two new faces in Chance Wenglewski and Gannon Moore who will play with the Men’s National Team for the first time. Though the Maori match will not count for caps, Moore and Wenglewski have the opportunity to ingrain themselves within the Men’s Eagles setup ahead of Rugby World Cup Japan 2019.
Alongside Wenglewski and Moore are five players who will feature for the first time since the USA’s title-winning run at the Americas Rugby Championship 2018. Among them are Ryan Matyas, Psalm Wooching, Tony Lamborn, Dino Waldren and Anthony Purpura. Matyas, Wooching and Audsley recently competed in the Americas Pacific Challenge 2018 with the Men’s Selects.
Eagle Luke Hume jumps back into the fold with a starting position himself, having last played with the Men’s Eagles in June of 2016.
Captained by Nate Augspurger, the Eagles have a strong group selected for a rematch of The Rugby Weekend 2016 where the squad also faced the Maori All Blacks. Augspurger and three others selected for Saturday represented USA during that contest, including Nick Civetta, Tony Lamborn and reserve James Hilterbrand.
“We’re facing a huge challenge this weekend with a very polished Maori All Blacks side. The group of guys selected have all proven they can meet that challenge over the last week and a half of training,” said Head Coach Gary Gold. “We know that when Saturday comes, we’ll need to show an unmatched patience and consistency within our game plan to deliver the results we know we are capable of.”
The Men’s National Team will kickoff against the New Zealand Maori at 6 PM CT as part of The Rugby Weekend. The event will also feature the return of the Women’s National Team and a match between Ireland and Italy. All three will be streamed LIVE on FloRugby with tickets still available at therugbyweekend.com.
Following the Eagles’ opening match of the November Internationals 2018, the United States will travel to Europe for three test matches against Samoa (Nov. 10), Romania (Nov. 17) and Ireland (Nov. 24). The match against Romania will also be broadcast LIVE on FloRugby with broadcast information for the other two will be updated closer to date.
U.S. Men’s National Team Roster
| Player Name | Club | Position | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Chance Wenglewski | Lindenwood University | Prop | 0 |
| 2. Dylan Fawsitt | Old Blue New York/Rugby United New York | Hooker | 5 |
| 3. Paul Mullen | Newcastle Falcons (ENG) | Prop | 3 |
| 4. Ben Landry | Ealing Trailfinders (ENG) | Lock | 15 |
| 5. Nick Civetta | Doncaster Knights (ENG) | Lock | 15 |
| 6. John Quill | Glendale Raptors | Flanker | 27 |
| 7. Tony Lamborn | Rugby Southland (NZL) | Flanker | 16 |
| 8. Cam Dolan | NOLA Gold | No. 8 | 37 |
| 9. Shaun Davies | Glendale Raptors | Scrumhalf | 18 |
| 10. Will Hooley | Bedford Blues (ENG) | Flyhalf | 4 |
| 11. Ryan Matyas | San Diego Legion | Wing | 10 |
| 12. Dylan Audsley | San Diego Legion | Center | 6 |
| 13. Gannon Moore* | North Harbour Rugby (NZL) | Center | 0 |
| 14. Nate Augspurger (C) | San Diego Legion | Wing | 21 |
| 15. Luke Hume | Old Blue New York/Rugby United New York | Fullback | 20 |
U.S. Men’s National Team Reserves
| Player Name | Club | Position | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16. James Hilterbrand | Manly Marlins (AUS) | Reserve | 16 |
| 17. Anthony Purpura | Old Blue New York | Reserve | 11 |
| 18. Dino Waldren | London Scottish (ENG) | Reserve | 12 |
| 19. Greg Peterson | Glasgow Warriors (SCO) | Reserve | 17 |
| 20. Hanco Germishuys | unattached | Reserve | 8 |
| 21. Psalm Wooching | unattached | Reserve | 3 |
| 22. Ruben de Haas | Free State Cheetahs (RSA) | Reserve | 4 |
| 23. Will Magie | Glendale Raptors | Reserve | 16 |
U.S. MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM STAFF
Head Coach | Gary Gold
Assistant Coach | Shawn Pittman
Assistant Coach | Greg McWilliams
Strength & Conditioning Coach | Huw Bevan
Performance Analyst | Jimmy Harrison
Head Athletic Trainer | Kevin Ng
Assistant Athletic Trainer | Kristen Douhan
Team Doctor | Angelo Savino (Maori All Blacks)
Team Doctor | Matthew Schmitz (Samoa)
Team Doctor | Richard Kim (Romania & Ireland)
Massage Therapist | Aimee Kern (Maori)
Massage Therapist | Daliah Hurwitz (Samoa, Romania & Ireland)
Team Manager | Chris Hanson
Assistant Team Manager | Kevin McCorry
U.S. MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM SCHEDULE
The Rugby Weekend
vs Maori All Blacks
Sat, Nov. 3 | 6 PM CT
Soldier Field, Chicago, IL
vs Samoa
Sat, Nov. 10 | 1:30 PM ET
Anoeta Stadium, San Sebastian, ESP
vs Romania
Sat, Nov. 17 | Time TBA
Ghencea Stadium, Bucharest, ROU
vs Ireland
Sat, Nov. 24 | 1:30 PM ET
Aviva Stadium, Dublin, IRE
*Times subject to change.
