Men's Eagles name match-day 23 for test with Romania
| UPDATE 11/16 | Will Magie replaced Will Hooley as a starter (injury); Tim Maupin added as a reserve |
BUCHAREST, ROU. – Men’s Eagles’ Head Coach Gary Gold has named his match-day 23 to face No. 16 Romania this Saturday, Nov. 17 at 7 AM ET, LIVE on FloRugby.
The starting lineup features a few changes with Marcel Brache jumping in at fullback and Captain Blaine Scully shifting to wing. John Quill recovers from injury as well, slotting in at flanker while Hanco Germishuys moves to the bench.
Moreover, the named reserves will see Nick Boyer and Gannon Moore take the place of Devereaux Ferris and Tim Maupin, respectively. After competing with the Men’s Selects for the Americas Pacific Challenge 2018, Boyer has the opportunity to earn his first cap as a reserve.
With Sean Davies still adhering to HIA protocol following the Eagles’ opening match against the Maori All Blacks, Ruben de Haas will once again take his place at scrum half. Davies continues to be evaluated each week with the hope of being available for selection against Ireland next week.
Still on an unbeaten run in test matches with a 9-1 overall record this year, the Men’s Eagles made history again when flyhalf Will Hooley’s penalty kick sealed the USA men’s first ever victory over Samoa last Saturday.
The win pushed the Samoans back to No. 17 in the World Rugby Rankings with Romania taking their place at No. 16. USA currently sits at No. 15, just .05 points shy of breaking the 14th place position held by Georgia.
“There is no doubt the Samoans gave us a good fight in every minute of our test last week,” said Head Coach Gary Gold. “While we are happy to have achieved the result we did, we know there are many factors of our performance that must be tightened up against Romania this week. The Romanian crowd will be incredibly vocal for their home side and that in and of itself will present an added factor for us to overcome this Saturday.”
The Men’s Eagles and Romania last met in November of 2016 where the Romanians prevailed 10-23. Despite the loss, the United States men still sit on the better side of a 3-2 overall record with the chance to increase that number on Saturday.
Where the Eagles claimed a historic win over Samoa last weekend, the Romanians achieved victory as well in a 36-6 defeat of Portugal.
Ready as ever, the U.S. Men’s National Team will kickoff against Romania at 7 AM ET this Saturday, LIVE on FloRugby.
U.S. Men’s National Team Starting Roster
| Player | Position | Club | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Titi Lamositele | Prop | Saracens (ENG) | 24 |
| 2. Joe Taufete’e | Hooker | Worcester Warriors (ENG) | 17 |
| 3. Paul Mullen | Prop | Unattached | 4 |
| 4. Greg Peterson | Lock | Glasgow Warriors (SCO) | 18 |
| 5. Nick CIvetta | Lock | Doncaster Knights (ENG) | 16 |
| 6. John Quill | Flanker | Glendale Raptors | 28 |
| 7. Tony Lamborn | Flanker | Rugby Southland (NZL) | 17 |
| 8. Cam Dolan | No. 8 | NOLA Gold | 38 |
| 9. Ruben de Haas | Scrumhalf | Free State Cheetahs (RSA) | 5 |
| 10. Will Hooley | Flyhalf | Bedford Blues (ENG) | 5 |
| 11. Ryan Matyas | Wing | San Diego Legion | 11 |
| 12. Paul Lasike | Center | Harlequins (ENG) | 7 |
| 13. Bryce Campbell | Center | London Irish (ENG) | 19 |
| 14. Blaine Scully | Wing | Cardiff Blues (WAL) | 41 |
| 15. Marcel Brache | Fullback | Perth/Western Force (AUS) | 10 |
U.S. Men’s National Team Reserves
| Player | Position | Club | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16. Dylan Fawsitt | Reserve | Old Blue New York / Rugby United New York | 5 |
| 17. David Ainuu | Reserve | Toulouse Rugby (FRA) | 1 |
| 18. Dino Waldren | Reserve | London Scottish (ENG) | 13 |
| 19. David Tameilau | Reserve | Glasgow Warriors (SCO) | 10 |
| 20. Hanco Germishuys | Reserve | unattached | 9 |
| 21. Nick Boyer* | Reserve | San Diego Legion | 0 |
| 22. Will Magie | Reserve | Glendale Raptors | 17 |
| 23. Gannon Moore | Reserve | North Harbour Rugby (NZL) | 1 |
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 | Richard Kim (Romania & Ireland)
Massage Therapist | Daliah Hurwitz (Samoa, Romania & Ireland)
Team Manager | Chris Hanson
Assistant Team Manager | Kevin McCorry
U.S. Men’s National Team Schedule
vs Maori All Blacks | 22-59 (L)
vs Romania
Sat, Nov. 17 | 7 AM ET
Ghencea Stadium, Bucharest, ROU
vs Ireland
Sat, Nov. 24 | 1:30 PM ET
Aviva Stadium, Dublin, IRE
*Times subject to change.
