After a frustrating game against China in Hong Kong, in which the Eagles won in the dying minutes, USA Head coach Scott Lawrence has announced changes to his forward line ahead of the Nations Cup 5th round match against Romania.
Stade Français loosehead prop Jack Iscaro returns to the side, adding extra strength to the scrum. Kapeliele Pifeleti replaces Shilo Klein on the hook, bringing fresh energy to the front row. While the duo remains the same, Jason Damm and Nathan den Hoedt will be reinforced by Paddy Ryan at openside and Nafitalai Ma’afa at No.8, who will replace the injured Makeen Alikhan and Jamason Fa’anana Schultz.
With four matches in as many weeks, the changes are as much about building depth and keeping players fresh as they are about undoing Romania’s quality. The Eagles’ 6-2 split also means uncapped Rhyno Herbst will get his first chance in red-white-blue and first minutes of rugby in more than four months.
“It’s a business; you’re always looking at the short term and the long term at the same time,” Lawrence told the media in a news conference ahead of the Eagles’ game against Romania. “I think we watched Romania scrum and maul Tonga down the field last week, especially late in the game. So that’s one part of it. The other part is that we will continue to build a tight five-deep … Our focus remains on performing today and building a stronger program for tomorrow.”
With Lawrence’s changes freshening up the forward bench, the Eagles are ready to take on the Romanians at their own game and are keen to set a physical tone early on. “We just want to go for it and really test Romania,” captain Jason Damm said ahead of the weekend’s match. “I think they’ve obviously backed up their maul a lot, so the sooner we show them that’s not going to happen, the better.”
The return of Jack Iscaro will be a boon for the Eagles, who will inevitably benefit from his experienced tackle. Since moving to France’s top 14, Iscaro has worked his way into a starting role, starting eight of the 16 games he played for Stade last season, including the semi-final against Montpellier. He has started four of the six games he has played for the Parisians this season, and continues to excel in tackle time, even when facing some of the best props in the business, including Kyle Sinclair, Tevit Tatafu and American David Ainu’u.
“Jack brings a (certain) level of experience,” Lawrence said before the match. “You want to get your pressure through your loose head when you can, and he’s a very dominant scrummager there. I think you combine him with Capeliele Pifeletti, who’s also a big lump of a whore, and you really have a chance to block some of the boring stuff and stuff that we see from Romania coming into the game.”
With Iscaro and Pifeletti adding European experience to the front row and Kaleb Geiger and Tonga Kofe showing incredible work rate in recent weeks, the emphasis is on increasing the depth of the American attack a year after the Rugby World Cup.
With a stern test ahead, Damm and Lawrence reflect on the resilience the Eagles showed last week. “The team fought for each other to finish,” Lawrence said of the performance against Hong Kong China. “And there were some positive moments in the set.”
Damm agreed, adding, “I said right after the game, but sometimes when you don’t have a performance you’re particularly happy with at the moment, keeping that level of fight and belief and knowing that if we stick to our process, we’ll come back and put ourselves in a position to win the game.”
After a match in which Damm said the Eagles set had “one of the best days of the year”, all eyes will be on which side can dominate in scrums, mauls and lineouts. However, Lawrence and Co. will be keen to continue to expand their attacking structures as the year progresses.
Speaking about the performance against Hong Kong China, Lawrence said: “I also think we’ve created some diversity through the middle third. That’s something we’ve been experimenting with over the last couple of months, so you’ve seen players see space and opportunities that they might not have seen two or three months ago, and they’ve taken their chances in that, and that’s what led us to a good game… that might not have been there in the past.”
The game against Romania offers the Eagles a chance to extend their lead at the top of their pool. It is also notable for the number of first events. As previously mentioned, Herbst will make his Test debut as he returns to rugby for the first time in four months. Number 8 Nafi Ma’afu will make his first trial start for the Eagles. Meanwhile, scrum-half Spencer Huntley will earn his first Eagles cap off the bench. Huntley is another success story in the development of rugby in the USA. The young scrum-half captained the Eagles U20s during the summer at the Rugby World Cup Under-20s.
Eagles Starting XV: 1 Jack Iscaro, 2 Kapeliele Pifeleti, 3 Tonga Kofe, 4 Nathan den Hoedt, 5 Jason Damm (c), 6 Benjamin Bonasso, 7 Paddy Ryan, 8 Naftalai Ma’afu, 9 Oscar Lennon, 10 Chris Hilsen Beck 12, 10 Chris Hilsen Beck, 12 Rufus McLean, 15 Perry Mayo
Subs: 16 Kaleb Geiger, 17 Ezekiel Lindenmuth, 18 Charlie Abel, 19 Sam Golla, 20 Rhyno Herbst, 21 Marno Redelinghuys, 22 Spencer Huntley, 23 Tom Pittman
