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The USA The Eagles were crowned as one of two Nations Rugby World Cup 2026 champions with one round to go, extending unbeaten streak with 53-24 men’s blitz Rugby World Cup regulars Romania on Saturday night.
Georgia defeated Tonga 55-31 to eventually top the Europe, Asia and Africa group, while the USA can’t be caught in Group B. The Eagles are unbeaten in five matches in the new competition, and their latest result is by far the most telling.
Chris Hilsenbeck was the hero for the Eagles in their Nations Cup opener in July, scoring a long-range penalty. Portugal in the dying stages. The fly-half again played the role of goal-kicking hero last time out against Hong Kong China, and was again on the scoresheet against Romania.
Hilsenbeck scored on a penalty kick and the Eagles held a slim 3-0 lead for about 10 minutes. But then two tries in quick succession saw the United States race out to a three-goal lead, with wingers Noah Brown and Rufus McLean scoring a try each.
Romania responded in the 27th minuteth minute, but the USA otherwise continued to control the contest, leading 99 percent of the match. Hilsenbeck finished with a haul of 13 points, McLean scored two tries and Paddy Ryan topped the battle charts with 15 points.
“It really came down to our game model and guys working hard on our game model,” USA captain Jason Damm said after the game on the broadcast.
“We’ve seen the results. When it’s going really well, it looks amazing.”
The USA led 22-10 at the break, but things picked up during the second term, with captain Damm scoring the first try. Australian-born Natan Den Hoedt and Tavite Lopeti also got on the scoresheet, before ice-bound player Nafitalai Maafu was shown a yellow card.
Maafu watched on from the sidelines as the Eagles went down to 14 men for 10 minutes, but the visitors did not concede in that period – instead extending their already commanding lead through a Tom Pittman penalty and another try from McLean.
McLean’s second match saw the Eagles celebrate a half-century, completing one of the five-star Nations Cup trophies. The stage is now set for a blockbuster between the USA and Georgia next weekend, with the Cup of Nations winners facing off.
“It’s great to have another one and it’s always great to come home with some hardware,” added Damm.