U.S.A. Coach Eddie O'Sullivan has named his squad for the Churchill Cup. More information can be found at This Is American Rugby.
Notes on the Eagles Churchill Cup Squad. For more Churchill Cup information and USA Rugby information check out "Opening Kick"
Great writeup and great blog. Thanks for sharing. How many players do we have now with professional contracts? How far away from contracting our Sevens team are we? Lastly, how do you feel about the Rugby Super League? Should we be trying to make that a professional competition or is the Argentina model the way to go for us as a nation?
We have a little more than 15 playing overseas right now. That number tends to fluctuate throughout the year as some players only play about half the year and then return home. I don't think they are close to putting Sevens players on professional contracts, they would need to big sponsors first. Maybe after the next Olympics when the USOC pays more attention it might happen. I think the Super League is good for its purpose but we need to professionalize. The think about the International game and the U.S. is that we can play with a lot of teams for 60 minutes but then we get tired. Players need to be playing against tough competition every week. Opening Kick, Prepping for Edinburgh 7's and more.
IMHO for the next few years the Argentina model (for 15s) is the way. At least until we can develop the RSL into a stable pro competition that can pay our players a living wage and will be around for the long term. Out of College and High School promote our best players to top professional clubs with the aim of amassing 50 or so players playing pro rugby by 2015. The players that can't get contracts place with the RSL or give them a shot at developing through rugby sevens. To be honest I feel that the whole club structure needs to be revamped. For starter in certain parts of the country like Southern Cal division 1 is as competitve as the RSL. I think a good structure would be one similar to baseball. We could have a 12 team league with 6 in the East and 6 in the West comprised of new franchises like Utah Warriors and Glendale Raptors as well as old clubs such as SFGG and Life. These professional teams could be supported by divisions 1 to 3 with each Major League Rugby team signing the D1 to 3 teams up as farm teams. There could be a draft were players are signed out of college and high school. They could then go straight to the MLR team or be placed with one of the farm teams for development and move up as and when required by the MLR team. Divsion 4 could be run by the State Based Rugby Organization and be comprised of local leagues and tournaments.
It is a good lineup considering some of our top players are resting. Have EOS signed a new contract? Because part of me thinks he is building a squad for 2015.
I have nothing against foreign players were club sides are concerned, but I think the qualification for National sides should be tightened up. Why should a player be able to come into a country play 3 years for a pro club and qualifiy for the national team. Surely they should have a passport or a grandmother from that country or something. http://www.espnscrum.com/england/rugby/story/140831.html Lancaster defends Botha selection June 1, 2011 Stuart Lancaster, the England Saxons coach and Rugby Football Union (RFU) head of elite player development, has denied that the national side's identity has been compromised by the selection of overseas players. Lancaster has called up Saracens lock Mouritz Botha for the Saxons' Churchill Cup campaign, with the South African the latest in a line of players to qualify for English representative sides on residency grounds. The 29-year-old played for Bedford Athletic and Championship club Bedford Blues before landing a move to Saracens in 2009. England's Six Nations-winning squad featured New Zealand-born trio Riki Flutey, Shontayne Hape and Dylan Hartley plus Hendre Fourie, whose first language is Afrikaans. Matt Stevens, born in South Africa and capped 32 times by England, has also been included in the Saxons squad as he makes his way back to international rugby following a drugs ban. "England want to put the best side out and I don't think there are any concerns we are losing our Englishness," Lancaster said. "I don't think it is an active recruitment policy. If the likes of Hendre Fourie and Mouritz Botha come through the development programmes in England and put their hands up then ultimately they can be considered for selection. "Mouritz has come in on form. He played very well for Saracens. "When you look at his track record as a player, he has gone from Bedford Athletic seven or eight years ago and come through ultimately to play for Saracens. "He has been in this country for a long time and played an awful lot of development rugby in England, a bit like Hendre Fourie did. There is no problem in that from my regard." Leicester No.8 Thomas Waldrom, who hails from Lower Hutt in Wellington, and the Tigers' Samoan-born centre Manu Tuilagi are both in consideration for places in Martin Johnson's World Cup squad. Lancaster's current role - and future role if he is appointed as RFU performance director - is to oversee the production of English talent towards the 2015 and 2019 World Cups. "There are a lot of English players who are getting through and getting their opportunities," he said. "With the likes of Graham Kitchener and Dave Attwood alongside [Botha], we have three good second-rows there. We have Jamie Gibson and James Gaskell in the back-row as well. We are going to ask some young players like Rory Clegg, Billy Twelvetrees and Henry Trinder to step up into leadership roles and we believe they are ready to do that."
http://www.rugbymag.com/index.php?o...-happy-to-be-back&catid=39:usa-men&Itemid=194 Basauri Happy to be Back Basauri was just hitting his stride when injury struck. Ian Muir photo It’s been on again, off again for Inaki Basauri, but right now he’s looking at on-again. The former Maryland Exiles U19, who first put on a USA jersey in 2003 for the USA U19s, Basauri was the starting openside flanker for the Eagles through much of the 2007 World Cup. He wasn’t selected in 2008 until the tour of Japan at the end of the year, and then once again wasn’t in the Eagles fold until late 2010. In that tour he played his way into a starting position, only to leave the game against Georgia with a shoulder injury that has kept him off the rugby field since. Now he’s back, and hoping once again to break into the starting USA lineup. “They did a really great surgery on me and I am back to my playing weight and hoping to put on some more KGs,” Basauri told RUGBYMag.com. The flanker was out for six months, told by doctors to avoid contact he returned to his club, L’Aquila in Italy, long enough to help recruit his replacement, Eagle No. 8 Nic Johnson. Then he switched to California for rehab and training. “Six months is a long time and I’m just extremely happy to be healthy again and back with the team,” he said. “It felt good to be back with the team. It’s a shame I got hurt, I hadn’t got hurt for a while and these things happen in rugby, but in a way I was glad that at least it was in a big game.” Basauri is a bit of an anomaly in the USA lineup in that he’s more of a pure back row than most of the other squad. He can cover the field and is good in the air, making up for a slight lack in bulk with work rate. “I can bring my energy to the team,” Basauri explained. “I just want to do what I do. Play my game as a defensive player. I just love playing rugby and I am happy to be palying again and back with my friends.”
http://www.rugbymag.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1073&catid=39&Itemid=194 Eagle Front Rowers Working on Scrum The USA scrum v Georgia. Photo courtesy Georgia Rugby Union. The England Saxons team may be a young one, but they will still be a challenge to the USA in Saturday’s opening match in the Churchill Cup. And of all the challenges, the biggest one is the scrum. The USA has a new scrum coach in Fiore Screnci and everyone working in the front row knows that pack-down time will be important. “Anytime you get a new scrum coach you get some new technique, some new lingo. It’s going pretty good so far,” said hooker Phil Thiel of Life University. “We’re picking up some new little tricks and stuff like that. Fiore is getting used to us and we’re getting used to him.” “We’ve been working [the scrums] in,” added prop forward Eric Fry. “It’s definitely something we wanted to work on because not all of us have been together as much as we’d like.” The big question has been how Screnci slots in as coach of the scrum after Bill LeClerc was let game last fall after several years with the USA pack. Screnci has a different philosophy than LeClerc, and this is the first time he has assembled with the full national team. Screnci brings more of a European approach to the scrum, preferring a tighter bind throughout the front eight, and a conventional strike from the hooker (usually right foot, sometimes left foot, hooking the ball between the legs of the loosehead prop). This compares to LeClerc’s New Zealand style, which calls for a looser (and therefore more comfortable) bind, and the hooker pushing the ball back between his legs. Both work on similar concepts of how to prepare your body to push, and both, in the end, recognize that the Eagles are still stressed in the scrum, and need a quick strike. “As with a lot of scrum coaches you want to get the ball in and out as quick as possible,” said Thiel. “When you’re against the Saxons you want to get the ball in and quickly move it out of there. But most teams are going to work on that.” The players themselves have been working on things, too; most obviously Fry, who has put on weight and power and worked hard on converting himself from, essentially, a college lock/flanker into an international prop. “I am feeling more comfortable, but definitely have a ways to go,” said the former Cal captain, now with Las Vegas. “It’s definitely been a challenge. At Cal I played one year at tigthhead and it was difficult for me at the college level. When I came up here [to the USA team} it was even more difficult. A lot of the guys have been doing it semi-professionally and professionally. So it has been a challenge, but it’s good to be challenges, and I have been working hard at it.” The set piece will be enormously important for the USA as time goes on. Since scrums occur at so many different situations: knock-ons, forward passes, ball not coming out of a ruck, ball not coming out of a maul, option on free kick of penalty, option on kickoff not ten meters, option on not straight lineout throw, then the USA needs to be better at it to be better internationally.
Our best players that are on the squad (Clever, Emerick, Swiryn, starting fly half Malifa) aren't in the matchday 22. I think he'll fly away to get a club job in Europe after September.
Personally I feel the US should be in it to win it, but we all know that is not going to happen. Looks like EOS realizes this also and is using the CC to develop his squad for the RWC. Also some other key players such as Wyles, Zee, Manoa, Smith etc. weren't released to play in the CC. Melville should be working on this right now. Would love to see EOS stay, but only if he commits to the full four years. None of this up and leaving after two years. If he can't commit to the full 4 years then pick one of our boys to coach the team.
Canada beat Italy A and we are getting trounced by England. So, our U20, 7s and now the Eagles are all under performing. Shows you what time together playing tough competition can do or not do in our case. USA Rugby get the money together to fund these programs properly or you can kiss rugby in America goodbye!!!
There is no money, that's the problem; honestly we give $200k per year on O'Sullivan when we could get someone just as capable for probably half the money that can produce just as good a results. Him as coach is a complete waste of funds when our union has shortages elsewhere. It's wrong for you to draw on the 7s as they do have time playing together. They have the entire IRB 7s season. The U20s, in the American sports structure a U20 program never makes sense as those guys are in college or high school.
Agreed, we aren't going to win anymore games with him as coach then if Tolkein was coach. Don't get me wrong he is a great coach and our players and coaches have learned a lot from him, but we could pay some one $75k and use the rest to fund the CPD or our age grade teams. I just wish NM would make a decision. Why is it wrong of me to bring up the 7s team? They aren't winning and the reason I think they can't compete is because the other teams are professional. I agree about the U20 with our student athletes in school it makes it hard to compete.
http://www.rugbymag.com/index.php?o...sa-tonga-name-15s&catid=39:usa-men&Itemid=194 USA, Tonga Name 15s Scott LaValla gets a second start, something only he and Colin Hawley acheive. Ian Muir photo Tonga Head Coach Isitolo Maka has revealed the starting 15 who will make Tonga's debut into the Churchill Cup on Wednesday evening at Esher Rugby. Kisi Pulu, of Top 14 side Perpignan, will start at tighthead prop and will captain the side against USA, which kicks off 12:30 Eastern, 9:30 Pacific. Meanwhile the USA, which lost 87-8 to the England Saxons on Saturday, has retained only wing Colin Hawley and try-scoring second row Scott Lavalla in his squad to face Tonga, and has changed 13 players in the starting lineup. Mate Moeakiola is now in the assembly after not being named earlier. Todd Clever captains the side, while Roland Suniula gets an opportunity to play fullback. Tonga M.Malupo; V.Helu, S.Hufanga, E. Siua, V. Iongi; K. Mortath, S. Havea; T. Lea’Aetoa, I. Ma’Asi, K. Pulu, S.Timani, E.Kauhenga, P.Mapakaitolo, P.Koloamatangi, V.Ma’Afu. Rep: A.Halangahu, O.Fainga’Anuku, J.Afu, P.Kaho, D.Mrath, E.Paea, S.Taumoepeau. USA: R.Suniula, C. Hawley, P.Emerick, A.Suniula, K.Swiryn; N.Malifa, T.Usasz; M. Moeakiola, C. Biller, S. Pittman, L. Stanfill, S. Lavalla, I. Basauri, T.Clever (C), N. Johnson. Rep: P.Thiel, E.Fry, J.Van Der Giessen, P.Danahy, M.Petri, T.Enosa, T.Hall
After getting the crap kicked out of us by England, I just do not see a way around Tonga. Like all south pacific island nations they are going to be very physical.
After getting the crap kicked out of us by England, I just do not see a way around Tonga. Like all south pacific island nations they are going to be very physical.
After getting the crap kicked out of us by England, I just do not see a way around Tonga. Like all south pacific island nations they are going to be very physical.