Scott Lawrence: "World Cup Locked In, Now The Sprint Becomes A Marathon"
Scott Lawrence: "World Cup Locked In, Now The Sprint Becomes A Marathon"
USA Rugby seals 2027 World Cup spot as Scott Lawrence shifts focus to building depth, fitness, and identity for long-term success with the Eagles.
“World Cup locked in.” With that confirmation came a noticeable shift in tone from USA head coach Scott Lawrence: the sprint becomes a marathon.
Even during the qualification grind, he said the planning lens was already fixed on 2027, building a core, establishing cohesion, and developing a game model that “doesn’t matter who the 10 is.”
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The Samoa win captured the blueprint in miniature. The Eagles didn’t ride luck; they built their way to late-game separation. “We were confident in our legs,” Captain Jason Damm said. When you back your fitness for 80, energy compounds. In the final eight minutes, the USA “got back on top… made some big plays.” Set piece followed suit. After wobbling around 60% at lineout in prior tests, the group “changed the picture,” found confidence, and launched.
Lawrence is careful not to confuse outcome with process. “The scoreboard doesn’t always mean it was a bad process. It also doesn’t always mean it was a good process.” That’s not coachspeak. It’s a necessity for a young, low-caps squad that lost major leaders in recent months with Greg Peterson retiring, and moves on from Dylan Fawcett, Bryce Campbell and Nate Augspurger, among others. Damm’s absence in July, for happy family reasons, was felt; his leadership on return was singled out. “He pulls guys along with him,” Lawrence said.
There’s hard self-assessment, too. Scrum coach Blake Bradford “completely ripped the scrum apart” between July and August, Lawrence noted, leading to a performance “you could be proud of.”
That kind of mid-cycle course correction is what the staff wants to normalise: identify what isn’t working, fix it fast, and resist the temptation to “double down and work harder at the wrong thing.”
The pathway piece matters just as much. The U20 Junior World Championship, expanding to 16 teams with the USA after finishing second in the most recent World Rugby U20 Trophy competition, creates a runway.
Lawrence’s plan prioritises international reps beneath the Eagles and year-round alignment. Younger names have already been exposed in camp settings: Rick Rose (praised as the best current lineout caller, though he didn’t play this assembly due to earlier injury and load), Max Schumacher and Connor Buckley in training, and Brandon Harvey, who picked up a hamstring issue.
For now, November is the next checkpoint. Lawrence expects injured players to return to the pool. Selection will be a live weekly competition, two fully competitive sides in camp, combinations layered behind combinations. The goal isn’t to tape together a one-off XV; it’s to harden a core that can carry into 2027 and even project across two World Cup cycles.
The Eagles have their ticket. The real work is turning that entry into presence and an identity independent of any single playmaker, a set piece that travels, and a group conditioned to win the big moments in matches.
The process has begun, and the timeline is clear for the Eagles.
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