It might have been a slow week, but we still saw two USA Eagles get off to strong starts to the pro season and the college ranks hit by some early upsets.

Who's Up

Chesapeake Conference

You know we like this conference. It's unpredictable. The games are close. It's competitive. So when a team that finished 2-6 last year beats a team that was 7-1 last year, it means things are still unpredictable, competitive, close. We like that.

AJ MacGinty

MacGinty is probably the best USA player right now, and he started for Sale Sharks against the Wasps on Saturday. MacGinty helped the Sharks score five tries and was good on all five conversions. OK, the Sharks' defense imploded in a 50-35 loss, but the USA's flyhalf is doing pretty well in pro circles.

Samu Manoa

After a long period of injury, the imposing Northern California product is back on the job, starting at No. 8 for Toulon in back-to-back French Top 14 games. Manoa put in a solid effort in a 41-14 win over Pau in Week 1 and 80 minutes in a 21-16 loss to Clermont Auvergne in Week 2.

He got one of the top hits of the week and got to hug Chris Ashton (and who doesn't want that?).

So good news for USA fans. Now when will we see him in an Eagles jersey again?

Who's Down

Upset Victims

Stony Brook took a hit after losing 19-12 at Albany this past weekend, and Mount Saint Mary's lost 20-17 to Virginia (yeah yeah, there's a second side of the coin when talking about the Chesapeake).

MSM dropped out if the FloRugby All-D1 Rankings. But… it's really early days, and we expect these teams to rebound.

Lineouts

No one seems to be able to win their lineouts. It's perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of the game because referees are so picky about the not-straight calls.

Early on in any league, lineouts suffer. The timing, the body position, and the throws all have to be perfect. That's not going to happen in the opening weeks. And then, what if the balls are… too nice? Yes, too nice. It's a thing.