The USA Men’s 15s squad should be announced soon for the Americas Rugby Championships, and as usual, there’s a bit of a minefield of player availability issues to navigate.

The majority of the squad should be put together without too much issue. But there are some questions, circling mostly around the injured and the overseas.

Injured

AJ MacGinty has not seen game time yet with Sale and is expected to be ready to play soon. It’s just a balancing act -- do you put him straight into the national team or do you let him get back into the swing of things with his club -- the club, by the way, that paid for his surgery and rehab.

Worcester hooker Joe Taufete’e returned from his concussion sustained against Ireland and played this past weekend. He should be available. 

Flanker Tony Lamborn’s nasty injury against Romania is still keeping him sidelined.

Eric Fry missed the fall internationals with an injury but is available now.

Hooker James Hilterbrand hooker should be ready to return.

Peter Malcolm is set to return very soon, but needs to get into a rugby game before the Eagles play.

Nate Augspurger sustained an injury just before the fall internationals, but is expected to be ready to play in February.

Mike Te’o's situation is the same as Malcolm. He is on target to return but hasn’t played a game yet.

Andrew Durutalo of the Ealing Trailfinders is out hurt, while Ben Landry is just about set to come back from injury.

Samu Manoa left the Cardiff Blues to be with his family, but is also carrying a small injury. We’ll see.

Blaine Scully was taken out of the PRO14 game last week. It’s not a serious injury, but he’s to be evaluated.

Will Hooley had a big role in Bedford’s win over the weekend (13 points with the boot), but left the game late with an injury. The extent is unknown at present.

Overseas

USA Rugby has the right to insist on the availability of any player due to World Rugby’s Regulation 9. However, that’s not always such a simple issue. As we stated above, if a player has been costing a club resources during rehab, it does seem churlish to just whip him away to the Eagles without him playing for the club at all.

For most of the players who are playing overseas, USA Rugby shouldn’t have much trouble getting them available for the entire ARC.

Marcel Branche, Jame Hilterbrand, Titi Lamositele, David Ainuu, Greg Peterson, David Tameilau, Ruben de Haas, Paul Mullen, Dino Waldren, Gannon Moore, Paul Lasike, Eric Fry, Bryce Campbell and Nick Civetta should all be around. Ben Landry, if healthy, should be around, too.

Most of these players are getting at least some time with the main club. Some are struggling to get a spot but have been finding a little bit of game time in lower levels.

There’s some question about whether MacGinty, Scully and Hooley will be able to participate in the entire ARC. Scully is one player who is a mainstay on a major overseas pro team. You might also say the same about Taufete’e. 

Opportunities For Others

Other players will likely see time if injuries and some pro unavailabilities rear their heads. Will Magie played in every test match last year, and he and Ben Cima could well be fighting for flyhalf and fullback opportunities in 2019. The observant among us also saw former Lindenwood standout Tadgh Leader (pictured) in camp with the USA team in Romania, and he could also be an option. The Eagles will probably be looking for another outside back because there have been so many injuries there. Is Harley Wheeler an option?