USA Eagles Roster Set For Ireland Matchup

Head coach Gary Gold has made four changes to the starting XV with three new faces on the bench as the USA Men’s XVs National Team.

Jul 8, 2021 by FloRugby Staff

USA Eagles Roster Set For Ireland Matchup

Head coach Gary Gold has made four changes to the starting XV with three new faces on the bench as the USA Men’s XVs National Team faces Ireland for the first time since 2018 on Saturday.

Taking place at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Bryce Campbell will serve as Captain following an impressive performance against England last week at Twickenham. The USA struggled in the first half, coming back for a thrilling second-half performance that saw them outscore their British counterparts 26-17 for a final score of 43-29.

Jul 10, 2021, 6:15 PM UTC

2021 Ireland vs USA

Roster changes are as follows:

Joe Taufete’e starts at hooker (previously on the bench vs England)
Hanco Germishuys starts at flanker (previously on the bench vs England)
Marcel Brache is out due to HIA, Mike Te’o jumps in at fullback
Christian Dyer starts at wing after scoring a try in his national team debut last week (previously on the bench vs England)
Kapeli Pifeleti (hooker), Andrew Guerra (flanker) and Will Magie (fullback) added to the bench

Head Coach Gary Gold said:

“I’m proud of the guys for the fight they showed against England last week but obviously we have a new and difficult task ahead with Ireland. While we did some very good things last week, it’s important that we improve on those and eradicate the silly errors that allowed us to give away soft tries. We need to keep building on our basics and enjoy the opportunity to learn from teams who play in this environment regularly.

“Luke and Christian did themselves proud last week, as did the rest of the boys. It was a great occasion for them and they showed the carefree exuberance of youth. We hope to see them build on that energy this weekend with a focus on improving.”

The USA Men and Ireland last met in 2018 when the Irish were ranked No. 2 in the world. While the Eagles fell 14-55, it was their first test match loss all year.

Ireland are currently fourth in the world, having defeated Japan in a close 39-31 last week at home. The USA are ranked at No. 16.

USA Men’s XVs National Team Roster

PLAYER NAME	POSITION	CLUB	CAPS
1. David Ainu'u	Prop	Toulouse (FRA)	10
2. Joe Taufete'e	Hooker	Lyon (FRA)	28
3. Paul Mullen	Prop	Utah Warriors	19
4. Gregory Peterson	Lock	Newcastle Falcons (ENG)	31
5. Nick Civetta	Lock	Rugby United New York	27
6. Hanco Germishuys	Flanker	Rugby United New York	22
7. Riekert Hattingh	Flanker	Seattle Seawolves	1
8. Cam Dolan	No. 8	NOLA Gold	52
9. Ruben de Haas	Scrumhalf	Austin Gilgronis	18
10. Luke Carty	Flyhalf	LA Giltinis	1
11. Mika Kruse	Wing	Utah Warriors	1
12. Bryce Campbell (C)	Center	Austin Gilgronis	33
13. Calvin Whiting	Center	Utah Warriors	2
14. Christian Dyer	Wing	USA Sevens	1
15. Mike Te’o	Fullback	Utah Warriors	29
16. Kapeli Pifeleti	Reserve	Saracens (ENG)	3
17. Matt Harmon	Reserve	NOLA Gold	1
18. Dino Waldren	Reserve	NOLA Gold	20
19. Nate Brakeley	Reserve	Rugby United New York	24
20. Psalm Wooching	Reserve	San Diego Legion	5
21. Andrew Guerra	Reserve	NOLA Gold	uncapped
22. Michael Baska	Reserve	Utah Warriors	1
23. Will Magie	Reserve	Austin Gilgronis	26