The US Eagles play their first summer Test on Saturday, looking for a first win against a country from the first tier of world rugby union.
The game against Italy – tier-two Russia follow next week – is head coach John Mitchell’s first on American soil. Italy, holders of the Six Nations wooden spoon, will be playing their second game under Conor O’Shea. The Irishman, who oversaw a 30-24 defeat in Argentina last weekend, has left the hugely experienced forwards Sergio Parisse, Martin Castrogiovanni and Alessandro Zanni at home.
“Definitely we have an opportunity,” said Mitchell on Friday, having travelled with his team to the Avaya Stadium in San Jose. “Whether we can do enough to win will depend on what we’ve done in camp, on the impact of the bench. It’s about putting on the jersey, creating consistency and creating winning performances.”
Mitchell is a former All Blacks head coach who has worked in England, Australia and South Africa. His first five games in charge of the USA came in the first Americas Rugby Championship, in February and March. The Eagles started with a 35-35 draw with an Argentina XV, followed up with wins over Canada and Chile, then suffered surprise defeats in Brazil and Uruguay.
The ARC teams varied widely, and the men who await the Azurri are far removed from those beaten in Barueri and Montevideo. They will be captained by the big Newcastle back-rower Todd Clever, who will become the joint-most-capped Eagle, and guided from fly-half by AJ MacGinty, fresh from winning the Pro12 with Connacht.
There is also Super Rugby experience: hooker James Hilterbrand of the Waratahs and two flankers, Andrew Durutalo of the Sunwolves and, on the bench, Tony Lamborn of the Hurricanes. Mitchell welcomes such strength, though he also sounds an interesting note of caution.
“Our biggest challenge,” he says, “is that a lot of our overseas players, many of them” – including Hilterbrand and Lamborn – “are only reserves in those cultures. So … they are yet to learn how to sustain durable performances week in, week out.
“You do notice that sometimes in their concentration levels when preparing, so that’s a challenge for us too, trying to keep those players on task. It’s certainly their intention to do so, but because they are bench players it creates a different psychology.”
Mitchell’s arrival in the US was delayed by family matters, and he did not select the ARC squad. Accordingly, he sees the Italy game as “the first real challenge in which I’ve had an influence on selection in collaboration with my staff, though at the end of the day I’m the convener and I’ve had a big influence on it”.
While some key players are with the Eagles sevens squad, preparing for the Rio Olympics, a large Eagles Elite Training Squad has been progressively whittled down, subjected to exacting standards of fitness. Thanks in part to the advent of PRO Rugby, only two of the match-day 23 – New York Athletic Club lock Nate Brakeley and reserve back-rower Harry Higgins, from Old Blue in the same city – do not presently earn a full-time living from rugby. This is unprecedented for a US squad, but Mitchell makes an interesting point.
“One thing that has been a little disappointing and noticeable,” he says, “is some of the PRO Rugby players in the team that were on the ARC tour have actually come [into camp] in worse condition than they were in ARC, which alarms me.
“It may be [they are not used to] the week in, week out schedule, [but] I think PRO Rugby has to look going forward at how they support the athlete around strength and conditioning. And also education around nutrition. It’s one thing having a professional contract, but are those environments catering for all facets of professionalism?”
There are those in US rugby who will happily say – off the record – that Italy can certainly be beaten. On the record, Mitchell’s realism is understandable, not least because he was formed in the toughest rugby nation on earth. A midweek All Black as a player, he launched a coaching career in which the toughest blow, a World Cup semi-final defeat by Australia, is now 13 years in the past. Since then he has gone through downs as well as ups.
So have the Eagles. They have pushed the Maori, attracted 61,500 to watch the All Blacks and led Scotland at half-time. There have been disappointments too. In 2012, Italy left Houston with a 30-10 win. In 2013 and 2014, Ireland and Scotland also won in Texas. The 2015 World Cup began with hope of progress, only for Japan to shine instead.
Also, in most recent years there have been three or more summer Tests in which to blood players and work towards the next World Cup. This year, after Scotland chose to go to Japan, there are only two. After Russia, the Eagles must wait to face the Maori in Chicago in November, on the undercard to the All Blacks versus Ireland.
But nothing is ever easy in international rugby and it will not be so against an Italian team also looking to impress a new coach. In May, after selecting his first touring party, O’Shea had words for his new players that could equally apply to those now answering to Mitchell.
“I don’t think it’s about winning mentality,” he said. “It’s about not accepting defeat. The best players are the people who can cope with adversity, who’ve come back from adversity, who are never willing to accept second. It’s about how you react when things are tough.”
In particular, things will be tough without Parisse, a mighty No8 who has won 119 caps in 14 years. Asked about ways to exploit any Italian weaknesses that may result, Mitchell admits that he and his coaches have “studied them in Six Nations thoroughly” and “thought they might manage their players”. Again, though, he adds a qualification.
“We’re in a similar situation in a way with some players in the Olympic sevens squad and with Samu Manoa staying with Toulon. In such situations, you look to develop depth. So the focus will be very much on ourselves.”
USA: Holder; Ngwenya, Palamo, S Suniula, Scully; MacGinty, Augspurger; Lamositele, Hilterbrand, Baumann, Brakeley, Peterson, Duratalo, Clever (capt), Dolan. Replacements: Taufete’e, Tarr, MacLellan, Higgins, Lamborn, Tomasin, London, Te’o.
Italy: McLean; Sarto, Campagnaro, Castello, Odiete; Canna, Gori (capt), Lovotti, Gega, Cittadini, Geldenhuys, Fuser, Barbieri, Favaro, Van Schalkwyk. Replacements: Fabiani, Panico, Ceccarelli, Bernabo, Mbanda, Palazzani, Allan, Venditti.
Referee: M van der Westhuizen (South Africa).
TV: The Rugby Channel, 9pm ET; Replay: CBS Sports Network, Sunday, 9pm ET
