The USA team which kicks off against Australia in Chicago on Saturday will be the best prepared Eagles XV in history.
That is the opinion of the USA Rugby chief executive, Nigel Melville, who also believes a historic Rugby World Cup quarter-final is not entirely out of the question.
The Eagles have been together since June. Their US viewing public will see the results of their hard work at Soldier Field, in the last warm-up game before the squad flies to England and an opener against Samoa in Brighton on 20 September.
“I’ve been to two World Cups with the Eagles,” said Melville, of France 2007 and New Zealand 2011, tournaments from which the US took one win, against Russia four years ago.
“You had a couple of games and then you got there and you were into it. This time we wanted to get the players together like a club team and play on a regular basis, get some spirit in the team.”
Coach Mike Tolkin having named his World Cup 31 on Tuesday, the Eagles have their strongest squad – the somewhat controversial departure of longtime captain Todd Clever notwithstanding. The Wallabies will face a team that adds up to more than the sum of star back-rower Samu Manoa plus 14 others – despite the loss to injury of Stade Français flanker Scott LaValla.
This summer, the Eagles have beaten Japan and Canada, the latter twice, and lost hard-fought games to Samoa, Tonga and Harlequins. In the first half against Quins in Philadelphia last weekend, when the US played what looked like a 1st XV, there were definite signs of progress.
These included strong displays by a deep pool of locks and loose forwards and another good performance from a very promising fly-half, the Irish-born AJ MacGinty. Familiar weaknesses remain, though, not least in scrummaging and defence against top-class back lines.
The Australia game comes 10 months after a sell-out crowd watched the US face New Zealand at the same venue. That was a unique week for rugby in America. Richie McCaw shot pucks with the Blackhawks, the Windy City was invaded by rugby lovers from across the 50 states and from black-tie dinners to zinc-countered diners, the talk was of the American game’s potential.
The All Blacks’ second team won, though, by a breezy 74-6. This year, the Wallabies beat the All Blacks’ first team and won the Rugby Championship.
The Wallabies also have one of the best back lines about – coach Michael Cheika has picked the centre Matt Giteau to face the Eagles, but evidently felt strong enough to keep Quade Cooper and Will Genia on the bench and rest the mighty Israel Folau altogether.
Australia are ranked second in the world, the USA 16th. When the teams met in Wellington in the last World Cup, the Wallabies won 67-5. It is going to be tricky.
So, relatively speaking, has been selling tickets second time around. Soldier Field, at 61,500 capacity for the All Blacks, will not be full when the Wallabies run out. Melville, however, expects a successful outcome in most terms.
“The New Zealand game was a one-off,” he said, adding: “We never thought the Australia game would be a sell-out crowd or anything like that, but we need to keep going back to Chicago, because we think it’s a great venue. The people of Chicago have been really great, the fans are fantastic and very welcoming.”
Melville would not be drawn on reports from New Zealand of an All Blacks game against Ireland in the same city next year, an event which would see the Eagles face the Maori All Blacks on the undercard. But he did say “we do intend to bring a very big event to the US, prior to the November [international] window every year, through to the next World Cup.
“We’ll also have Eagles games in the June window annually, all the way through to 2019, and also during the Six Nations in February. Having a whole schedule for four years between World Cups will be a massive step forward.”
“We need to hit the ground running when we get to the World Cup,” said Melville. “We’ve played some tier-two games, we’ve played two teams who are in our pool, so we know what they’re about. And we’re also playing a tier-one team: we’re going to play South Africa, so we might as well play Australia.”
This is where hopes of a quarter-final place come in.
Asked the reasoning for booking the game against the Wallabies – whose own governing body, the cash-strapped Australian Rugby Union, certainly understands the appeal of the US market – Melville said: “You have to understand what you’re going to face.
“I think this is a great opportunity for our guys to get ready and to prepare. At the World Cup we’re playing two tier-one teams, Scotland and South Africa.
“The pool is really interesting: you could win all of your games and you could win none of your games. You could win two, no one knows. It’s going to be very open.
“The favourites, obviously, are South Africa, and from there down, Japan, Samoa and ourselves could all beat Scotland. And Scotland could easily beat us. We’ve shown we can beat Japan but we know Japan can beat us. It will be about who plays well on the day, and that preparation could be vital.”
The Wallabies have approached the Chicago match with due gravity. Fittingly, given the exploits of their compatriot Jarryd Hayne, the former rugby league star shining for the San Francisco 49ers, they have been in camp at Notre Dame, a college football powerhouse.
Whether as an adjunct to the great god football or as a rival, much has been made of rugby’s potential in America. Boosted by visits from the All Blacks and Wallabies, Olympic sevens qualification and plans for professional XVs league – “Hopefully we’re closing in on an opportunity,” Melville said, adding: “In the next couple of weeks you might hear something more” – the talk is of a sleeping giant shaking off its hundred-year slumber.
As the Eagles prepare to face Australia at an NFL temple, before travelling to a World Cup in the birthplace of rugby, the giant is certainly dreaming.
USA: Blaine Scully; Takudzwa Ngwenya, Seamus Kelly, Thretton Palamo, Chris Wyles (capt); AJ MacGinty, Mike Petri; Eric Fry, Zach Fenoglio, Titi Lamositele, Cam Dolan, Greg Peterson, Al McFarland, Andrew Duratolo, Samu Manoa. Replacements: Phil Thiel, Olive Kilifi, Chris Baumann, Louis Stanfill, John Quill, Danny Barrett, Shalom Suniula, Folau Niua.
Australia: Kurtley Beale; Joe Tomane, Henry Speight, Matt Giteau, Rob Horne; Bernard Foley, Nick Phipps; James Slipper (capt), Tatafu Polota-Nau, Greg Holmes, Kane Douglas, Rob Simmons, Ben McCalman, Sean McMahon, Wycliff Palu. Replacements: James Hanson, Scott Sio, Toby Smith, Dean Mumm, Sam Carter, Quade Cooper, Will Genia, Taqele Naiyaravoro.
Referee: J Peyper (South Africa); Kick-off: 7.30pm ET; TV: NBC Sports Network
