NEWS

Daniels & Eagles Poised For Spain Showdown

Written by Will Hooley | Photo by USA Rugby

Many Eagles fans may still be celebrating after USA’s impressive 36 – 17 victory against Tonga last Saturday. The Eagles jumped to 15th in the World Rugby rankings, putting together their best and most complete performance this year. An abundance of clean ball, accurate set piece and fluidity in attack showed that the USA Men’s XVs are quite literally moving in the right direction. Now they must focus on a trip to Spain in the aim to make three wins in three games. Whilst an unbeaten campaign looks within touching distance, Eagles star flanker Cory Daniel knows that ‘Los Leones’ might be the hardest challenge yet.

“Spain is a good team,” says Daniel, who once again will put on the seven jersey for the Eagles in Madrid tomorrow. “They have threats everywhere, they kick a lot and play the ball wide so we are preparing for that. Really, we are focusing on ourselves and what we can do.” 

The Eagles will have to be at their best on both sides of the ball against the Spaniards, who come into the game after an impressive performance against Fiji, ahead at half time 10 – 7 only to lose 19 – 33. Daniel will undoubtedly be at the heart of stopping Los Leones’ momentum. The Old Glory DC talent amassed a stat topping 18 tackles against Tonga and will be pivotal to the Eagles’ quest for a win tomorrow.

“I feel like we have cohesion and continuity,” remarks Daniel, who reflects on the success during this November. “There is a real sense of trust in what we are trying to do. It’s great that we are now 15th in the world, something that has been mentioned, but ultimately we want to climb; we have work to do.”

The Eagles have vividly shown that they have been working on their game through this November Tour. Six tries in 60 minutes would have been a thing of fantasy previously this year, but the Eagles attack, under Anthem RC head coach Alama Ieremia, showed real creativity and continuity last Saturday, sending Eagles supporters into excitement after scoring 33 points within the first 53 minutes against Tonga. Such performance was massively helped by the improvement of the Eagles’ line out and scrum accuracy, something that has struggled in games gone by.

“Last weekend was a huge win for us,” says Daniel. “It was great to see everything we have been working towards put together. Everyone is just buying in, helped by the time we have together. We work hard as a group and I think that was definitely our best performance of the year. It was a great feeling!”

Daniel was not the only one to show a strong performance. Premiership star flyhalf AJ MacGinty showed control and class, performing to the similar qualities that he displays when wearing the hoops of Bristol Bears. That confidence has clearly transcended onto those around him, like young Dominic Besag at outside center who seems to have fitted into Test rugby as if he was lacing up for another D1A clash for St Mary’s College. The forwards showed dynamism, generating quick ruck speed, eager to make impactful carries whilst also deploying variation to move the ball to the space. This has allowed athletic runners like San Diego Legion’s Paddy Ryan to get over the gain line and feed the likes of dangerous runners in Anthem’s Conner Mooneyham and Chicago Hounds’ Nate Augspurger, continuously getting their hands on the ball. It’s not always perfect but there is a real sense that the Eagles pose many threats.

All of these qualities will need to be called upon once more tomorrow. Scott Lawrence has made a handful of changes to the starting line up who defeated Tonga last week. Anthem’s Jake Turnbull comes in at loosehead prop, NOLA Gold’s Paul Mullen at tighthead, Chicago Hounds’ Mark O’Keeffe on the wing with Anthem’s Erich Storti starting at fullback. Noah Brown is on the bench to make an impact and make his USA XVs debut. The Eagles need to win to guarantee ending 2024 in 15th spot, an achievement that would provide a vital bit of confidence heading into a world cup qualification year.  

“We know the challenge that is in front of us,” says Daniel. “We would like nothing more than to go into Spain’s backyard and come away with the win. But it’s about focusing on ourselves, controlling how we play and being disciplined. If we do that then we can finish this tour on a high, continuing to develop into the team we want to be.”

It’s an early start tomorrow, as the kick off between Spain vs USA Eagles from Madrid is 6:45AM ET.  Information on how to watch HERE