The USA Men’s Eagles return to the international pitch this Saturday, opening their three-match November tour against Portugal in Coimbra, a small city just north of Lisbon.
Veteran names return to the squad in Flyhalf AJ MacGinty, while three selected players will look ahead to their USA Eagles debuts. USA vs Portugal kicks off on Saturday, November 9 at 11:00am ET, live on FloRugby.
Three Major League Rugby rising stars earn their first international roster selection, in Shilo Klein (San Diego Legion), Tomas Casares (Miami Sharks) and 2024 first overall draft pick Erich Storti (Anthem Rugby Carolina) looking to secure USA Eagle numbers. Klein will start in the Hooker position, while Casares and Storti are named to the reserves. Casares was a late addition to the traveling roster in place of Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz. Michael Grandy of Anthem was also called into camp in place of Thomas Tu’avao.
This is the third time in as many years that the USA has competed against Portugal, the last two editions resulting in a tie and loss for the Eagles. 10 of the 23 rostered last summer will play this Saturday in the rematch, with the same balance expected from Portugal.
Head Coach and General Manager, Scott Lawrence said on the opening match, “Our goal this tour remains the same from the Pacific Nations Cup, to compete and get better each week. This Saturday is our first opportunity to do that. What we’ll take into consideration is who we’re playing and what they’re going to bring, but as always focus on our own performance objectives. Portugal is coming off an extensive Rugby World Cup campaign, so we’ll face a cohesive team that will be a good test of our focus as a young team, looking to stay switched on for all 80 minutes.”
| NAME | CLUB | CAPS |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jack Iscaro | Old Glory DC | 10 |
| 2. Shilo Klein | San Diego Legion | Debut |
| 3. Alex Maughan | Anthem Rugby Carolina | 6 |
| 4. Jason Damm | RFCLA | 6 |
| 5. Greg Peterson (C) | San Diego Legion | 48 |
| 6. Viliami Helu | San Diego Legion | 11 |
| 7. Cory Daniel | Old Glory DC | 7 |
| 8. Paddy Ryan | San Diego Legion | 11 |
| 9. Ruben DeHaas | Cheetahs | 33 |
| 10. AJ MacGinty | Bristol Bears | 37 |
| 11. Nate Augspurger | Chicago Hounds | 46 |
| 12. Tavite Lopeti | Seattle Seawolves | 17 |
| 13. Dominic Besag | Saint Mary's College | 6 |
| 14. Conner Mooneyham | Anthem Rugby Carolina | 5 |
| 15. Mitch Wilson | Anthem Rugby Carolina | 11 |
| 16. Kapeli Pifeleti | Saracens | 15 |
| 17. Jake Turnbull | Anthem Rugby Carolina | 11 |
| 18. Pono Davis | Houston Sabercats | 3 |
| 19. Tomas Casares | Miami Sharks | Debut |
| 20. Tesimoni Tonga'uiha | NOLA Gold | 9 |
| 21. Ethan McVeigh | Old Glory DC | 2 |
| 22. Erich Storti | Anthem Rugby Carolina | Debut |
| 23. Luke Carty | Unattached | 21 |
Scott Lawrence | Head Coach
Alama Ieremia | Backs and Attack Coach
Nick Easter | Forwards and Defense Coach
Blake Bradford | Scrum Coach
Alex Ross | Head of Athlete Performance
Jimmy Harrison | Head Analyst
Rodolfo Broggi | Athlete Performance
Michael Sheridan | Head Athletic Trainer
Jennifer Roney | Assistant Athletic Trainer
Willie Berlanga | Sports Massage Therapist
Matt Schmitz | Team Doctor
Oscar Alvarez | Team Manager
Coimbra, POR, 11:00am ET on FloRugby
Chambery, FRA, 11:30am ET on RugbyPass TV
Madrid, ESP, 6:45am ET on FloRugby
