USA Men’s Eagles take fourth in 2024 Pacific Nations Cup

It was an action-packed and physical bronze medal match for the 2024 Pacific Nations Cup, where Samoa took the bronze in the final minutes of the game with a 13-18 win over the Eagles. 

The Eagles looked improved from their three weeks together in the first half, showing some high energy and connection to put up 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the game. But momentum was lost in the second half, as the teams showed off their physicality and the Eagles conceded penalties and took a yellow card that ultimately gave the game away to Samoa in the final minutes. 

Payton Telea made his Eagles debut in the second half, adding to a growing roster of young and high-potential Eagles. 

The Eagles will separate for some time to recuperate ahead of their last matches of the year. 

“First of all credit to Samoa, it was a physical go forward and they didn’t go away and just stuck with it. It has been a theme of this campaign that we are working on getting our bodies in front, so it’s been a focus for the last three weeks.

We kicked the ball away at key moments in the game, and we need to hold on to the ball. There were a lot of turnovers in the contact area, which is something we've been working on. Set piece was a little disappointing.

We picked a group of new players into the squad to see who's who, so to speak, and who's going to show up. I think we learned a lot about the players and they learned a lot about themselves. But every single player who came through here got better during the five weeks. We've challenged them to go away and improve the next five weeks before we're back together again."

The Eagles began on the attacking side, but a clearing kick gave Samoa the first line out of the game. With high energy on attack, the Pacific nation broke away and fought into USA territory. But the Eagles matched their energy on defense, winning the ball back for their first line out. 

Mitch Wilson quickly proved his worth on the wing, breaking away and putting the squad into scoring territory. A Samoa penalty on the try line gave Luke Carty a swift penalty kick, putting the USA on the board first. The action didn’t stop, and off the restart Toby Fricker caught a Samoa cross-kick and ran away to the try zone, scoring his first international try in his second match with the Eagles. Carty’s conversion put the USA up 10-0 within the first 10 minutes of the game. 

The Eagles looked on point early on, with Conner Mooneyham leaping to catch the ball and kicking it down to the try zone, where Samoa won the foot race for a goal line drop out. Making their way down field, a penalty gave Samoa their first penalty kick and points of the game. 

The first half ran quickly, as the teams didn’t break and continued to fight for the ball. The game slowed down near the 20-minute water break, as Samoa and USA ran into some scrum troubles. The Eagles would give away two collapsing scrum penalties in the first half, one giving Samoa another penalty kick to put up their score tally to six. 

Samoa were working hard to keep up momentum, but the Eagles were strong on their defense to keep them away from the try line. On attack, Carty had another shot at a penalty kick but missed, finishing the first half in the lead, 10-6. 

At the start of the second half, Samoa showed to have the front foot, as they quickly took a line out off a USA penalty and pushed through defenders to score under the posts. Their conversion put them in the lead by three to start the final 40 minutes. Samoa worked hard to dominate the second half, but the Eagles didn’t falter in their defense. 

The Eagles worked their way to a six meter line out and rolling maul before going through some phases. A Samoa penalty on the try line gave Carty an easy penalty kick in front of the posts, tying up the game. At the restart, Samoa tried to kick down field, but the Eagles won the race this time, opting for a goal line drop out. 

Samoa kept up the pace and skipped out defenders to head down to a try, but the TMO called it back for a knock on at the breakdown, giving USA some much-needed momentum with a scrum. Another collapsing scrum penalty was called, but this time for Samoa, giving the Eagles a mid-field line out. But the USA momentum slowed as did game play, while the USA conceded a few penalties in a row to give Samoa multiple set piece advantages. 

The game slowed down as the teams fought for possession, and Samoa found themselves again in scoring territory with a five meter line out, while a yellow card to Jason Damm gave them the advantage for the remainder of the game. But the maul didn’t go in Samoa’s favor, giving the Eagles a scrum. The USA worked down field, but Samoa found possession and a few defensive gaps, where they broke through and made it back into USA territory. Samoa were relentless to find the defensive holes, and their work paid off on the edge with three minutes left in the game. The Eagles had one more attacking chance, but a forward pass ended their journey and the game, giving the bronze away to Samoa 13-18.

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

Ron Klingensmith | Assistant Athletic Trainer

Willie Berlanga | Sports Massage Therapist

Marc Kowalski | Team Doctor

Oscar Alvarez | Team Manager

Calder Cahill | Media Manager

USA vs Canada | 28-15 (W)

USA vs Japan | 24-41 (L)

USA vs Fiji | 3-22 (L)

USA vs Samoa | 13-18 (L)