Rugby World Cup Tune-Up (Canada vs. USA)

The United States National Rugby Team played their final tune-up before heading overseas for the 2011 Rugby World Cup and despite playing in front of a capacity crowd on their home field in Glendale, Colorado, there was much left to be desired, losing to Canada 27-7.


This was as close as the Eagles ever got to competing... the opening kickoff.



If there was a theme for the Eagles Saturday night, it was missed opportunities. Several times the Eagles were able to slash through the Canadian defense and rip off huge chunks of yardage but almost invariably, they would proceed to cough up the ball due to sloppy passing or poor support of the ball carrier. Late in the second half when the game was all but over, the Eagles had a nice sustained drive deep into Canada territory and it looked as if they might be able to thrust the ball over the goal line for a final defiant salvo. Alas, that series went much the same as several others as the Eagles rucked poorly and Canada stole yet another defensive ruck.

Despite their poor play in the first half, the Americans punched through for a late try to make the score 10-7 at halftime but it should have been much different. They missed two very makeable penalty attempts and then squandered not one but two Canadian sin bin stints (which also overlapped for 5 minutes, giving the Eagle a 15-on-13). With a little better passing and kicking, it could have easily been 20-10 Eagles at the half.

However, I need to give credit where credit is due. No matter what the Eagles did, the Canadians were flying to the ball. When the Eagles had sustained attacks and were able to move the ball all the way out to the wings, they would look up and find themselves in a 3-on-5 against the Canadian defense or worse.

The Canadian offense was nothing spectacular but it was solid. They didn’t give the ball away much and they didn’t lose many offensive rucks. Most importantly, they didn’t force the ball and they waited for their opportunities and when they got them, they took advantage of them. Of their four tries, all of them came off of transition attacks started by a breakaway of 30 yards or more. The Canadian defense was very good in the bend-but-don’t-break sense, allowing several large chunks of yardage but only allowing one try and stopping the Eagles within ten yards of the goal line several times.

From here, the Eagles have one more tune-up in Japan before the World Cup. Both Canada and the US are probably aiming for a third place finish in their respective pools but that will be a tall task for both. Canada is playing with New Zealand, France, Japan, and Tonga while the Eagles are grouped with Australia, Ireland, Italy, and Russia. If they play like they did last night, Canada might be able to sneak into third place while the Eagles will be hoping to win a match.

This is the first of quite a few posts about rugby that will be coming in the next two months. I will be in New Zealand for the matches played in Wellington this September (and early October) and will be posting my thoughts about the matches as well as some pictures from them. These are the five matches that I’ll be attending:

September 11th – South Africa vs. Wales (Pool D)
September 17th – South Africa vs. Fiji (Pool D)
September 23rd – Australia vs. USA (Pool C)
October 1st – France vs. Tonga (Pool A)
October 2nd – New Zealand vs. Canada (Pool A)


Stay tuned for more updates as well as some pictures from camping and backpacking in New Zealand!