The Eagles will host their North American rivals, Canada, in their opening match of the 2019 Pacific Nations Cup at the Infinity Park in Glendale, Colorado as part of the preparations for the RWC 2019. This will be the 2nd game played by these two sides in 2019 and they’ll meet again in September in another warm-up match before jetting off to Japan for the World Cup. With Canada looking for revenge and the Eagles looking for a 2nd win over Canada in 2019, this promises to be an intriguing match considering both teams qualified for the RWC.

The USA National Team will play 3 matches in this edition of the Pacific Nations Cup. They will open against Canada on the 27th of July at home then play Samoa in Fiji on the 3rd of August before playing against Japan in the same venue on the 10th of August in their last game of the tournament. Canada, on the other hand, will start their campaign against the USA on the 27th of July then face Fiji at the ANZ Stadium in Fiji on the 3rd of August before clashing with Tonga on the 9th of August at the Churchill Park in Lautoka.

Previous Matches

The Eagles’ most recent match was in the Americas Rugby where they were 30-25 victors over the current opponents, Canada. USA were first on the scoresheet via a Will Magie field goal but Canada responded in classic fashion through a Nick Blevins try. Joe Taufete’e responded with a try for the Eagles but it didn’t take long before Luke Campbell crossed the whitewash for the Canadians.

In what was turning into a dramatic game, Cam Dolan scored a try just before halftime and Taufete’e added another after the break but Luke Campbell scored another try for the Canadians to set the game on course for a dramatic finish. McRories’ two penalty kicks gave Canada a 25-23 lead but a Ruben de Haas stoppage time try won the game for the U.S. XVs. This also was Canada’s last game played leading to this meeting hence raising the stakes when the two face off again in Glendale.

Form

The Eagles have won three and lost two of their past five outings. Having beaten Chile by a huge 8-71 scoreline, the U.S. Men’s side was felled by Los Pumas by 45-14. They then won against Brazil, lost against Uruguay, and beat Canada in what turned out to be a hot-cold run of form.

Canada, on the other hand, are 1-4 having won just once in the previous 5 outings. They lost twice on the road against Uruguay and Brazil before crushing Chile 56-0. This result flattered to deceive as they lost at home against Los Pumas before going down against the U.S Men’s National Rugby XVs. 

USA vs Canada Rugby Head to Head

USA and Canada have met 60 times with the Eagles winning 20 times while Canada have won 38 times with 2 of the other matches ending in a stalemate. Of the 60 matches, 23 have been played in the United States and the Eagles have won 12, lost 11 to Canada, and sharing the spoils only once. Interestingly, the Eagles have scored fewer points than Canada (420 vs 496) when playing at home. However, the Eagles are unbeaten in the last 10 matches against Canada, winning 9 with 1 draw.

Key Players

The power duo of Cam Dolan and Joe Taufete’e score tries with relative ease and they will be eager to impress as they look to book a seat in the September flight to Japan. Also keen to impress will be 7’s captain Madison Hughes, who has been called to the squad alongside teammate Ben Pinkelman.

Canada on the other hand will be drawing inspiration from Kyle Baillie, Gordon McRorie, DTH van der Merwe, and Taylor Paris to lead them to a first victory over the USA since 2014. McRorie who is their highest point scorer in the current squad will be looking to add to his personal tally as well as guide Canada to victory with DTH and Paris vying for a starting berth in the 2019 RWC.

Game Prediction

Canada comes into this game in a very poor run of form and even though the Eagles are not very well off, they are clear favorites. Couple this with the fact that the Eagles boast a dominant head-to-head record in the recent past over their arch rivals, then the Eagles ought to win this one. However, Canada scores tries and points easily when in American soil and USA should be wary of that statistic.

USA 35-28 Canada.