Five Things We Learned About The Eagles Summer Of Losses

 

Change needs to come at fly-half. Last November when Toby L'Estrange was first given the reigns to the team as the go-to fly-half things went well. The U.S. offense buzzed last November not only against Romania, but also against Russia and Tonga. Much of the credit went to L'Estrange who looked good at the time. However, as the spring rolled on he did not have a good season for NYAC and that form carried over to the Eagles. He has often played center in the past and when he plays fly-half for the Eagles it looks like a center playing fly-half. He is still a solid player, especially defensively but the time has come for the team to make a change at the position. The U.S. simply needs more production from the position. The offense is sputtered. Any international can't win games simply scoring one try a match. Folau Niua, Adam Siddall, Will Magie, Will Holder, and even Roland Suniula are all options at the position. They need to be tried out during the ARC and the November test window.

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Consistent kicking is a problem. Full credit to Chris Wyles for going out and turning himself into a decent kicker over the last few years. Ever since Mike Hercus was left out of Eagles selection the U.S. has struggled for consistency from the tee. Wyles has been the best option during that time. Last year he was strong with the boot but for some reason it hasn't been the same. He'll certainly get better with practice but all you have to do is look to Canada to see how important a go-to kicker is (okay Pritchard wasn't good in the last match). A consistent kicker is automatic points and too often the Eagles leave gimme points on the board. Having a solid kicker makes the choice to go for points much easier than trying to get a try. Siddall can kick, so can Magie. If Madison Hughes were ever brought into the team he would be a good option as well. Either way, it may be worth sacrificing something else on the pitch to get a good kicker on the field.

More development matches are needed. Having observed Canada it's clear that they have one advantage over the U.S. when it comes to their national team: highly competitive matches that involve their top players. Most of their players play professionally overseas, in the Canadian Rugby Championship, or the highly-competitive BC league. Canada's top players get at least a dozen top-level matches a year. A U.S. club team would be lucky if they got that. Life is one of the few teams that has the resources to go out and play matches but other teams are left beating up on their regional opponents. The Elite Cup and it's three to five matches are no where near enough.

Canada's geography (big country but few concentrated population centers) helps them concentrate their players. The U.S. simply doesn't have that. Maybe the solution for the U.S. is to have all their top players play in the new proposed West Coast league. This would naturally upset teams on the East Coast but having the ability to concentrate the best players in the country on one coast where they could play more often would be beneficial. Canada is also able to include their 7's players in their 15's program by having them play in the BC league. A West Coast league would allow the U.S. 7's players to do the same. To give teams on the East Coast a opportunity a new national cup would give them more matches. The bottom line is that our top players, unless they are overseas, play only a handful of difficult matches a year. It's not enough.

Young players are on the rise. Sadly, the biggest positive for the U.S. this summer is Titi Lamositele earning his first cap. That's not a knock again Lamositele. He is an extremely talented player and deserved his cap on merit. Lamositele is only one of several younger players that have shown well at the age grade level recently. We've already mentioned Hughes and Magie. Other players to excel include Tom Bliss and Pierce Dargan. Both players are up and coming overseas. Why not let them grow in the U.S. system as well? It's obvious that what we have at the moment isn't working so why not turn some of the responsibilities over to some younger players? There needs to be a way to get these players involved in the U.S. system, even on a development level, sooner than later.

Eagles lack a culture. When you think of the Eagles what do you think of? Right now it's probably losing. Besides being patriotic and known for physical play at times do the Eagles have an identity? The team doesn't have any well-known traditions or supporters culture. The players themselves have always been more than outgoing to fans but they need help. It's clear that not playing a match in Glendale this summer was probably a mistake. It's one of the few places that have consistently showed they can support the Eagles. U.S.A. Rugby needs to take a step back and decide what kind of culture they want around the team and then work for ways to execute it.