Eagles Select XV Trounce Uruguay A

Please Share.
10702058_729968873724426_4284193732702052667_n
Judy Teasdale Photo

VANCOUVER, B.C. – The Eagles Select XV handled Uruguay A 30-5 at Westhills Stadium.  The Americans kept the pressure on Uruguay throughout and the scoreline could have been even more unbalanced.  It was only 8-0 at half.

The good news is that America looks to be adding to already strong positions.

Zack Test’s hop-step looked electric.  Folau Niua looked confident from the start and had some strong runs.  Ben Pinkleman showed good pace and footwork.  Andrew Durutalo, other than his knock on in the try zone, had a strong game.  John Cullen and Graham Harriman played well, with Harriman popping up in useful places in open play.  Tim Stanfill showed a knack for finishing, and Troy Hall showed good pace on the outside.

Niua and Test might get onto the field against the All Blacks, but the rest will likely have to wait for their next chance for a full cap.  The areas of need–front row and half backs–were, essentially, the Eagles’ starters.  Although the Uruguay scrum was strong, the Americans only gave up one penalty at scrum time.

Olive Kilifi had two particularly strong runs, although both of them ended up in turnovers.

There were certainly times when the Selects looked to be searching for a game plan in attack.

Screen shot 2014-10-19 at 9.07.04 PM
Judy Teasdale Photo

The Selects lineout was good at times.  There was a lineout to the US that they won and then mauled the ball upfield about 10 meters.  However, when the maul stalled, John Cullen turned and popped a pass to Adam Siddall.  In that weak pop pass, momentum was lost.  Later, the US won a 5 meter lineout and then the ball was dropped.

Still, the Americans did the job tonight, and their two wins from the tournament is enough to consider it a success.

That’s it for now. Feel free to comment below, please look for and “Like” our Facebook Rugby Wrap Up Page and follow us on Twitter@:RugbyWrapUp, Junoir Blaber, Nick Hall, James Harrington, Jamie Wall, Jaime Loyd, DJ Eberle, Cody Kuxmann, Karen Ritter, Jake Frechette and Declan Yeats, respectively.

About Jake Frechette 125 Articles
Jake Frechette lives outside of Philly, where he is engrossed enough in rugby that he sometimes forgets that when he talks about the Eagles, most people assume he means the NFL flock. He once played both tight head and inside center in the same game, which shows that he is strong, handsome and has nice hair. One of the things he finds most enjoyable in the rugby world is that Andrew Hore is a Hooker and he can't wait until his sons are old enough to giggle at that one with him.