ARC Update: USA Rugby Eagles Roster vs Chile in Americas Rugby Championship

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SANTIAGO, CHILE – The U.S. Men’s National Team 15s has named it’s match-day roster to face Chile in the first round of the Americas Rugby Championship 2019 this Saturday, Feb 2 at 1 PM ET, LIVE on FloRugby. As reigning two-time Champions, the Eagles will begin the chase to secure their third-consecutive title in the opening of a Rugby World Cup year.

Headlining the squad as Captain is wing Marcel Brache who takes on the role with Blaine Scully out due to injury. Brache owns 12 caps with the Eagles and has been a leader amongst the group since his debut in 2016. The athlete scored his first two tries in a breakout game against Russia last summer in Denver, CO.

Suiting up as Brache’s counterpart on the wing is Gannon Moore who recently earned his first cap in the team’s historic first ever victory over Samoa last November.

The backline are also joined by the official return of flyhalf AJ MacGinty, who was forced to miss the November Internationals last year due to injury. With MacGinty in, Will Magie will start at fullback.

Records could be broken within the forward pack as hooker Joe Taufete’e is currently two tries away of becoming the highest scoring front row forward in World Rugby history. Taufete’e owns 14 career tries where Ireland’s Keith Wood currently holds the record at 15 tries.

Wood reached the record after a nine year career as a national team player whereas Taufete’e was first capped with the Eagles in 2015. The achievement would be an incredible feat for USA’s hooker having done so in only four years and what will be his 20th cap.

Overall, ten total players in Saturday’s lineup come from professional teams in Major League Rugby with Tadhg Leader — Captain of the New England Free Jacks — having the opportunity to earn his first cap from the bench. The full match-day 23 features a cumulative total of 343 caps.

Head Coach Gary Gold said: “Our first challenge of the ARC will not be easy, playing the Chilean side in their home territory. Chile plays a very passionate and physical game and given this is the start of a long tournament, we must play to our strengths to establish the momentum we need to carry us through the competition. Of course, we want to win our third ARC title, but that will be even more difficult as all teams have come back with a renewed physicality. This is the start of our Rugby World Cup year and we must ensure our guys are prepared to manage the intensity in each game for the full 80 minutes.“

The USA sits on the better side of a 4-1 overall record with the Chileans and won their previous three match-ups in the ARC with a bonus point win. Last time the two faced off, the Eagles walked away with a 45-13 victory on home soil. Given Chile has certainly strengthened since last facing the United States, and with the U.S. Men’s National Team looking to maintain their form, Saturday’s matchup will set the tone for the next six weeks.

Following Chile, the United States will face Argentina XV in Rio Negro on Sat, Feb 9 before all teams rest for a bye week. After the break, the Eagles will play three matches in USA against Brazil (Feb 23) in Austin, TX, as well as Uruguay (Mar 2) and rival-Canada (Mar 8) in Seattle, WA.

Tickets to watch the Eagles play at home in the Americas Rugby Championship 2019 are available at usarugby.org/tickets. All USA matches of the tournament will be broadcast LIVE on FloRugby exclusively in the United States.

*Check out #ARC analysis in this segment of our show this week:

PODCAST VERSION:

Men’s Eagles Starting Roster | USA vs Chile

Men’s Eagles Reserves | USA vs Chile

USA Men’s Eagles Staff

Head Coach | Gary Gold

Assistant Coach, Backs & Attack | Greg McWilliams

Assistant Coach, Forwards | Shawn Pittman

Strength & Conditioning Coach | Huw Bevan

Performance Analyst | Jimmy Harrison

Team Doctor | Mark Sakr (Chile, Argentina Uruguay, Canada)

Head Athletic Trainer | Kevin Ng

Assistant Athletic Trainer | Kristen Douhan

Team Manager | Chris Hanson

Americas Rugby Championship 2019 Schedule

LIVE on FloRugby in the United States

Saturday, Feb. 2

vs Chile | 1 PM ET

Santiago, CHL

Saturday, Feb 9

vs Argentina XV | 3 PM ET

Rio Negro, ARG

BYE WEEK

Saturday, Feb 23

vs Brazil | 7:10 PM CT

Dell Diamond, Austin, TX

Get Tickets

Saturday, Mar 2

vs Uruguay | 7:10 PM PT

Starfire Sports, Seattle, WA

Get Tickets

Friday, Mar 8

vs Canada | 7:10 PM PT

Starfire Sports, Seattle, WA

Get Tickets

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About the Americas Rugby Championship

The Americas Rugby Championship (ARC) is an international, round-robin competition at the test level which features six competing teams from North and South America including Argentina XV, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Uruguay and USA. All matches contested in the ARC count for rankings points and test caps with the exception of those played against Argentina XV who compete as a secondary national team. Originally introduced as a development tournament, the Americas Rugby Championship began operating at the senior international level in 2016 where Argentina XV (who remained as part of the setup) claimed the inaugural championship and USA took runners-up. USA are currently reigning champions having won both the 2017 and 2018 ARC with Argentina XV runners-up in both years.

ARC Points Structure

Win – 4 points

Draw – 2 points

Loss – 0 points

Bonus

Scoring 4+ tries – 1 point

Losing by 7 or fewer points – 1 point

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