Road to the World Cup: ARC Round 1 Victory for the Eagles

When you think about how the Eagles should defeat Chile, a 71-8 victory, 63 point margin is about as good as it can get. The match became closer to a training session, Chile even had a spirited second quarter. But for the most part on attack the Eagles executed.



So, on the road to the World cup where does that put the Eagles. The side that faced Chile is certainly first choice based upon player availability. It's important to note that this coaching staff has worked long and hard in the off-season to develop relationships with clubs overseas, and now MLR clubs to gain player release during the Regulation 9 Winter Window.



Was Chile missing anyone? Not really. Some of their players like Marcelo Torrealba played this weekend for MLR clubs, but for the most part Chile does not have a large number of European Professionals. The bigger issue for Chile has been coaching consistency. Los Condores have had a different coach every year since this tournament was launched in the winter of 2015.



Things you liked to see from the Eagles was how we've played. Smart, attacking, running rugby. Gary Gold has placed a solid kicker at fullback whether it has been Will Hooley or Will Magie so that the Eagles could put the ball in play. Since moving to Harlequins the tools Paul Lasike used to use growing up have come back en forme. He puts the ball in play with his kicks and he's become a solid distributer and isn't just a freight train.



On defense the Eagles gotten better at our double tackles and limiting the territorial gain of our opponent. The few times the Eagles were defending from their try-line they swarmed and fought back to retake possession.



This week though, Argentina XV is a whole different and much stronger opponent.



Go Eagles



~Aaron Castro