USA Eagles Head Coach Mike Tolkin has named his side to face off against Japan on Saturday at Bonney Field in Sacramento, California. Eagles Captain Chris Wyles leads out a side with only minor changes to the lineup from the squad that nearly upset Samoa in the opening round of the Pacific Nations Cup.

The front row is anchored by Eric Fry, Zach Fenoglio, and Titi Lamositele. Lamositele came on early in the Samoa match and helped strengthen a scrum that performed well above expectations. Fenoglio gets the starting nod against Japan after being a late game replacement at hooker against Samoa. The front row will be under pressure to match their scrum performance from last week. The Eagles hopes at victory may depend on another strong effort.

There is one change to the second row from the last match as Cam Dolan replaces Greg Peterson at lock position from the back row. Dolan, well capable of playing second row, has seen very little action at the position for the Eagles. Dolan is paired with Hayden Smith who is coming off a solid defensive effort against Samoa. The pair is another group that is vital to the Eagles’ success in the scrum.

The back row gets a bit of a makeover as Danny Barrett is the only holdover from the Samoa match. Scott LaValla is slotted in at blindside and Andrew Durutalo gets his first start for the USA at openside. Both played well when they came on in the second half against Samoa.

There is only one change in the backline as Mike Petri gets the start at scrumhalf. AJ MacGinty is back at flyhalf and needs to repeat his second half performance against Samoa. After a shaky start to his Eagles career, MacGinty showed everyone why he is considered the USA’s flyhalf for the future. The center duo of Thretton Palamo and Seamus Kelly return and will be looked at to give the squad more go forward than last week.

Taku Ngwenya and Blaine Scully are back on the wings. Both performed well against Samoa despite not getting much ball to work with. They’ll both be needed in attack for the USA to take down Japan. Chris Wyles Captains the side from fullback. Just as with the other backs, Wyles had little room to work against Samoa. Wyles and Scully played major roles in the USA’s match against Japan last year. They’ll need a similar effort this weekend.

Tolkin’s bench sees a number of changes as Nick Wallace, Louis Stanfill, Al McFarland, and Folau Niua were all named to the reserves. Phil Thiel, Chris Baumann, Shalom Suniula, and Zack Test all return from the test against Samoa.

The USA faces a stern test against Japan, whom defeated Canada 20-6 last week. Japan looked much more methodical in attack than in the past as they beat Canada with a clinical effort. They’ll aim to force the USA into giving up penalties and probe their defense with a much different style than the USA faced against the powerful Samoan attack.

If the USA can get good ball out to their backs, it could be a very interesting match. Getting off to a good start is vital for the Eagles as slow starts have handicapped the squad. If they’re able to get off to a good start, avoid penalty trouble, and finish strong, an upset could be in the cards.

USA vs Japan

1 Eric Fry 2 Zach Fenoglio 3 Titi Lamositele 4 Hayden Smith 5 Cameron Dolan 6 Scott LaValla 7 Andrew Durutalo 8 Danny Barrett 9 Mike Petri 10 AJ MacGinty 11 Takudzwa Ngwenya 12 Thretton Palamo 13 Seamus Kelly 14 Blaine Scully 15 Chris Wyles (capt.)

16 Phil Thiel 17 Nick Wallace 18 Chris Baumann 19 Louis Stanfill 20 Al McFarland 21 Shalom Suniula 22 Folau Niua 23 Zack Test