SUVA, FIJ. – The USA Men’s National Team XVs are set for the final round of Pacific Nations Cup 2019 against No. 11 Japan where the winner will take the title. Following two victories over rival-Canada and Samoa, the Men’s Eagles have risen two spots in the World Rugby Rankings to No. 13 with one more opportunity this Saturday, Aug 10 at 12:35 AM ET on NBC Sports Gold.

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MATCH DAY 23

Head Coach Gary Gold has made eight changes to the starting XV from last week’s 13-10 win over Samoa, allowing a number of players to get needed rest while others have an opportunity to make an impact in the anticipated tournament finale.

Mikey Sosene-Feagai will start at hooker in his first appearance with the Men’s Eagles since facing Uruguay in 2016. Nate Brakeley will start at lock with Ben Landry shifting to the bench, while Malon Al-Jiboori and Hanco Germishuys are both in at flanker.

Newly-capped Jamason Fa’anana Schultz will take the No. 8 spot with Shaun Davies back in at scrumhalf. Madison Hughes will start at wing with Marcel Brache back at center after completing the HIA protocol.

From the bench, Thretton Palamo could make his first appearance since facing Tonga in 2016. Palamo returns after a long-awaited recovery from injury.

Saturday’s full match-day roster features 324 cumulative test caps.

STARTERS

PLAYER NAME POSITION CLUB XVs CAPS 1. Chance Wenglewski Prop Rugby ATL 5 2. Mikey Sosene-Feagai Hooker Auckland (NZL) 4 3. Paul Mullen Prop Houston SaberCats 12 4. Nate Brakeley Lock Rugby United New York 19 5. Gregory Peterson Lock Newcastle Falcons (ENG) 24 6. Malon Aljiboori Flanker Glendale Raptors 3 7. Hanco Germishuys Flanker Glendale Raptors 15 8. Jamason Fa’anana Shultz No. 8 Houston SaberCats 1 9. Shaun Davies Scrumhalf Glendale Raptors 23 10. AJ MacGinty Flyhalf Sale Sharks (ENG) 23 11. Madison Hughes Wing USA Sevens 4 12. Paul Lasike Center Harlequins (ENG) 14 13. Marcel Brache Center Western Force (AUS) 17 14. Blaine Scully (C) Wing Unattached 48 15. Will Hooley Fullback Bedford Blues (ENG) 10

RESERVES

PLAYER NAME POSITION CLUB XVs CAPS 16. Dylan Fawsitt Reserve Rugby United New York 10 17. David Ainu’u Reserve Toulouse Rugby (FRA) 7 18. Paddy Ryan Reserve Rugby United New York 3 19. Ben Landry Reserve Ealing Trailfinders (ENG) 20 20. Ben Pinkelman Reserve USA Sevens 1 21. Nate Augspurger Reserve San Diego Legion 22 22. Will Magie Reserve Glendale Raptors 23 23. Thretton Palamo Reserve Houston SaberCats 17

USA MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM XVs STAFF

General Manager | Dave Hodges

Head Coach | Gary Gold

Assistant Coach, Attack | Greg McWilliams

Assistant Coach, Set Piece | Shawn Pittman

Assistant Coach, Defense | Jaque Fourie

Strength & Conditioning Coach | Huw Bevan

Performance Analyst | Jimmy Harrison

Assistant S&C and Analyst | Tom Kindley

Team Doctor | Mark Sakr

Team Doctor | Sam Akhavan

Head Athletic Trainer | Kevin Ng

Athletic Trainer | Matt Lopez (Fiji)

Athletic Trainer | Kristen Douhan

Massage Therapist | Daliah Hurwitz

Team Manager | Chris Hanson

Assistant Team Manager | Mark Drown

LAST TIME ON THE PITCH AGAINST SAMOA

In the second round of Pacific Nations Cup 2019, the USA Men’s National Team XVs defeated Samoa for only the second time in history — a second straight win which came on a penalty kick by AJ MacGinty at full time.

MacGinty scored all 13 points for the U.S. side where the Eagles monopolized possession and territory in the first half and Samoa did the same in the second half.

Defensive pressure was a strength for the United States who kept Samoa from forming a fluid attack in the second half despite also suffering from small execution errors. After the Samoans brought the scoreline to 10-10 in the final minutes, the U.S. launched one more meaningful attack which led to AJ MacGinty teed up with the match-winner after eighty minutes.

It was a mirrored result to last year’s first-ever win over the Samoans where Will Hooley was on the kick and also slotted a penalty at fulltime to give his side the win.

THE MATCHUP | UNITED STATES (No. 13) vs JAPAN (No. 11)

The United States and Japan will meet for the first time since Rugby World Cup 2015 in England where the Eagles fell to an 18-28 Japanese victory. Since their first matchup in 1985, the USA men have logged 13 wins, one draw and 9 losses against Japan.

Two bonus point victories over Tonga and Fiji give the upcoming Rugby World Cup hosts 10 points and the current top placing in the PNC standings. The USA sit one point behind after its own bonus point win over Canada and narrow edging of Samoa last week.

Through the tournament, the Eagles have shown strong improvements in defense and response to high pressure situations. Japan will be the first team the USA faces this year who sit higher in the World Rugby Rankings which makes Saturday’s contest a necessary stepping stone in preparation for a challenging Rugby World Cup pool. The PNC finale will nonetheless serve as an important test in continuity on both sides of the ball.

THOUGHTS FROM HEAD COACH GARY GOLD

“Happy for our guys that we’ve put ourselves in a good position with an opportunity to win the PNC on Saturday. Credit to both Canada and Samoa who put us under a lot of pressure in those first two games and really showed us what can happen when we don’t make the right decisions on the field.

“Now that we’ve reached the final match of the tournament and knowing how sharp this Japanese team is, we must absolutely continue to show consistent defense; but also build momentum around our attacking game to be successful.”

WINNER TAKES ALL

After the first two rounds of Pacific Nations Cup 2019, the United States and Japan have setup a winner takes all affair. Japan sit atop the tournament standings with 10 points while the United States are close behind with 9 points. A win by any margin will give either side the PNC title.

Pacific Nations Cup Standings

POOL A

TEAM P W D L PF PA PD TF TA BP PTS USA 2 2 0 0 60 29 31 7 4 1 9 FIJI 2 1 0 1 59 47 12 9 6 1 5 TONGA 2 0 0 2 24 66 -42 4 8 0 0

POOL B

TEAM P W D L PF PA PD TF TA BP PTS JAPAN 2 2 0 0 75 28 47 10 4 2 10 SAMOA 2 1 0 1 35 30 5 4 4 1 5 CANADA 2 0 0 2 32 85 -53 4 12 0 0

WHAT IS THE PACIFIC NATIONS CUP?

The Pacific Nations Cup is an annual tournament hosted by World Rugby that features an expanded number of teams in Rugby World Cup years, when the United States competes. Featuring six teams for 2019, nations are split into two pools where each team faces the opposing sides in the opposite group to accumulate points after each matchup. The team who finishes with the most points at the end of its three games will win the title.

Pool A features the United States, Fiji and Tonga while Pool B features Canada, Samoa and Japan.

POINTS STRUCTURE

Win – 4 points

Draw – 2 points

Loss – 0 points

Bonus

Scoring 4 tries – 1 point

Losing by less than 7 – 1 point

WHERE TO WATCH

All matches in the Pacific Nations Cup are broadcast LIVE in the United States on NBC Sports Gold’s Rugby Pass. Click here to purchase a subscription. The game will also reair on NBCSN Monday, Aug 12 at 12 PM ET.

SCHEDULE & RESULTS

Pacific Nations Cup

WATCH on NBC Sports Gold

vs Canada | 47-19 (W)

vs Samoa | 13-10 (W)

vs Japan

Sat, Aug 10 | 12:35 AM ET

Suva, Fiji

Rugby World Cup Warm-up

vs Canada

September 7 | 7 PM PT

B.C. Place Stadium, Vancouver, B.C.

Purchase Tickets

Rugby World Cup Japan

Broadcast on NBC Networks

vs England

September 26 | 6:45 AM ET

Kobe Misaki Stadium

vs France

October 2 | 3:45 AM ET

Fukuoka Hakatanomori Stadium

vs Argentina

October 9 | 12:45 AM ET

Kumagaya Rugby Stadium

vs Tonga

October 13 | 1:45 AM ET

Hanazono Rugby Stadium