Upon the Pacific Nations Cup campaign coming to a disappointing conclusion, losing to Japan 20-34, one thing was made apparent: Gary Gold and USA Rugby still have a long road ahead of them to become a strong rugby nation on the international stage. Gold didn’t necessarily suit up his best 15 and substitutes across the tournament, but it’s clear there’s still a significant divide between the Eagles and much of the rest of the world. However, this PNC was more meant as a warm-up for the Rugby World Cup and a chance for Gold to see players perform and determine his squad. As such, little was seen from some of the player pool’s best.

With another warm-up match against Canada on September 7, this very likely will be the last chance we get at taking a guess at who will crack the 31-man squad taken to Japan. Much of their competition has named their squads. Surely Gold will want to have his squad figured out ahead of this final tuneup, set to be played in Vancouver. With the Rugby World Cup less than a month away, how does the pecking order look?

Props

Olive Kilifi

Titi Lamositele

Paul Mullen

David Ainuu

Chance Wenglewski

Second row

Nate Brakeley

David Tameilau

Ben Landry

Greg Peterson

Hookers

Joe Taufete’e

Dylan Fawsitt

James Hilterbrand

Back row

Hanco Germishuys

Psalm Wooching

Tony Lamborn

Cam Dolan

John Quill

I still have expectations to go heavy with the forwards. The pack will be vital in their matches in this World Cup as there are a lot of strong packs to contend with in Pool C. It will be the only way for them to match up.

I did not make any changes, but Nate Brakeley filled in admirably replacing Nick Civetta, which gives some confidence that the lineout will be okay. That being said, the lineout still didn’t look good against Japan, and with the World Cup on the horizon, this issue looms large. That is an issue that Gold must figure out in camp before their first match against England on September 26 or otherwise the team is going to struggle in the set-piece this World Cup.

Scrum halves

Nate Augspurger

Shaun Davies

Ruben de Haas

Fly halves

AJ MacGinty

Will Magie

Centers

Thretton Palamo

Marcel Brache

Bryce Campbell

Paul Lasike

Wings/Full back

Will Hooley

Ryan Matyas

Blaine Scully

Tim Maupin

Gannon Moore

The United States has been blessed with a load of talent in the backs; such great depth could be the difference in the final score of each match. They have power, cohesiveness, speed, and experience to even the playing field with just about anybody. A change was made as it’s clear that Dylan Audsley is not fit and that hurts a lot, however, Thretton Palamo takes his place and it’s definitely comforting to have an internationally experienced player take his place. Gold could also go with Martin Iosefo, but despite his talents, he made some mistakes in the PNC. Iosefo might get one last look on September 7, so keep an eye out for that.

This could be the last edition of squad predictions as Gold ideally announces his team before the match against Canada and we see the Eagles take flight at a bit more a full-strength. If not, there will be another after that contest. Stay tuned for either the next edition of squad predictions or the announcement of Gold’s squad.