The USA Selects team for the Americas Rugby Championship will be named soon, and don’t expect too many new faces in the squad.

USA Head Coach Mike Tokin is staring down the barrel of a very challenging 12 months, with the full Eagles squad schedule to host New Zealand November 1, and then to play Romania, Tonga, and Fiji during their fall tour of Europe.

They will then have another series of June test matches, followed by the Rugby World Cup in September and October.

Because he is finalizing his RWC squad, Tolkin isn’t going to be taking too many flyers on young, unproven players. But if he does, you might see it at the fullback level. While current Eagles Chris Wyles and Blaine Scully are accomplished fullbacks, there’s a dearth of solid #5s after them, said Tolkin.

“We are thin in the back three overall, and especially at fullback,” Tolkin told Goff Rugby Report. “We have guys going to 7s, and that’s great, but some of the skills you need as a back three player in 15s - rotating cover, kicking, covering kicks - are not things you see a lot in 7s.”

Tolkin said he’s not seeing some of the wing/fullback skills needed at the international level practiced at the college or high school level. A fullback or wing who can run and break tackles isn’t going to kick much, and as a result, doesn’t develop that skill.

“You don’t see a lot of players working on handling the high ball, but that’s something you need to deal with as an international. Learning to ruck ofter a line break is another one. It’s a tough thing to learn, but that’s an area where we need to develop players.”

So Tolkin may well surprise some with his selections for the ARC, during with the USA Selects play Canada Selects, Uruguay, and the Argentina Jaguars.

Last year, the Selects finished 2nd in the ARC in their best performance in that competition since its inception in 2010. During last year’s tournament, several college players made pushes for national team spots, with flanker Danny Barrett (Cal), and wing Tim Maupin (St. Mary’s) earning their first caps after their ARC performances.