Hard tackles like this one by Thretton Palamo led to mishandling by Scotland in the first half.
Titi Lamositele of Bellingham bulled over for a try to lead the U.S. national rugby team to a 13-6 halftime advantage over Scotland Sunday at Elland Roads stadium in Leeds, England.
The Eagles’ hard hitting in their second match in the Rugby World Cup seemed to put the Scots off their game and several mishandles kept them out of the try zone.
The U.S. scored first just past a minute in the game on a penalty kick by Alan MacGinty. But Scotland took advantage of mistakes by the U.S. to take the lead 6-3 on two penalty kicks.
But at 20 minutes into the game, the Eagles won the ball from a lineout, had it out to the back line where No. 8 Samu Manoa filled in to crash through the Scots’ defense. Stopped about five yards out from the try line, the U.S. won several loose rucks before Lamositele took the ball from the ruck and pressed it into pay dirt.
MacGinty added one more penalty before the half, which ended with the U.S. up 13-
Titi Lamositele (No. 3) of Bellingham, WA, squares off against Samoan defenders.
“We were masters of our own misfortunes” was how Justin Fitzpatrick, forwards coach for the U.S. national rugby team, summed up the Eagles’ loss to Samoa on Sunday.
Too many penalties, too many movements left unfinished, a couple of missed kicks and some failures at defense resulted in a 25-16 win for the Pacific Islanders.
Mike Tolkin, the U.S. head coach, was asked at the post-game media session what the Eagles would do differently in their next game.
“Hopefully, win,” he answered.
He went on to say more discipline and more continuity were what he wanted from his team this coming Sunday against Scotland.
The Eagles gave up 15 points in penalties.
“At the end of the day, we were still in position to win but could not finish,” Tolkin said.
He said he was also disappointed that they missed out on getting a bonus point from the match. Teams receive one point in the standings for a loss of seven points or less.
With the U.S. trailing 22-11 with only 11 minutes left in the game, a try would have put them within six. Then the Eagles were called for crossing, essentially blocking, which is not allowed in rugby. Samoa added three points with the penalty kick so that when Chris Bauman scored a five-point try — three minutes after he entered the game as a sub — it needed to be converted to get the Eagles within seven. Alas, the kick, would have added two points, went wide.
(Other bonus points in the standings: four points for a win; two for a draw; one for scoring four or more tries – win or lose. No points for a loss of more than seven points.)
On Wednesday, Scotland plays Japan, who shook up the tournament – Pool B especially – with their shocking upset of South Africa on Saturday.
Tolkin said the upset might cause Scotland to re-think what players they select for Wednesday’s game.
Scotland might have been tempted to hold out some of their best players against Japan. But after Japan’s 34-32 win over the Springboks, that would seem unwise.
So when the U.S. plays Scotland on Sunday, Sept. 27 in Leeds, they may face a team of players with only four days rest while the Eagles will have had a week to recover.
And what about South Africa, the Eagles’ Pool B opponent on Wednesday, Oct. 7? Any word on how the unexpected loss has affected them?
“We won’t wallow in others’ misfortunes,” Fitzpatrick said. “We’ve got enough on our own plate to deal with.”
Here’s how it stands in Pool B:
Japan: 1 win (34-32 over South Africa) 4 points
Samoa: 1 win (25-16 over U.S.) 4 points
South Africa: 1 loss (32-34 to Japan) 2 points (scored four tries in loss by less than seven points)
United States :1 loss (16-25 to Samoa) 0 points
Scotland: Plays first game against Japan on Wednesday
The video above is provided by England Rugby 2015, responsible for running the six-week tournament. Each of the 20 teams in the Rugby World Cup is being given a welcome ceremony, either in the city where they will play their first game or where they are training.
Running the tournament is a huge task, but the financial rewards for England Rugby 2015 and its parent, Rugby Football Union, are huge, according to an article in The Sunday Times. And the benefits don’t stop there.
Peter Evans and Mark Souster, who wrote The Times article for its Business section, report that the economic activity generated by the tournament will be 2.2 billion pounds with an estimated 982 million pound boost to the British gross domestic product. Broadcasting rights have gone to 205 countries, and 466,000 visitors are expected to come to England for the games.
Ticket sales stand at 93 percent sold and that has brought in 200 million pounds. The Times article included an estimate from the commercial side of the tournament, Rugby World Cup Limited, that the “surplus” (profit) would be 150 million pounds with much of that to be reinvested in the game through tournaments (the Las Vegas Sevens, for example), development of the women’s game and enhancement of the game in Africa and Asia.
Broadcast rights are 60 percent of the income and more comes from the sponsors, most notably Heineken, Land Rover and Emirates airlines.
Pubs are also expected to do well. Evans and Souster ended the article with this quote from a pub owner comparing football (soccer) fans to rugby’s: “People who like rugby tend to arrive at pubs earlier than football fans. They stay all day and they drink more.”
Japan World Cup team attends welcoming ceremony at Brighton Dome. (Photo by Anthony Harvey/Getty Images for ER2015)
The Japan team has arrived in England and been welcomed at the Brighton Dome.
Japan has a tough opening in the tournament, facing South Africa on Sept. 19 at the Brighton Community Stadium. Japan and the USA Eagles meet on October 11 in Gloucester, the last game in pool play for both. Don’t want to jinx either of them, but I’d bet one or both will be trying to dodge a 0-4 record for World Cup play.
The rest of Pool B will present hefty challenges to both Japan and the United States: South Africa, Scotland and Samoa.
The U.S. team plays Samoa on Sunday, Sept. 20; Scotland on Sept. 27; South Africa on Oct. 7 and finishes with Japan on Oct. 11.
Got word on Facebook from USA forwards coach Justin Fitzpatrick that the team was in the air (in O’Hare in Chicago, actually) and headed this way.
From the England Rugby 2015 news release about the welcome ceremony for Japan, there is no mention of the team performing Kabuki theater or anything else. Maybe the pressure is off the U.S. to perform song and dance in response to “World in Union” on Sunday. Hope the team gets over jet lag faster than we did or they may be best suited to performing “Leave me, loathsome light” from Handel’s opera Semele.
The Samoa team performs at the welcoming ceremony at Brighton Dome Friday. (Photo by Anthony Harvey/Getty Images for ER2015)
Brighton welcomed the Samoa rugby team today with a choir from Chestnuts Primary School in Bletchley performing “World In Union.”
Samoa responded with a performance of their own, which makes me wonder what the U.S. team will do on Sunday at their welcome ceremony, also in Brighton. A square dance? Break dance? A chorus of “Born in the USA?”
Any suggestions?
The U.S. and Samoa play at noon Sunday, Sept. 20, at the American Express Community Stadium. The two teams met on July 18 in the Pacific Nations Cup with Samoa winning, 21-16.
