Eagles cruise in Lisbon
The United States of America ran in three tries in Lisbon as they defeated Portugal 22-17 in the first IRB ranking test of their November Tour.
American flyhalf, Nese Malifa, had his kicking boots on and tries from Takudzwa Ngwenya, Andrew Suniula, and Paul Emerick handed the Eagles a hard-fought win.
In the first half the Eagles attack was looking strong and the USA back three Takudzwa Ngwenya, Chris Wyles and Kevin Swiryn looked to be in devastating form. The American forwards were tenacious and the scrums and lineouts were solid, allowing the backs time and space to attack from the set pieces.
Usually known for his blistering pace but not necessarily for his power, Ngwenya’s hand-off was devastating and earned him a try for the Eagles in the 28th minute. After an explosive break through the defence, a Portuguese defender stood straight in Ngwenya’s path and was duly run over by the Biarritz flyer.
Malifa kicked the tricky conversion from near the touchline to add the extra two points. Malifa would cash in with the boot once more in the first half, his penalty kick bringing the USA tally to ten.
Portuguese flyhalf Joseph Gardener managed to kick two penalties in the first half as they trailed the visitors 6-10 at the break.
Gardener opened the scoring in the second half with another penalty but this was followed by a try from the Eagles when inside centre Andrew Suniula sliced through the Portuguese defence and slid in for a five-pointer. Malifa duly converted, giving the USA a 17-9 lead.
Four minutes after Suniula’s effort, Eagle veteran Paul Emerick burst through Portuguese tackles in a powerful run to the line and would score another five points for the USA. The Americans had most of the second half possession and played much of the game, aside from a late surge from Portugal, in the opposition’s half.
The late Portuguese jolt forced the Eagles to defend their tryline for several minutes, and substitute JJ Gaganio was sent to the bin for cynical play shortly after he took the field. Portugal capitalised on the advantage and their blindside flank, Vasco Uva, scored a try.
As in the tour opener against Saracens earlier in the week, the American defence was strong and the set piece was effective. Those strengths, paired with a precise kicking game and aggressive kick-chase, kept Portugal pinned down and the Eagles pressured them in nearly every phase.
The scorers:
For USA:
Tries: Ngwenya, Suniula, Emerick
Cons: Malifa 2
Pens: Malifa
For Portugal:
Tries: Uva
Pens: Gardener 4
Teams:
USA: 15 Chris Wyles, 14 Takudzwa Ngwenya, 13 Setareki Tuilevuka, 12 Andrew Suniula, 11 Kevin Swiryn, 10 Nese Malifa, 9 Tim Usasz, 8 Nic Johnson, 7 Todd Clever, 6 Louis Stanfill, 5 John van der Giessen, 4 Scott Lavalla, 3 Shawn Pittman, 2 Phil Thiel, 1 Mate Moeakiola.
Replacements: 16 Chris Biller, 17 Mike MacDonald, 18 Jonathon Gaganio, 19 Inaki Basauri, 20 Mike Petri, 21 Tai Enosa, 22 Paul Emerick.
Portugal: 15 Pedro Leal, 14 José Lima, 13 Frederico Oliveira, 12 Pedro Silva, 11 Antonio Aguilar, 10 Joseph Gardener, 9 José Pinto, 8 Tiago Girão, 7 Julien Bardy, 6 Vasco Uva, 5 Juan Severino, 4 Gonçalo Uva, 3 Anthony Alves, 2 João Correia, 1 Cristian Spachuk.
Replacements: 16 Lionel Campergne, 17 Ivo Morais, 18 Rui D’orey, 19 Laurent Balangué, 20 Pedro Cabral, 21 Francisco Mira, 22 Gonçalo Foro.
Referee: Frank Himmer (Germany)
Assistant referees: Joao Mourinha (Portugal), Alfonso Mirat (Spain)
