Eagles fly too high for Los Teros
The United States easily beat Uruguay 43-9 in their one-off Test at the Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, marking the Eagles’ first win of the year and a great start to a big month for the Americans.
The Eagles leave for Japan on Tuesday – where they will face the Japan national team in Tokyo on Sunday, November 16 and then again on November 22.
Against Los Teros at the weekend the US came out quickly; scoring in the second minute after South African-bound captain Todd Clever stretched one over the try-line and Mike Hercus converted to give the US an early 7-0 lead.
The Eagles tapered out a bit after that, however, and wouldn’t score again until the second half.
Uruguay, on the other hand, found refuge in Matias Arocena’s boot in the first half, striking three penalty kicks through the uprights to bring the score to 9-7 at the half-time break.
Following what must have been an inspiring half-time chat, the US looked rejuvenated and started to dominate possession at the breakdown.
In the 50th minute, the US’s Mike Hercus was able to connect on a penalty kick from 35 meters out and the Eagles regained the lead, 10-9.
Several phases and just a few minutes later, the US Eagles saw their second try of the game off a dish by Gavin DeBartolo to Chris Wyles, who ran it in for a try. Hercus again converted and the US had officially changed the momentum in their favour.
Two minutes later, DeBartolo was able to intercept a pass and run it in for a try of his own, which again Hercus converted and the US never looked back.
Two more minutes ticked down and a couple of great plays saw Mike MacDonald get the ball to Takudzwa Ngwenya who sprinted 35 meters to score. Hercus continued his consistency and the Eagles marked an impressive 21 points in just 10 minutes.
Uruguay would snap to at the 60th minute and regain a bit of composure, but it was too little too late for the Los Teros as the US would score two more tries before finishing the match with a final score of 43-9.
“Everyone is really happy with this win,” Eagles fullback Chris Wyles said after the match.
“To be honest, it is such a relief. After the first half, we just did the things we had talked about and made sure to clean up the breakdown and get the ball out quickly, which made all the difference.
“This definitely gives us some confidence heading into our tour of Japan. We just want to continue to build upon this and keep going forward. The coach is doing a great job of getting us there.”
The US will continue to train in Salt Lake City till Tuesday, before heading to Japan for their two-Test tour.
Scorers:
For the United States:
Tries: Clever, Wyles, DeBartolo, Ngwenya, Emerick, Erskine
Cons: Hercus 4, N Malifa
Pen: Hercus
For Uruguay:
Pens: Arocena 3
Teams:
United States: 15 Chris Wyles (Saracens), 14 Takudzwa Ngwenya (Biarritz), 13 Paul Emerick (Parma), 12 Junior Sifa (Middleton), 11 Gavin DeBartolo (Eastern Suburbs), 10 Mike Hercus (IBM), 9 Mike Petri (NYAC), 8 Pat Quinn (Denver Barbarians), 7 Todd Clever (Xerox Lions), 6 Inaki Basauri (Agen), 5 John van der Giessen (Denver Barbarians), 4 Hayden Smith (Saracens), 3 Matekitonga Moeakiola (Pukekohe), 2 Mark Crick (Potomac Athletic Club), 1 Mike MacDonald (Leeds Carnegie)
Replacements: 16 Joe Welch (Cal), 17 Shawn Pittman (San Francisco Golden Gate), 18 Alec Parker (Gentlemen of Aspen), 19 JJ Gagiano (University of Cape Town), 20 Chad Erskine (Rotherham), 21 Valenese Malifa (Belmont Shore), 22 Salesi Sika (Beziers)
Uruguay: 15 Jeronimo Etcheverry, 14 Francisco De Posadas, 13 Joaquin Pastore, 12 Martin Llovet, 11 Francisco Bulanti, 10 Matias Arocena, 9 Juan Campomar, 8 Ignacio Conti, 7 Gonzalo Peyrou, 6 Martin Espiga, 4 Enrico Laitano, 5 Juan Miguel Alvarez, 3 Mario Sagario, 2 Carlos Arboleya, 1 Rodrigo Sanchez.
Replacements: 16 Nicolas Klappembach, 17 Juan Rombys, 18 Matias Fonseca, 19 Santiago Vilaseca, 20 Manuel Martinez, 21 Nicolas Morales, 22 Leandro Leivas.
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Touch judges: Paul Bretz (USA), Tim Luscombe (USA)
