Preview: Scotland v United States
The Scots picked up a 45-10 bonus-point win against Japan in their opening game, while the USA are coming of a 16-25 loss to Samoa in their first outing
The Scottish have won all their meetings with the USA with the most recent fixture being in Houston in 2013. USA made life tough for the Scots in that match, however they still lost 6-24.
The last time they met in a World Cup was in 2003 with Scotland winning 39-15 at the Suncorp Stadium in Sydney.
Scotland will know that another bonus-point win on Sunday will put them one step closer to qualification for the play-offs with games against two-time champions South Africa and Samoa still to come.
The United States were competitive in their game against Samoa, but made critical mistakes at crucial times. Against Vern Cotter's young talented Scottish side those mistakes will be turned into points.
Although Scotland are the favourites, Cotter might be risking it a bit after he made ten changes to his starting team that put Japan to the sword in midweek.
The Eagles on the hand has kept faith with much of the same side that did battle against Samoa and will be banking on continuity to help them against the Scots.
The Scots have given the role of captain to Glasgow Warriors' Henry Pyrgos who also replaces regular captain Greig Laidlaw in the scrumhalf position. Pyrgos is under no illusion that Sunday's game will be a tough one.
"We know the USA will come really hard at us so we need to get off to a fast start," said Pyrgos.
"We have to carry the ball well, look after it and cause them problems."
Players to watch:
For Scotland: Flyhalf Finn Russel was solid against the Japanese before coming to life in the second half where he created and scored a try. Stuart Hogg is one of the best attacking fullbacks in the game at the moment and will keep the Eagles on their toes. Lock Ritchie Gray will be the enforcer and go to man in the tight phases.
For the United States: Veteran Chris Wyles has the big-game experience and his creativity out wide can bamboozle the best defences. Wing Takudzwa Ngwenya is undeniably the star of the USA team and who can forget his try against the Springboks eight years ago. He is a bit older now but is still one of the fastest players in the tournament.
Head to head: There is plenty of talent at fullback in the form of Staurt Hogg and Chris Wyles and it will be interesting to see who has the biggest impact in terms of attack. Scotland's Dutch-born player Tim Visser should be kept busy on the wing by the speedy Takudzwa Ngwenya, while in the forwards Phil Thiel will be tested in the front row by the powerful Fraser Brown.
Recent results:
2013: Scotland won 24-6, Houston
2003: Scotland won 39-15, Brisbane (WC pool match)
2002: Scotland won 65-23, San Francisco
2000: Scotland won 53-6, Edinburgh
Prediction: Scotland will take some time to get going with all the changes, but should win by at least 18 points.
Teams:
Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Henry Pyrgos (captain), 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Ryan Wilson, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Jon Welsh, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Ryan Grant.
Replacements: 16 Kevin Bryce, 17 Alasdair Dickinson, 18 Willem Nel, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Fraser Brown, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Matt Scott.
United States: 15 Chris Wyles (captain), 14 Takudzwa Ngwenya, 13 Seamus Kelly, 12 Thretton Palamo, 11 Blaine Scully, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Mike Petri, 8 Samu Manoa, 7 Andrew Durutalo, 6 Al McFarland, 5 Greg Peterson, 4 Hayden Smith, 3 Titi Lamositele, 2 Phil Thiel, 1 Eric Fry.
Replacements: 16 Zach Fenoglio, 17 Oli Kilifi, 18 Chris Baumann, 19 Cameron Dolan, 20 John Quill, 21 Danny Barrett, 22 Shalom Suniula, 23 Folau Niua.
Date: Sunday, September 27
Venue: Elland Road, Leeds
Kick-off: 14.30 (13.30 GMT, 09.30 EDT)
Expected weather: Sunny and clear with a gentle breeze and a high of 16.
Referee: Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: John Lacey (Ireland), Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
TMO: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
