WHILE THE US Eaglesโ historic win over Scotland in June brought them deserved attention, they have otherwise been going under the radar in putting together an excellent 2018.
Although Gary Goldโs side lost to the Mฤori All Blacks in Chicago three weekends ago, they have won all 10 of their other games this year, including a โGrand Slamโ of the Americas Rugby Championship in February and March.
It would be a major shock if they beat Ireland on Saturday, of course, but it is positive for rugby that the US are making steady progress and now find themselves in a best-ever World Rugby ranking of 13th.
Victories against Samoa in San Sebastiรกn and Romania in Bucharest over the past fortnight have shifted them to that new height but there is a determination within Goldโs squad to maintain the upward curve.
There is a strong Irish influence within the US squad, with former Ireland Women and St. Michaelโs coach Greg McWilliams leading their attack, while Ireland natives John Quill, Dylan Fawsitt and Paul Mullen are part of the squad.
โI forgot how wet it is here all of the time!โ said Youghal man Quill at the Eaglesโ team hotel in Killiney yesterday. โItโs different to California and Colorado but itโs nice to be back and Iโm looking forward to my family being at the game.โ
The US were missing a chunk of their leading players for the Mฤori clash at the start of this month, but with those men back in harness for the 30-29 win over Samoa and last weekendโs 31-5 victory over Romania, Goldโs side have shown what theyโre capable of.
โWe got the result we were looking for against Samoa even if we probably didnโt perform the way we wanted to,โ said Quill. โThatโs the problem when youโre looking for cohesion and you only have a week after all the guys came back in.
โWe kicked on at the weekend against Romania. We donโt miss being in Romania, thatโs for sure. Itโs not easy and they donโt make it easy for you! We got the result and weโre moving in the direction we want to go.
โItโs a massive ask this weekend against Ireland. Itโs a changed squad obviously, but itโs something weโre looking forward to.โ
Quill, a former Ireland underage international and Munster A player, is set to play against a number of โfamiliar facesโ this weekend, including fellow Dolphin RFC man Niall Scannell.
The home supporters are perhaps less likely to be familiar with this USA team that Argentina and the All Blacks, although there are quality players throughout even in the injury-enforced absence of AJ MacGinty.
Number eight Cam Dolan, formerly of Cardiff Blues, has been in fine form, while Samu Manoa โ currently with Cardiff Blues โ makes a return to the Eaglesโ bench this weekend.
Meanwhile, powerful centre Paul Lasike is a huge threat in midfield.
The New Zealand native spent two seasons with NFL outfit Chicago Bears, having initially moved to the US on a rugby scholarship before a switch into American football that led to 10 appearances for the Bears in 2016.
He switched back to rugby in 2017, however, and has been fast-tracked into the US set-up, showing his class this year and earning a move to English Premiership side Harlequins.
โPaul has been a missing piece for USA Rugby for while, that kind of centre with experience in New Zealand and just his stature, his physical nature,โ said Quill.
โHeโs playing in the Premiership now obviously and heโs just a piece of the puzzle that, for a long time, weโve missed. Weโre able to build on that and add it to our repertoire.โ
Irelandโs midfield will need to be wary, but Joe Schmidtโs team will be strong favourites to wrap up their November series with a fourth win from four.
The Eagles, for their part, are out to cause an upset in what is an ideal way to finish a superb 2018.
โJust staying in the fight,โ said Quill when asked what the US need to do to compete with Ireland.
โWith these guys, you see them put phase after phase after phase together and they donโt cough up ball easily. Thatโs in their DNA, they like to keep ball, keep pressure on. Itโs that type of thing, playing for 80 minutes.
โWeโre not going to have a minute off this weekend if we want to be in with any shout of getting a result.
โItโs not a bad way to cap the year off. Itโs a challenge we want to get on every tour. The fact that it comes on the end of the year is a decent time for us to measure ourselves up a little bit.โ
Further down the line, the US will have a demanding challenge at next yearโs World Cup, with England, France, Argentina and Tonga awaiting in Pool C.
But after hitting 13th in the world, Quill and co. are determined to continue their rise.
โThatโs a milestone for us,โ said the Cork man. โItโs a place where we feel we deserve to be and have deserved to be for a while.
โItโs something we want to keep growing and we have higher targets.โ
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Heโs 5โ11, 18 stone. And he plays full back & centre. Well thats not scary to play against at allโฆ
@Harry OโCallaghan: i thought u said 8 stone i was like โthats not heavy at allโฆโ
I donโt know if its just the yanks talking a good game, but I have a bad feeling about this match. Seems like a decent US team Iโm told
@Paul Kennedy: you mean they will beat us?
@Thomas Lyster: no they probably wonโt, in fact more than likely wonโt, but they are on a good run.Our 2/3 string always struggle to put a good performance together . I just hope it isnโt a banana skin after a great year.
@Paul Kennedy: they are starting 4 of the 15 starters from their last WC qualifier. Who told you it was a decent team.
@Paul Kennedy: agreeโฆit will be a genuine test of our depth, of our 2nd / 3rd string. Weโve some quality players playing but itโs a bit cobbled togetherโฆbut like England last week against Japanโฆthe difference for us is that we donโt have the cavalry like Owen Farrell to come off the bench to rescue us if he goes tits up in the first half
@Paul Kennedy: look Ireland do have to turn up but to be worried when the pack could be Irelandโs starting pack when injuries occur and the back line is full of danger is overkill if you ask me . Ireland will play at pace that guys playing in the US domestic game just canโt handle ..
@Limรณn Madrugada: the front row is 3rd choice, back row 2nd โ 3rd string .Iโm probably being overly pessimistic and we will run out comfortable winners. I would just like to see porter , earls, and maybe on stander on bench ,in case it โll goes to shit. However thats the conundrum.We need depth, so need extended squad. The games in autumn against tier 2 teams always seem to descend into messy dogfights.Noway are usa better than us,but that doesnโt mean they wonโt beat us.