Georgia Edges Out Eagles in Final Seconds 19-17. Photo credit usarugby.org.
TBLISI, Georgia – The Eagles narrowly missed out on a sweep of their 2010 test matches in a nail-biter against Georgia. It was a physical and close encounter between the USA and hosts Georgia, with a vibrant crowd of 35,000 packed into National Stadium in Tbilisi. The Eagles looked like they would stave off Georgia, but a last minute Georgian try and conversion pulled the home team ahead with a final score of 17-19.
Eagles Head Coach Eddie O’Sullivan knew that the American defense was solid and physical. Against Georgia, the Eagles employed an all out tactical blitz. O’Sullivan’s Eagles kept the Georgians guessing in all aspects of the game, especially on attack.
A versatile group of loose forwards, Todd Clever, Inaki Basauri, and Louis Stanfill, popped around the scrums and line outs, never letting the Georgians get a good read on the American set-piece. The American pack would keep the Georgians off-rhythm at line outs as well and were dictating pace in all aspects of forward play.
