Churchill Cup Finals
USA Vs. Russia
June 18, 2011
LIVE 7:00 am ET
UniversalSports.com/rugby
Twitter: @usrugbynz for Live Updates
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj6cqyzHsK8]
By Jarrod Beckstrom, USA Rugby
WORCESTER, England – Eagles Head Coach, Eddie O’Sullivan, has made four changes to his starting team ahead of Saturday’s important clash with Russia at Sixways Stadium.
The USA v. Russia match will kick off at 7:00 a.m. ET on June 18 and will be broadcast live online at www.universalsports.com and on tape delay on Universal Sports at 12 p.m. ET. Both the USA and Russia know there is more to this match than meets the eye, as the next time these two teams will see each other will be on September 15 on the world’s biggest stage, the Rugby World Cup.
The last time these two countries faced off in June of 2010, the Eagles ran out 39-22 winners. The Eagles will, however, be without veteran fullback Chris Wyles (Saracens) and wing Taku Ngwenya (Biarritz), who both scored tries in that victory, and also Hayden Smith (Saracens), Samu Manoa (San Francisco Golden Gate) and Mike MacDonald (Leeds Carnegie).
The Eagles will be looking for more consistency in their play, with many of the combinations tested last week having another opportunity to work together.
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In a dress rehearsal for the highly anticipated USA-Russia Rugby World Cup game on Sept. 15, the Eagles will meet the Russian Bear in the Bowl final of the Churchill Cup on Saturday, June 18, in England.
The Russians came back ferociously against Italy A over the weekend, but lost 24-19. That meant the Russians, like the U.S., have yet to win a game in the Churchill Cup. Both teams are focusing intensely on their New Plymouth clash during the RWC, as both believe it is a contest they can win. For a game that looked innocuous to Kiwi schedulers a while back, this clash is taking on a bit of hype and should be a fiercely contested match.
The USA Eagles put a bit of a hurting on the Russians in last year’s Churchill Cup contest, winning 39-22, but the Russians have been training hard and are focusing on the RWC as a way to highlight and promote their sport back home and to the world.
While USA Eagles kept it close in the first half – and even had the chance to go ahead before the whistle – Tonga pulled away in the second to hand the Eagles their second defeat of the Churchill Cup.
Viliami Iongi scored four tries himself and almost single handedly nailed shut the Eagles Churchill Cup coffin. Paul Emerick was the lone try scorer for the U.S.
The 44-13 loss was a disappointment, as the Eagles fielded a stronger team for this fixture.The Eagles will have one more game on Saturday – against yet-to-be-named opponents – to salvage something useful out of this tournament.
Adrian Pratt, Rugby USA
Michael Petri is set to captain the Eagles in their 2011 Churchill Cup opener on Saturday against England Saxons. You can see the full roster here.
Kickoff is at 12 p.m. ET and the game will be live on Universal Sports.com and on tape delay at 4 p.m. ET
Starting on June 4, don’t miss the Churchill Cup LIVE @ 12pm ET / 9am PT online for FREE only on Universal Sports. Check for the full TV schedule and make sure to “Like” Facebook.com/UniversalSports.
Courtesy of USA Rugby
Eagles Head Coach, Eddie O’Sullivan, has named his squad that will travel to London next week to compete in the Churchill Cup.
The Churchill Cup is an annual tournament, regularly anchored by the Eagles, Canada and England “A,” their second level team. Next month’s tournament is being played in England and will be broadcast by Universal Sports.These will be LIIVE online and delayed on television, with the schedule available at www.universalsports.com or by clicking here.
“The Churchill Cup is a very important annual tournament for the Eagles and this year with the Rugby World Cup (RWC) just three months away, it assumes an even greater importance as part of our preparations for New Zealand,” said O’Sullivan.
The Eagles will, however, be without some of their overseas professional players.
“We will be resting Chris Wyles and Taku Ngwenya, who have had a long tough, season overseas, which will allow them valuable rest time before beginning their preparations for RWC. Samu Manoa is also being rested to give him the best possible preparation before taking up his contract with Northampton on July 1,” said O’Sullivan.
The team departs for England on May 29 and will only have a few days on the ground before taking on Pool A opponents, the England Saxons on June 4 at Franklin’s Gardens in Northampton and Tonga on June 8 at Moseley Road in Surrey.
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CHULA VISTA, Calif. – Eagles Head Coach, Eddie O’Sullivan, was extremely pleased with his squad at the recent camp held at the Olympic Training Center (OTC) in San Diego. The camp was the first for the Eagles fifteens team in their preparations for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in September.
EaglesXV Domestic Camp Credit: USA Rugby and EaglesXV.com
During the camp, held from May 4-8, the players had several chances to impress O’Sullivan, the most obvious opportunity being a controlled scrimmage on the Saturday afternoon.
“It was a very successful camp for us. The players really applied themselves, with us getting seven very tough sessions done between Thursday and Sunday,” O’Sullivan said.
With the Rugby World Cup only months away, this domestic camp proved a valuable selection tool for O’Sullivan and his coaching staff.
Newly appointed technical experts Fiore Screnci (Scrum Coach) and Chris O’Brien (Kicking Coach) had a chance to work with the 35 players, while Matt Sherman (Backs Coach), Dave Hodges (Forwards Coach) and Mike Tolkin (Defensive Coach) imparted their expertise to the group.
“The work ethic was excellent and we got a lot of quality reps done. We also got a lot of information that we didn’t have before, particularly some of the new players,” said O’Sullivan, “The next job now is to pick the Churchill Cup pool.”
The Eagles will travel to England in June to compete in the 2011 Churchill Cup, where they will take on the England Saxons (June 4) and Tonga (June 8), before the Elimination round (June 18).
The Eagles’ Churchill Cup opponents will be challenging and so too will be their training and match schedule.
“We hit the ground on the 30th of May and have to play on the 4th of June. It’s then a very short turn-around till we play Tonga,” said O’Sullivan.
The coach will select his Churchill Cup team over the next few weeks.
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