It might be football season stateside, but there’s a whole lot more pigskin action about to take place this coming weekend for you to keep an eye on when the 2015 Rugby World Cup kicks off.
The United States national rugby team will take to the pitch on Sunday in hopes of ending its country’s futility at the event. The team’s first opponent will be Samoa, who has vaster experience in the game than the Americans. Can USA get off on the right foot with a win over the Pacific Islands’ best?
Here’s a preview of what we should expect heading into their critical matchup. Check out what else is about to go down in Pool B, USA and Samoa’s designated group in this year’s World Cup, with our preview for South Africa vs. Japan right after this.
[sc:Other240banner ]Rugby is a whole lot like American football, but the United States national rugby union team is a whole lot like the Cleveland Browns in the Rugby World Cup: a pretty huge disappointment.
The Eagles have qualified for six of the seven past World Cups, but have failed to win more than one game in the Pool Stage in all of their previous appearances. Still, USA looks to have formed its best national rugby team ever, led by one of the greatest No. 8s in the sport today in Samu Manoa. Manoa may only have 10 points in 11 caps of US national team play, but he certainly has been quite a force for England’s Northampton Saints since 2011, racking up 122 caps for 130 points.
But beyond Manoa, the Americans do not have anybody else to brag about. USA has just 11 of 31 players on the squad with previous RWC experience, yet they do have a pair of international stars that could breakout in this year’s tournament.
Hybrid fullback/wing/centre Chris Wyles (50 national team caps, 212 points) has some solid stats, but his talent can’t compare with the rest of the international field. That means that winger Taku Ngwenya, who has 32 caps for 60 points for the US since 2007, would have to bring his top form from playing for Biarritz Olympique to the table as the Americans continue their pursuit for more than one victory in this year’s World Cup for the first time ever.
However, the fact remains that the US is still miles behind the rest of World Cup field. Case and point: just this past July, the team lost to Samoa, 23-18, in the 2015 Pacific Nations Cup. What made matters worse was that the Samoans mostly just made use of their team’s second-stringers against USA’s starters in that match. With that said, it would take a near-perfect outing for the Eagles pull the upset over Samoa this Sunday.
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Betting on Samoa
There was a whole lot more going on within the Samoan national rugby team’s organization than just having to prepare for the World Cup itself. A day before the team arrived in London in preparation for the tournament, the Samoa Rugby Union and its players have collectively agreed upon the new Relationship Agreement between the governing body and the players themselves after the SRU was under fire for the lack of financial transparency.
With the money talks behind them, the Manu can now focus on the true challenge ahead: winning the William Webb Ellis Cup title for the very first time. World No. 12 Samoa has been very competitive in the RWC, making it as far as the quarterfinal round twice in 1991 and 1995. And while the team has not gone past the pool stage of the event since 1999 – when it lost a playoff match to Scotland for the final slot in the knockout stage – Samoa still has plenty of pros playing in more coveted leagues around Europe.
The Pisi brothers, Ken and George, headline the Samoan crew. Winger Ken has tremendous speed to compensate for his size and put up points in a flash, while team centre George is one of the best as his position even in the English Premiership level. Throw in a frontline comprised on Premiership stalwarts like Jack Lam, Anthony Perenise, Alafoti Fa’osiliva, TJ Ioane and Kane Thompson, the Manu then have a brawny group that can stifle the opposition all day.
Samoa has won all four of its matches against the Americans at Test level, and USA is not really known for its prowess in this sport. As such, head coach Stephen Betham can use the opening game on Sunday as a good measure of how the team will be able to matchup against the other powerhouses in the group in South Africa and Scotland, and hopefully overcome the +1,200 odds against them winning Pool B. And with the debacle regarding player relations behind them, the Samoans look as determined as ever to take the World Cup by storm.
