The USA Men’s Eagles opened their Pacific Nations Cup campaign away in Calgary tonight, falling 34–20.
Set piece lineouts were a challenge for the USA, relinquishing scoring opportunities and letting two second-half tries from Canada be the difference maker. Penalty trouble was also a factor as the USA conceded ten to Canada’s five penalties. As tonight's game is the only away match of the Pacific Nations Cup, the next three rounds on home soil will be a welcome advantage as the USA continue their chase for Rugby World Cup qualification. The squad will break for a short while during the PNC bye week before reassembling in Sacramento for the next fixture with Japan. USA vs Japan kicks off at 9pm ET on Saturday, Sep 6 from Heart Health Park, live on Paramount+ and tickets still available at usa.rugby/pnc2025.
Head Coach Scott Lawrence said after the match, “Discipline in our lineout and territory battle are critical elements to win in test match rugby, we lost those categories tonight. Both will become the focus as we look ahead to the next round and remainder of the tournament.”
The match started with an early penalty at the lineout, handing Canada possession and leading to the opening try just two minutes in. The Eagles quickly responded in the eighth minute when Dominic Besag powered through the ruck to dot the ball on the try line. AJ MacGinty sailed his kick through the uprights to level it at 7 apiece.
Momentum continued to swing as MacGinty orchestrated play, drawing defenders and sending a perfectly placed kick wide to Rufus McLean, who gave USA a 14–7 lead after the conversion. Canada answered back with a cross-kick try but missed the extras, keeping the Eagles ahead 14–12.
MacGinty added a penalty goal at the half-hour mark to extend the lead 17–12, but Canada’s Tyler Ardron muscled over late in the half to bring the score level, 17–17, at the break.
MacGinty continued to lead from the front, slotting a penalty to edge USA back ahead 20–17 in the 51st minute. Canada responded swiftly with a penalty of their own, before Ardron scored his third try of the night to swing the match 25–20 in the hosts’ favor, Peter Nelson pushed it to 27-20 after a conversion.
Canada capitalized on USA handling errors in the final quarter, as Nelson pounced on a loose ball for another converted try that extended the lead to 34–20. Despite promising runs from the Eagles, a late yellow card to MacGinty left the side shorthanded as Canada controlled possession and closed out the match.
Ultimately the USA didn’t give themselves enough opportunity to strike, despite showing from the Besag try and MacGinty’s direction, the team can be lethal from beyond the 22.
USA Men's Eagles now break for the PNC bye week before reassembling next week ahead of their round two match up against Japan in Sacramento, Sep 6 at Heart Health Park. Tickets for USA vs Japan are still available at usa.rugby/pnc2025 and will be streamed live on Paramount +
