Scott Lawrence has named 55 players in an extended Men’s Eagles squad ahead of the July international window. The USA will play Romania on July 5 in Chicago and Scotland on July 12 in Washington DC. Of those selected, 15 have yet to represent the Eagles at test level.
Brive lock Renger van Eerten and Ospreys winger Toby Fricker are selected for the first time, both qualifying for the Eagles through ancestry. US-born Biarritz flyhalf Christopher Hilsenbeck has switched allegiance after playing 22 test for Germany, and former Junior All-American lock Nafi Ma’afu looks set to make his senior debut at long last after several injury-riddled seasons.
The quartet are among 11 players currently based abroad, though Coventry flanker Paddy Ryan will join the San Diego Legion later this month. Dom Besag and Erich Storti play collegiate rugby for St. Mary’s, with the rest of the squad attached to Major League Rugby clubs.
Chicago scrumhalf Nick McCarthy is the most notable omission after playing all five tests for the USA last year, four of them as a starter. Others who were part of Eagles test selections in 2023 but are absent from the new list include Utah prop Takaji Young Yen, Seattle hooker Peter Malcolm, and versatile Chicago back Michael Baska. Ex-New York lock Nate Brakeley retired during the off-season.
| PLAYER | CLUB | CAPS |
PROP
| Ainu’u, David (LH/TH) | Toulouse (FR) | 22 |
| Davis, Pono (TH) | Houston SaberCats | – |
| Geiger, Kaleb (TH) | New England Free Jacks | 2 |
| Iscaro, Jack (LH) | Old Glory DC | 6 |
| Maughan, Alex (LH/TH) | RFC Los Angeles | 3 |
| Mullen, Paul (TH) | Utah Warriors | 33 |
| Sylvia, Nathan (LH/TH) | San Diego Legion | 4 |
| Turnbull, Jake (LH) | Anthem Carolina | 5 |
HOOKER
| Fawsitt, Dylan | Chicago Hounds | 27 |
| McNulty, Sean | Miami Sharks | – |
| Pifeleti, Kapeli | Saracens (UK) | 11 |
| Sosene-Feagai, Mike | Agen (FR) | 9 |
| Taufete’e, Joe | Seattle Seawolves | 36 |
SECOND ROW
| Dolan, Cam | NOLA Gold | 67 |
| Golla, Sam | Dallas Jackals | 5 |
| Gramlick, Lucas | Anthem Carolina | – |
| Ma’afu, Nafi | Perpignan (FR) | – |
| Mahoni, Siaosi | Houston SaberCats | 11 |
| Peterson, Greg | San Diego Legion | 42 |
| van Eerten, Renger | Brive (FR) | – |
BACK ROW
| Alikhan, Makeen (FL) | Dallas Jackals | – |
| Bonasso, Benjamín (FL/N8) | Miami Sharks | 5 |
| Damm, Jason (N8) | RFC Los Angeles | 2 |
| Daniel, Cory (FL) | Old Glory DC | 3 |
| Fa’anana-Schultz, Jamason (FL/N8) | Old Glory DC | 8 |
| Grosse, Collin (FL) | Old Glory DC | – |
| Helu, Vili (FL) | San Diego Legion | 5 |
| Ryan, Paddy (FL) | Coventry (UK) | 5 |
| Tonga’uiha, Moni (FL) | NOLA Gold | 5 |
| Tu’avao, Thomas (FL/N8) | Utah Warriors | 5 |
| White, Luke (N8) | Chicago Hounds | 5 |
| Wilson, Bailey (FL) | Utah Warriors | 1 |
SCRUMHALF
| de Haas, Ruben | Cheetahs (SA) | 31 |
| McManus, Conor | Anthem Carolina | – |
| McVeigh, Ethan | Old Glory DC | – |
| Smith, J.P. | Seattle Seawolves | – |
FLYHALF/FULLBACK
| Carty, Luke | Chicago Hounds | 14 |
| Crimp, Steffan | Cardiff Met (UK) | – |
| Hilsenbeck, Christopher | Biarritz (FR) | – |
| MacGinty, A.J. | Bristol Bears (UK) | 35 |
| Mattina, Chris | San Diego Legion | 5 |
MIDFIELD
| Besag, Dom | St. Mary’s Gaels | 2 |
| Boni, Tommaso | Old Glory DC | 4 |
| Campbell, Bryce | Chicago Hounds | 45 |
| Kruse, Mika | Utah Warriors | 7 |
| Lasike, Paul | Utah Warriors | 22 |
| Lopeti, Tavite | Seattle Seawolves | 12 |
OUTSIDE BACKS
| Augspurger, Nate | Chicago Hounds | 41 |
| Dyer, Christian | Houston SaberCats | 14 |
| Fricker, Toby | Ospreys (UK) | – |
| Futi, Lauina | Seattle Seawolves | 3 |
| Mano, Joe | Utah Warriors | 2 |
| Mooneyham, Conner | Seattle Seawolves | – |
| Storti, Erich | St. Mary’s Gaels | – |
| Wilson, Mitch | New England Free Jacks | 6 |
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