USA Rugby travels to New Jersey for a Friday Night Lights finale as they play out their home warm up tour in New Jersey’s Sports Illustrated Stadium.
Head Coach Scott Lawrence and staff have shifted the 23-man squad set to take on Australia XV this Friday, October 30th before heading overseas to Europe to continue their 2026 Nations Cup campaign.
The match kicks off at 8:10 PM ET, concluding a doubleheader following the USA Women’s Eagles match against England at 5:10 PM ET. Tickets to attend both games are on sale here. Matches will be streamed live on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network.
The opening fixture of the series in Nashville’s GEODIS Park tested the USA Men against a clinical Australia XV outfit. Both fixtures serve as developmental opportunities to trial upcoming players under pressure as the USA builds toward next year’s Rugby World Cup.
Head Coach, Scott Lawrence and staff rotate new players into this week’s Starting XV ensuring game time minutes across the entirety of the squad.
Four changes in the front five sees Ezekiel Lindenmuth, Kaleb Geiger, Mason Pedersen, and Sam Golla step into starting roles after making an impact off the bench in Nashville. Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz and Marno Redelinghuys start in the back row alongside Paddy Ryan with Redelinghuys stepping in as Captain.
Ruben De Haas takes the starting 9 jersey at scrumhalf linking up with Luke Carty at 10. Resetting the backline, Cassh Maluia and Wayne van der Bank set the center pairing with Joe Mano (11) and Conner Mooneyham (14) on their respective wings. David Coetzer steps in as full back.
Shilo Klein, Tonga Kofe, Benjamin Bonasso, Oscar Lennon, and Michael Baska pivot from last week’s start to bring on impact from the bench joining Fakaosifolau Pifeleti, Vili Helu and Dan Kriel.
Injuries from the previous week and weekend rule out Julian Roberts, Chris Hilsenbeck, Payton Telea, Dom Besag, Makeen Alikhan, and Jason Damm giving them time to rehab and recover.
Speaking on the purpose of this pre Nations Cup tour, Head Coach Scott Lawrence commented;
“It is widely accepted among international high-performance experts that developing an international-level player generally takes five to seven years of full-time professional rugby with meaningful minutes week in and week out. It is also well established that Nations Cup teams have historically struggled to build depth beyond their starting XV. In previous years, the Eagles have often been one injury, one unavailable player, or one individual’s performance away from being unable to perform when it matters most.
“In 2026, we’ve set out to address that challenge by prioritizing long-term development over short-term results during this two-to-three-month block. We’ve replicated the demands of a Rugby World Cup schedule, including the challenges of travel and competition, while giving more players meaningful opportunities to develop through international competition ahead of the 2027 domestic professional season and the World Cup.
“Every player selected for the USA XV this weekend has earned the opportunity to represent this team. These experiences strengthen both the individual and the team. The more players we prepare to perform at this level, the more competitive, resilient, and adaptable we become as we build toward 2027 and 2031.”
Following Friday's contest in Harrison, the Men's Eagles will depart for Europe, resuming their 2026 Nations Cup campaign with 3 weeks of back to back Test matches, starting with Hong Kong in France on November 7th. All matches will be broadcast on Paramount+.
Tickets for Friday’s double header are on sale now at https://eagles.rugby/tickets
USA Men's Match Day 23
1 Ezekiel Lindenmuth
2Kaleb Geiger
3Mason Pedersen
4Nathan Den Hoedt
5Sam Golla
6Marno Redelinghuys (C)
7Paddy Ryan
8Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz
9Ruben De Haas
10 Luke Carty
11 Joe Mano (Legion 2027)
12 Cassh Maluia (Legion 2027)
13 Wayne van der Bank
14 Conner Mooneyham
15 David Coetzer
16 Shilo Klein (Legion 2027)
17 Fakaosifolau Pifeleti
18 Tonga Kofe (Legion 2027)
19 Vili Helu
20 Benjamin Bonasso
21 Oscar Lennon
22 Michael Baska
23 Dan Kriel
