With less than two minutes on the clock, it was the USA who made the dream start in front of the Swangard crowd.
Fly-half Will Magie’s long pass opened up space out wide, before captain Todd Clever’s offload sent Ryan Matyas sprinting under the posts for the game’s opening try. Shaun Davies added the conversion for the extra two points, and the Eagles led 7–0.
It was to get even better for the visitors just two minutes later. A stolen lineout saw the ball spun wide, and Mike Te’o’s lethal combination of footwork and pace saw him cross out wide. Davies was unable to add the tricky conversion from out wide, but the USA led 12–0 with less than six minutes played.
The USA continued to dominate the early exchanges. They also added another three points when Magie was on target with a penalty after referee Damian Schneider punished Canada for an infringement at the breakdown.
The home side finally had the chance to get themselves on the scoreboard on 13 minutes, after the USA was penalized for not rolling away from the tackle. However, Robbie Povey pulled his penalty attempt wide of the posts.
Povey almost immediately made amends, though. Spotting a gap in midfield, the fly-half accelerated through the USA defence before feeding Taylor Paris, who sprinted home for his fourth try in two games. The conversion was wayward, leaving the score at 15–5 in the USA’s favour after 15 minutes.
The home side was fighting their way back into the game, and were rewarded with their second try on 20 minutes. After finding some success at the scrum, Phil Mack darted through a gap close to the try-line to score. Povey was on target with the conversion, and the gap was down to three points.
Davies extended the Eagles’ lead on the half-hour mark, taking his side’s lead to 18–12 with a penalty after Canada was penalised at the ruck. The home side soon hit back though, with Povey’s kick reducing the deficit once more.
However, just before halftime, the Canadians were dealt a blow as captain Ray Barkwill was shown a yellow card for a dangerous tackle. In his absence, the USA struck, a rolling maul powering over the try-line, to allow Tony Purpura to score. Davies converted to give the USA a 25–15 lead at the halftime interval.
Once again, the USA got the ideal start to the half. With five minutes of the second half played, Magie’s cross-field kick was knocked down by Matyas, with Te’o following up for his second try of the evening. Davies was off-target with the conversion, but the USA led 30–15 as Barkwill returned to the field.
Canada’s indiscipline was costing them, and the USA was capitalizing. Another penalty was kicked into the corner, and from the resulting maul, Clever was able to crash over for the try. Davies converted, and the Eagles had a 37–15 lead with 55 minutes played.
The home side responded in the best possible way. Substitute scrum-half Gordon McRorie found Paris on an outside arc, with the former Glasgow Warriors wing scything his way past three defenders en route to the line for his second score of the night. McRorie was unable to add the extras, with the USA’s lead now standing at 37–20.
In an end-to-end affair, it wasn’t long until the next try came. After maintaining possession for a number of phases, USA replacement back row John Quill latched on to a delayed pass from Davies to score the visitors’ sixth try. Davies converted for a 44–20 lead.
With the result now looking beyond them, the Canadians were still looking to play enterprising rugby. With referee Schneider holding an advantage against the USA, Povey’s chip over the top was gathered by replacement winger George Barton, who was able to touch down despite the attentions of two defenders. McRorie added the extras for his first successful kick of the night.
Just seconds later, however, the USA responded. The impressive Te’o was first to the kick ahead from Magie, touching down for his hat-trick out wide. Davies conversion took the Eagles past 50 points, as they took a 51–27 lead into the final 10 minutes.
There was still time for another Canadian score, and it was possibly the most popular of the evening. From a scrum five metres from the American try-line, number eight Admir Cejvanovic, a member of the Burnaby Lake club, drove over the line to score. McRorie was once again on target with the conversion, leaving the final score at 51–34 to the USA.
The Americans, therefore, keep pace with Argentina at the top of the Americas Rugby Championship as they travel to Chile next week. Canada, meanwhile, will look to pick themselves up in seven days’ time when they face Uruguay.
Canada: Brock Staller, Dan Moor, Nick Blevins, Guiseppe du Toit, Taylor Paris, Robbie Povey, Phil Mack; Rob Brouwer, Ray Barkwill, Matthew Tierney, Conor Keys, Reegan O’Gorman, Lucas Rumball, Oliver Nott, Admir Cejvanovic.
Replacements: Benoit Piffero, Djustice Sears-Duru, Cole Keith, Liam Chisholm, Lucas Albornoz, Gordon McRorie, Gradyn Bowd, George Barton.
USA: Mike Te’o, Ryan Matyas, Bryce Campbell, JP Eloff, Nate Augspurger, Will Magie, Shaun Davies; Tony Purpura, Peter Malcolm, Chris Baumann, Nate Brakeley, Nick Civetta, Todd Clever, Tony Lamborn, Cam Dolan.
Replacements: James Hilterbrand, Ben Tarr, Dino Waldren, Siaosi Mahoni, David Tameilau, Ben Cima, Aaron Davis.
