United States men's national rugby union team

United States

Nickname	Eagles
Emblem	Bald eagle
Union	USA Rugby
Head coach	Scott Lawrence
Captain	AJ MacGinty
Most caps	Todd Clever (76)
Top scorer	Mike Hercus (465)
Top try scorer	Vaea Anitoni (26)
Home stadium	Various
First colors Second colors
World Rugby ranking
Current	15 (as of 18 November 2024)
Highest	12 (2018, 2019)
Lowest	20 (2008, 2022)
First international
United States 8–12 Australia  (California, United States; November 16, 1912)
Biggest win
United States 91–0 Barbados  (California, United States; July 1, 2006)
Biggest defeat
England 106–8 United States (London, England, August 21, 1999)
World Cup
Appearances	8 (First in 1987)
Best result	Pool stage (1987, 1991, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019)
Medal record Men's rugby 1920 Antwerp Team 1924 Paris Team
Website	usa.rugby

The United States men's national rugby union team, nicknamed the Eagles, represents the United States of America Rugby Football Union in men's international rugby union. USA Rugby is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States, and is a member of Rugby Americas North, one of six regional governing bodies under World Rugby. Until rugby returned to Olympic competition, with sevens at the 2016 Rio Games, the United States was the reigning Olympic rugby champion, having won gold at the 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics.

As of November 2024,^[update] the men's Eagles are ranked 15th in the world by the World Rugby Rankings.^[1] Their previous highest ranking was 12th, achieved ahead of the 2019 World Cup. The team's lowest ranking was 20th, first following a winless campaign in the 2008 Churchill Cup and second for a single week in 2022 during the 2023 World Cup qualifying tournament.

The highest profile tournament in which the men's Eagles play is the Rugby World Cup. The men's Eagles have played in all but two Rugby World Cups since the tournament began in 1987. The United States is hosting the 2031 Rugby World Cup.^[2]

The United States currently compete in the Pacific Nations Cup every Summer. Previously, the U.S. has competed in the now-defunct Churchill Cup and the Pan American Championship.^[3] In April 2015, USA Rugby announced the creation of a new, annual International Championship to be contested among the top-6 ranked rugby nations in the Americas: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Uruguay and the United States. The contest was named the Americas Rugby Championship and began in 2016 with the final tournament taking place in 2019.^[4] The United States won the 2017 Americas Rugby Championship after drawing with Argentina XV. It was the United States' first 15-a-side rugby union title in over 90 years.

Informal football games such as rugby became popular in the United States in the mid-19th century. Rugby union was played as early as 1872 among rugby clubs in the San Francisco Bay Area composed mainly of British expatriates. On December 2, 1882, the first Californian representative rugby team to play an outside opponent, took on a group of rugby-playing ex-Britons, who called themselves the Phoenix Rugby Club of San Francisco. California lost to the Phoenix club 7–4.

The first recorded rugby game in the U.S. was played in May 1874 when local Harvard University hosted Canadian McGill University.^[5] The game sparked an interest on college campuses nationwide. In 1876 Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, which largely used the rugby code.^[6] In 1886 Harvard's Oscar Shafter Howard introduced these rules to the campus of the University of California, Berkeley.

American football was fierce, and as injuries mounted, the public became alarmed at its brutalities and President Theodore Roosevelt threatened to outlaw the sport.^[7] Beginning in 1906, rugby union became the game of choice at Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley and several other colleges in California.^[8] Rugby's popularity, however, was short lived, and the sport had died out by the outbreak of World War I.

A California student team toured Australia and New Zealand in 1910, and invited their hosts to return the visit.^[9] Australia obliged by touring North America in 1912, and the U.S. national team played its first international match on November 16, 1912 against Australia in Berkeley, California. The visitors won 12–8.^[10] A year later, the U.S. hosted New Zealand at the same venue on November 15, 1913, but the Kiwis ran away with the contest 51–3 in front of 10,000 spectators.^[9]

Following the end of World War I, the U.S. participated in the Inter-Allied Games where they defeated Romania, before losing to a France XV side, a match in which no caps were awarded.^[11] Rugby union had not been played competitively in most of the U.S. for more than a decade before the 1920 Olympics. The U.S. Olympic committee decided that because "California is the only state playing Rugby in the US, the Committee will give sanction but no financial aid". Harry Maloney, coach at Stanford University and then-president of the California rugby union, assembled a mostly California-based team, with seven players from Stanford and six from the University of California, Berkeley.^{[12][13][14][15]} The Olympic Games Committee of the Amateur Athletic Union paid the expenses to transport the team from California to the games in Antwerp.^[16] By the time the US Rugby team arrived in Europe, Czechoslovakia and Romania had withdrawn from the competition. France and the U.S. were the only teams left to compete. The U.S. won a shock 8–0 victory over France to earn the gold medal.

The stunned French suggested that the U.S. team tour France, which they did; winning three out of the four matches they played. Between 1920 and 1924, however, rugby union virtually disappeared once again in the U.S., as American football soared in popularity.

The 1924 Paris Olympics caused France to challenge the U.S. to defend its title. Once again, the U.S. Olympic Committee granted permission but no funds. Nonetheless, seven players of the 1920 team dusted off their boots, raised $20,000, found 15 new players including some American football players who had never played in a rugby union match. The assembled U.S. team was again based heavily from Northern California, with 9 Stanford alumni, 5 from Santa Clara, and 3 from Cal.^[15] The team headed for England to play some tuneup matches, where they were beaten four times.

The French Olympic Committee (FOC) had scheduled the rugby event to kick off the 1924 Paris Games at Colombes Stadium in Paris. Romania and the U.S. were expected to provide only token opposition for the European champions. On Sunday, May 11, the U.S. defeated Romania 39 to 0, including nine tries.

The final was played at Colombes Stadium on May 18 before an estimated crowd of 30,000–50,000 that had gathered to watch the rugby final and the awarding of the first medal of the 1924 Olympics.^[15][17] Bookmakers set the odds at five to one with a 20-point spread.^[18] However, the Americans were not intimidated, and the American captain Babe Slater wrote in his diary before the match "we are sure going to let them know they have been in a battle."^[15] Despite the odds, the U.S. team started well, led by captain Colby "Babe" Slater, and led 3–0 at the half. Heavy tackling by the Americans, derived from American football, intimidated and exhausted the French, as the U.S. scored four tries in the second half to defeat the French 17–3.^[19] Rare vintage film footage of the 1924 gold medal match was released in the documentary, "A Giant Awakens: the Rise of American Rugby".

Shortly after the 1924 Olympics, however, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) removed rugby union as an Olympic sport. Without the Olympic incentive, the sport's growth in America collapsed and the game remained dormant.

The sport then enjoyed a renaissance, beginning in the 1960s and continuing through the 1970s. This created the need for a national governing body to represent the United States in the international rugby community. The United States of America Rugby Football Union (now known as USA Rugby) was formed in 1975 by four territorial organizations (Pacific Coast, West, Midwest, and East).^[20] The first Eagles match was played against Australia in 1976, before a crowd of 7,000 at Glover Stadium in Anaheim.^[20][21][22] The Wallabies won 24–12.^[20][21]

The U.S. also performed well against France in Chicago, losing the game 14–33, in front of 8,000 fans.^[23] The next season the Eagles played two internationals, one against England (XV-not capped) at Twickenham on their 1977 United States rugby union tour of England, which they lost 37–11, and the other against Canada, which they also lost, 17–6. The U.S. played the Canadians again in 1978, and defeated them 12–7 in Baltimore.^[24] They then travelled to Canada in 1979 and lost 19–12 in Toronto.

The U.S. national team came to further prominence during the 1980s, and from the start of the decade, were playing a notably larger number of games every season. They did however lose all three of their games in 1980, all at home. They could not muster up a win in 1981 either, losing 3–6 to Canada, and 7–38 to South Africa, in what was considered to be the lowest attended international rugby match, with only 30 spectators present at a private polo ground in Glenville, New York.^[25][26] In 1982, the U.S. drew Canada 3–3. They travelled to Australia in 1983 to play the Wallabies, and lost 49–3 in Sydney. The U.S. played its first-ever match against Japan in 1985, winning 16–15 at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium.^[27]

The U.S. participated in 1987 in the first ever Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and Australia. The U.S. were in Pool 1, alongside co-hosts Australia, England and Japan. The U.S. won their first ever World Cup game, defeating Japan 21–18 at Ballymore Stadium in Brisbane, with fullback Ray Nelson scoring 13 points.^[28] The U.S. lost both subsequent matches; 47–12 against the Wallabies and 34–6 against England. The U.S. finished third in the pool, out of contention for the quarterfinals.

The Eagles first met Wales at Cardiff in November 1987 as the final match of their 1987 tour, where Wales, who had just finished third in the inaugural Rugby World Cup, enjoyed a 46–0 win. In 1988, the Eagles had mixed success in their tour of Europe, defeating Romania but losing to the Soviet Union.^[29]

The U.S. notched three consecutive wins from September 1990 to May 1991 — all against Japan — for the first three-match win streak in U.S. team history.^[30]

The U.S. made their way through a qualifying tournament to reach the 1991 Rugby World Cup in the United Kingdom, pooled with defending champions New Zealand, hosts England, and Italy in a tough group. In their first match of the tournament, Italy defeated them 30–9. Next, New Zealand defeated them 46–6. Hosts England won 37–9 at Twickenham. The U.S. finished fourth in the pool.

The Eagles came close to beating an Australian XV side, at Riverside in 1993, losing 22–26.^[31]

In round one of the Americas qualifying tournament for the 1995 Rugby World Cup the U.S. defeated Bermuda 60–3 to advance to round two. Argentina defeated the Eagles twice in close games in the series to qualify, leaving the U.S. missing out on the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa.

The Eagles had a successful tour of Europe in 1998, beating Spain and Portugal.^[29] Also in 1998, the U.S. played Fiji for the first time, losing 9–18 in Suva.^[32]

The Eagles set out to qualify for the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales. In round four of the Americas qualifying tournament in Buenos Aires, the United States lost 52–24 to Argentina and 31–14 to Canada, but defeated Uruguay 21–16 in their last game to qualify for the 1999 tournament. The U.S. played in the 1999 Pacific Rim Championship, notching its first-ever victories over Fiji (25–14) and Tonga (30–10).^[32]

However, the Eagles subsequently suffered their heaviest defeat ever, losing 106–8 to England in a warmup match before the 1999 Rugby World Cup.^[33][34]

The Eagles entered the 1999 Rugby World Cup in pool E alongside Australia, Ireland and Romania. In their first game, the United States went down 53–8 to Ireland. They then lost to Romania 27–25. Australia defeated the Eagles 55–19 in their final game of the tournament, seeing the Eagles finish fourth in the pool. The Eagles, however, had the honor of being the only side to score a try against the eventual champions, Australia, during the entire tournament.^[35]

In qualifying matches for the 2003 Rugby World Cup the U.S. finished third in the Americas. The U.S. won the repechage and qualified for the 2003 tournament by beating Spain 62–13 and 58–13. The Super Powers Cup was first contested in 2003 between Japan, Russia and the United States.^[36] The U.S. then followed up with victories over Japan and Canada. This was the first time the Eagles had won four consecutive tests since making their international debut in 1976.^[30]

At the 2003 Rugby World Cup the Eagles finished fourth of five in their pool. In the first match against Fiji, the Americans led 13–3 early in the second half, but Fiji regained the lead and secured a 19–18 win, with the Eagles suffering their ninth consecutive World Cup loss. The U.S. then lost to Scotland. The Americans defeated Japan 39–26, behind 17 points by Mike Hercus, for their first win in a Rugby World Cup since 1987 (also against Japan).^[37] The U.S. closed the tournament with a loss to France, concluding the tournament with a 1–3 record.

The 2004 Super Powers Cup saw the addition of Canada. The U.S. beat Russia in the third-place play-off. The U.S. toured Europe in November 2004, losing 55–6 to Ireland and 43–25 to Italy. The 2005 Super Cup took part between the U.S., Canada, Japan and Romania. The U.S. lost 30–26 to Canada but beat a Romanian team stripped of their France-based players 23–16 in the third place play-off.

The U.S. campaign to qualify for the 2007 Rugby World Cup began in 2006. The U.S. lost 56–7 to Canada, resulting in a home/away play-off against Uruguay. The U.S. defeated Uruguay 42–13 in the first match and 26–7 in the second to send them through to the Rugby World Cup.^[38]

In the 2007 Rugby World Cup, the U.S. joined England, Samoa, South Africa and Tonga in Pool A. The Eagles, ranked 13th in the world standings, lost all 4 games in Pool A, scoring 1 bonus point in the game against Samoa. Coached by New Zealander Peter Thorburn, the Eagles started off with tough match against the defending world champions England, losing 28–10. The U.S. was then beaten by Tonga 25–15, lost to Samoa 25–21, and lost their final match to highly favored South Africa 64–15. The Eagles, however, had a major highlight in the South Africa match. After a Todd Clever interception and a pair of passes, Takudzwa Ngwenya sped down the sideline and outran the speedster Bryan Habana to score a try that received Try of the Year honors at the 2007 IRB Awards.^[39]

Following the resignation of Scott Johnson, on March 5, 2009 Eddie O'Sullivan was named the new national coach.^[40]

The Eagles finished a solid 2009 campaign at a mark of 4–5, with a 4–3 record in full internationals. In the 2009 Churchill Cup, the Eagles lost to Ireland and Wales, but defeated Georgia to take home the Bowl.^[41]

The Eagles split a World Cup qualifying series with Canada, but lost on aggregate points. The Eagles then faced Uruguay in a two-game playoff. In November 2009, the United States booked their place at the 2011 Rugby World Cup with two wins against Uruguay, winning the home leg 27–6 in Florida.^[42]

The Eagles played 7 matches in 2010: 3 home matches in June at the Churchill Cup, finishing with a 1–2 record, and 4 matches in Europe in the Fall, finishing 1–3. In the June 2010 Churchill Cup, the US beat Russia 39–22, before losing to the England Saxons 32–9 and France A 24–10. For the November 2010 tests, the Eagles traveled to Europe. The Eagles defeated Portugal 22–17,^[43] but lost to Scotland A 25–0,^[44] and lost to Georgia 19–17.^[45] The Eagles finished 2010 ranked 16th in the world,^[46] and with a record in test matches of 2 wins (Russia, Portugal) and 1 loss (Georgia).

The buildup to the 2011 Rugby World Cup started in June with three matches in the Churchill Cup. The Eagles dropped their first matches to the England Saxons 87–8^[47] and to Tonga 44–13,^[48] before defeating Russia 32–25.^[49] 2011 was the final Churchill Cup.^[50] The Eagles finalized their 2011 Rugby World Cup preparations with three test matches in August.^[51] The Eagles lost to Canada 28–22,^[52] lost their second match against Canada 27–7.^[53] and lost to Japan 20–14. The Eagles had a 1–5 record in test matches for the year in their preparations for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.^[54]

In their 2011 Rugby World Cup opening match against Ireland the Eagles defense initially held, before conceding their first try at the 39' mark. The final tally was 22–10.^[55] The Eagles came into the World Cup with their measuring mark for success as being a win over Russia. The Americans took a 10–3 lead into the half, and held on to win 13–6.^[56] For their third match, Australia dominated, leading to the final result of 67–5, the worst defeat a U.S. team has ever suffered to Australia.^[57] The final match saw the Eagles playing Italy for a third-place finish in Pool C. The Italians finished with a 27–10 victory.^[58] The defeat marked the end of the 2011 Rugby World Cup for the U.S.

The Eagles finished 2011 with a record of 2–7 in full tests. The performances in the Rugby World Cup showed improvement, and the win over Russia left the team with a 1–3 RWC record and feeling as a modest success. The World Cup also saw prop Mike MacDonald become both the most capped Eagle in World Cup play (11 caps) and the most capped Eagle of all time at 65 caps. Also notable was the performance of lock John van der Giessen, who achieved the most lineout steals of all players in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, despite appearing in only three matches.^[59]

The Eagles played three matches in North America during the 2012 June international window. This was a regular series of international tests for the United States against Tier 1 (Italy) and Tier 2 (Canada, Georgia) opponents, as the Churchill Cup is no longer held. The highlights of the June tests were a win over higher-ranked Georgia, and a match against Italy at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston that drew a record crowd of 17,214.^[60] The Eagles also played three matches in Europe during the November 2012 tests. The Eagles finished their European tour with 2 wins (Romania, Russia) and 1 loss (Tonga) — the first time since 1998 that the Eagles had concluded a European tour with a winning record — and improved in ranking from 17th to 16th.^[29]

The U.S. played five matches during the June 2013 international test window, with one test match against Ireland and four matches as part of the 2013 IRB Pacific Nations Cup. The U.S. started with competitive matches against Canada (9–16), Ireland (12–15), and Tonga (9–18), but finished with double-digit losses against Fiji (10–35) and Japan (20–38), and sliding to #18 in the rankings. In August 2013, the U.S. played a home-and-away series against Canada as part of qualifying for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The U.S. lost both matches by an aggregate score of 20–40, meaning the U.S. must play Uruguay in 2014 as part of 2015 RWC qualifying. In November 2013, the U.S. lost 19–29 to the Māori All Blacks at PPL Park in Philadelphia before a sold-out crowd of 18,500.^[61]

Throughout late 2013 and early 2014, a number of U.S. players signed contracts to play professionally overseas. Of the players called into the U.S. national team in March 2014 for two home-and-away 2015 Rugby World Cup qualifying matches against Uruguay, 14 of the 26 were playing professionally overseas, with 10 playing professionally in England.^[62] The Eagles defeated Uruguay 59–40 on aggregate over two tests during 2014 to qualify for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. During the June 2014 test window, the U.S. played competitive matches against higher ranked Scotland and Japan, and the test window culminated with a 38–35 victory over Canada. Subsequently, in November 2014 the Eagles were defeated 74–6 by New Zealand in a match played in front of a crowd of more than 61,000 spectators at Soldier Field, Chicago.^[63]

The Eagles began a lengthy assembly in build up to the 2015 Rugby World Cup with the 2015 Pacific Nations Cup. On July 18, the U.S. dropped the opening PNC match 21–16 to Samoa.^[64] The team bounced back to upset Japan 23–18. The Eagles, however, fell to Tonga in the final preliminary match for the PNC 33–19. In the resulting fifth-place match, the Eagles edged rival Canada 15–13. The victory was the second consecutive over team Canada. Three weeks later, Canada and the U.S. met again in a World Cup warmup match. For the first time, the U.S. laid claim to a three-match win streak over team Canada after defeating the Canadians 41–23.^[65] Continuing on the road to the World Cup, the U.S. faced off against English Premiership side Harlequins, where the Americans fell to the visitors 24–19.^[66] The Eagles returned to Soldier Field to compete against the #2 ranked Australia Wallabies. The Americans trailed 14–10 at the half. In the second half, the Wallabies capitalized on American errors and pushed the match out of reach: Australia 47, the U.S. 10.^[67]

The Professional Rugby Organization (PRO Rugby) began a professional rugby competition in 2016.^[68] Five teams played a 10-match schedule from April to July. Each PRO Rugby team had a quota for overseas players and U.S. Eagles internationals.^[69][70] The U.S. national team included 14 professionals in the starting lineup for the June 2015 test against Italy — six U.S.-based professionals and eight overseas professionals.^[71] PRO Rugby did not last long, however, with the competition folding after only one season.

Professional rugby returned in 2018 with the advent of Major League Rugby, a seven-team competition that runs from April to early July. U.S. head coach Gary Gold called up an all-professional squad for the June 2018 tests, drawing from a mix of Major League Rugby players and overseas professionals. During the June 2018 tests, the U.S. defeated Scotland 30–29 to give the U.S. its first win over a Tier 1 nation since beating France at the 1924 Olympics.^[72] In the November tests, the U.S added wins against Canada (42–17), Samoa (30–29), and Romania (31–5) to ensure their longest full international test win streak in team history with 10. The streak ended with a defeat to Ireland in Dublin. In their first match of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, they were defeated (45–7) against England.^[73]

In 2022, the Eagles failed to qualify for a World Cup for the first time since the 1995 edition having participated in the prior six tournaments.^[74] In the Final Qualification Tournament they drew with Portugal 16–16, but as a result of a points difference, Portugal advanced to their second-ever Rugby World Cup.^[75] Earlier in the qualification process the U.S. lost a two-game series, 50–34 to Uruguay and then lost by a single point to Chile on aggregate.^[74]

The following table shows the results of the U.S. national team during the previous 24 months, as well as upcoming fixtures.

Notes:

• Opponent rank is listed as of the date of the match.
• Green shading indicates a win or tie against a higher ranked opponent. Red shading indicates a loss or tie against a lower ranked opponent.

Date	Opponent	Opp Rank	Result	Venue	Attend­ance	Event	Top U.S. scorer
2025-07-19	England			TBA		mid-year tests
2024-11-23	Spain	17	W 26–23	Estadio Nacional Complutense		end-of-year tests	Tavite Lopeti (10)
2024-11-16	Tonga	18	W 36–17	Chambéry Savoie Stadium		end-of-year tests	MacGinty (16)
2024-11-09	Portugal	15	W 21–17	Estádio Cidade de Coimbra		end-of-year tests	MacGinty (6)
2024-09-21	Samoa	14	L 13–18	Hanazono Rugby Stadium		Pacific Nations Cup	Luke Carty (8)
2024-09-14	Fiji	10	L 3–22	Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium		Pacific Nations Cup	Chris Mattina (3)
2024-09-06	Japan	14	L 24–41	Kumagaya Rugby Ground		Pacific Nations Cup	Nate Augspurger (10)
2024-08-31	Canada	21	W 28–15	Dignity Health Sports Park		Pacific Nations Cup	Conner Mooneyham (10)
2024-07-13	Scotland	6	L 7–42	Audi Field	17,418	mid-year tests	Boni (5)
2024-07-05	Romania	20	L, 20–22	SeatGeek Stadium	2,000	mid-year tests	MacGinty (15)
2023-11-18	Spain	19	W, 42–12	El Pantano Stadium		La Vila International Rugby Cup Final	Carty (10)
2023-11-11	Brazil	26	W, 48–3	El Pantano Stadium		La Vila International Rugby Cup	Mano (15)
2023-09-17	Toulouse	n/a	W, 24–21	America First Field		friendly	Carty (9)
2023-08-19	Georgia	11	L, 7–22	Mikheil Meskhi Stadium	15,000[76]	RWC warm-up	de Haas (5)
2023-08-11	Portugal	16	L, 46–20	Estádio Algarve		RWC warm-up	Carty (8)
2023-08-05	Romania	19	W, 31–17	Stadionul Arcul de Triumf		RWC warm-up	Four players tied (5)

Men's World Rugby Rankings

• v
• t
• e

Top 20 as of 9 December 2024^[77]

Rank	Change[i]	Team	Points
1		South Africa	092.78
2		Ireland	090.78
3		New Zealand	090.36
4		France	088.51
5		Argentina	084.97
6		Scotland	083.34
7		England	082.31
8		Australia	081.52
9		Fiji	080.07
10		Italy	078.64
11		Wales	074.01
12		Georgia	073.85
13		Japan	072.95
14		Samoa	072.68
15		United States	070.02
16		Portugal	068.82
17		Uruguay	067.06
18		Spain	065.98
19		Tonga	065.46
20		Romania	063.01
21		Chile	061.72
22		Hong Kong	059.49
23		Canada	059.18
24		Netherlands	058.56
25		Russia	058.06
26		Namibia	057.87
27		Zimbabwe	057.16
28		Brazil	056.53
29		Belgium	056.51
30		Switzerland	056.04

United States's historical rankings

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. See or edit source data.

Below is table of the representative rugby matches played by a United States national XV at test level up until November 23, 2024.^[78]

Opponent	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Win %	For	Aga	Diff
Argentina	9	0	9	0	0%	136	294	−158
Argentina Jaguars	1	0	1	0	0%	30	34	−4
Australia	8	0	8	0	0%	78	368	−290
Australia XV	1	0	1	0	0%	22	26	−4
Barbados	1	1	0	0	100%	91	0	+91
Bermuda	1	1	0	0	100%	60	3	+57
Brazil	5	4	1	0	80%	200	74	+126
Canada	66	25	39	2	37.88%	1,226	1,513	−287
Chile	8	6	2	0	75%	336	125	+211
England	7	0	7	0	0%	88	341	−253
England XV	2	0	2	0	0%	11	96	−85
England Saxons	4	0	4	0	0%	29	194	−165
Fiji	7	1	6	0	14.29%	100	165	−65
France	8	1	7	0	12.5%	102	214	−112
France XV	1	1	0	0	100%	8	0	+8
Georgia	7	3	4	0	42.86%	153	139	+14
Germany	1	1	0	0	100%	46	17	+29
Hong Kong	8	4	4	0	50%	201	198	+3
Ireland	11	0	11	0	0%	125	489	−364
Ireland XV	1	0	1	0	0%	7	32	−25
Ireland Wolfhounds	2	0	2	0	0%	22	74	−52
Italy	5	0	5	0	0%	74	154	−80
Japan	25	13	11	1	52%	699	601	+98
Kenya	1	1	0	0	100%	68	14	+54
New Zealand	4	0	4	0	0%	29	275	−246
New Zealand XV	1	0	1	0	0%	6	53	−47
Māori	1	0	1	0	0%	6	74	−68
Portugal	5	3	1	1	60%	140	101	+39
Romania	11	8	3	0	72.73%	281	143	+138
Russia	8	8	0	0	100%	280	110	+170
Samoa	8	2	6	0	25%	141	174	−33
Scotland	7	1	6	0	14.29%	103	291	−188
Scotland XV	1	0	1	0	0%	12	41	−29
Scotland A	1	0	1	0	0%	9	13	−4
South Africa	4	0	4	0	0%	42	209	−167
Soviet Union	1	0	1	0	0%	16	31	−15
Spain	5	5	0	0	100%	237	64	+173
Tonga	11	2	9	0	18.18%	189	289	−100
Tunisia	1	1	0	0	100%	47	13	+34
Uruguay	20	15	4	1	75%	612	364	+248
Wales	7	0	7	0	0%	86	305	−219
Wales XV	1	0	1	0	0%	18	24	−6
Total	287	107	175	5	37.06%	6,166	7,739	−1,573

The following is a list of U.S.'s wins against Tier 1 countries, including XV sides:

September 5, 1920	United States	8–0	France XV	Olympisch Stadion, Antwerp
	Try: Joseph Hunter Con: Dink Templeton Pen: Dink Templeton	Report		Attendance: 55,000

May 18, 1924	France	3–17	United States	Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Colombes
	Try: Henri Galau	Report	Try: Jack Patrick Lefty Rogers Linn Farrish (2) Caesar Mannelli Con: Charlie Doe	Attendance: 20,000

February 3, 2018	United States	17–10	Argentina XV	StubHub Center, Carson, California
17:00 PST	Try: Tony Lamborn 57'm Pen: Will Magie (2/4) 16', 42' Will Hooley (2/2) 70', 77'	Report	Try: Santiago Montagner 38'c Con: Juan Cruz González (1/1) 39' Pen: Juan Cruz González (1/2) 23'	Attendance: 6,500 Referee: Chris Assmus (Canada)

June 16, 2018	United States	30–29	Scotland	BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston
	Try: Joe Taufete'e (2) 37' c, 42' c Hanco Germishuys 58' c Con: AJ MacGinty (3/3) 38', 43', 60' Pen: AJ MacGinty (3/3) 16', 28', 47'	Report	Try: Blair Kinghorn 1' c Penalty try 24' George Turnere 33' c Dougie Fife 80' m Con: Blair Kinghorn (2/3) 2', 35' Pen: Blair Kinghorn (1/2) 40'	Attendance: 11,300 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

The following table shows the top ten best U.S. results in test matches against Tier 1 opponents.^[79][80]

Pts Diff	Result	Opponent	Date
+14	W (17–3)	France	1924-05-18
+1	W (30–29)	Scotland	2018-06-16
–3	L (26–29)	Argentina	1996-09-14
–3	L (12–15)	Ireland	2013-06-08
–4	L (8–12)	Australia	1912-11-16
–4	L (20–24)	Italy	2016-06-18
–5	L (11–16)	Argentina	1994-06-20
–5	L (23–28)	Wales	1997-07-12
–6	L (22–28)	Argentina	1994-05-28

The United States' biggest rival is Canada, having played more test matches against Canada than any other nation. The two teams first met in 1977, and have played every year since then with the exceptions of 2010 and 2020, 2022–2023. As of the end of 2024, the two sides have met 66 times, with 25 wins for the U.S., 39 wins for Canada, and 2 draws.

The U.S. and Canada routinely play each other in qualifying matches for the Rugby World Cup. They have met in the qualification stages for every tournament, with the exception of the 1987 invitational tournament and the 1995 tournament, for which Canada had automatically qualified by reaching the quarterfinals in the 1991 Rugby World Cup. Between 2016 and 2019, the teams played each other annually in the now defunct Americas Rugby Championship.

The United States has qualified for every Rugby World Cup except the 1995 and 2023 tournament. The best result that the U.S. has managed at a Rugby World Cup is to win one game, which it accomplished in 1987, 2003, and again in 2011.

Tourn­ament	Host	Win/Loss (BP)[o 1]	U.S. Finish	Wins	Leading scorer
1987	Australia  New Zealand	1–2	3rd in Pool A	Japan (21–18)	Ray Nelson (24)
1991	England  France  Ireland  Scotland  Wales	0–3	4th in Pool A	—	Mark Williams (16)
1995	South Africa	Did not qualify
1999	Wales	0–3	4th in Pool 5	—	Kevin Dalzell (22)
2003	Australia	1–3 (2 BP)	4th in Pool B	Japan (39–26)	Mike Hercus (51)
2007	France	0–4 (1 BP)	5th in Pool A	—	Mike Hercus (26)
2011	New Zealand	1–3 (0 BP)	4th in Pool C	Russia (13–6)	Chris Wyles (18)
2015	England	0–4 (0 BP)	5th in Pool B	—	AJ MacGinty (25)
2019	Japan	0–4 (0 BP)	5th in Pool C	—	AJ MacGinty (17)
2023	France	Did not qualify
2027	Australia	To be determined
2031	United States	Qualified as host

Americas Rugby Championship

• Champion (2): 2017, 2018

Olympics

• Gold Medal (2): 1920, 1924

The Pacific Nations Cup has been held since 2006 and the United States has been a participant in four tournaments.

The Americas Rugby Championship involved the six highest ranked rugby nations in North and South America (Argentina XV, Brazil, Canada, Chile, United States, and Uruguay). It was first contested in 2016.

Rugby was included an Olympic sport four times from 1900 to 1924, with the United States winning the last two of those tournaments — 1920 and 1924. After a lengthy absence, rugby returned to the Summer Olympics in 2016, albeit in the rugby sevens format.

Olympics	U.S. finish	U.S. record	Defeated
1900 Paris	(U.S. did not participate)
1908 London	(U.S. did not participate)
1920 Antwerp	Gold	1–0	France
1924 Paris	Gold	2–0	France, Romania

Year	Winner	Runner-up	Third place	Refs
1996	Canada	Hong Kong	United States	[81]
1997	Canada	Hong Kong	Japan	[82]
1998	Canada	Hong Kong	United States	[83]
1999	Japan	Western Samoa	United States	[84]
2000	Fiji	Western Samoa	Tonga	[85]
2001	Fiji	Western Samoa	Japan	[86]

Year	Host nation(s)	U.S. record	U.S. finish / # Teams
2003	Canada	1–2	2nd / 3
2004	Canada	0–2	4th / 4
2005	Canada	1–1	3rd / 4
2006	Canada & United States	0–3	6th / 6
2007	England	0–3	6th / 6
2008	Canada & United States	0–3	6th / 6
2009	United States	1–2	5th / 6
2010	United States	1–2	4th / 6
2011	England	1–2	5th / 6

• Head Coach: Scott Lawrence^[87]
• Assistant Coach: Alama Ieremia (Attack)
• Assistant Coach: Nick Easter (Forwards & Defence)
• Assistant Coach: Blake Bradford (Scrum)

Below is a table of USA rugby coaching records during test matches. Non-capped matches are not included. Months listed reflect the month of the first and last match coached. Correct as of 23 November 2024

Coach	Season(s)	GP	W	D	L	Win %	Championships / notes
—	November 1912	1	0	0	1	0%	First International test match
—	November 1913	1	0	0	1	0%
—	June 1919	1	1	0	0	100%	1–1 at the Inter-Allied Games (Match against France XV was uncapped)
Harry Maloney (trainer/selector)[12] Daniel Carroll (player/coach)[88]	September 1920 – October 1920	2	1	0	1	50%	1920 Olympic Gold Medal
Charlie Austin[89]	May 1924	2	2	0	0	100%	1924 Olympic Gold Medal
Dennis Storer[90][91]	January 1976	1	0	0	1	0%	First U.S. national team coach in the modern era
Dennis Storer Ray Cornbill[92][93]	June 1976 – June 1982	12	1	1	10	8.33%
Ron Mayes[94]	June 1983 – May 1987	9	3	1	5	33.33%
George Hook[95] Ron Mayes	May 1987 – June 1987	3	1	0	2	25%	1–2 at the 1987 RWC
Jim Perkins[96]	November 1987 – October 1991	22	7	0	15	31.82%	0–3 at the 1991 RWC
Clarence Culpepper[97]	April 1992 – June 1992	2	1	0	1	50%
Jack Clark[94][98]	June 1993 – October 1999	48	16	0	32	33.33%	First coach to fail to qualify for a Rugby World Cup (1995). 0–3 at the 1999 RWC
Duncan Hall[99][100]	May 2000 – June 2001	12	2	0	10	16.67%
Tom Billups[101]	December 2001 – June 2005	32	12	0	20	37.5%	1–3 at the 2003 RWC
Peter Thorburn[102]	June 2006 – September 2007	14	3	0	11	21.43%	0–4 at the 2007 RWC
Scott Johnson[103][104]	June 2008 – November 2008	6	1	0	5	16.67%
Eddie O'Sullivan[105][106]	May 2009 – September 2011	19	8	0	11	42.11%	1–3 at the 2011 RWC
Mike Tolkin[107]	June 2012 – October 2015	34	11	1	22	32.35%	0–4 at the 2015 RWC
John Mitchell[108]	February 2016 – July 2017	16	8	1	7	50%	Americas Rugby Championship: (2017)
Dave Hewett[109]	November 2017	2	1	0	1	50%	Interim
Gary Gold[110]	February 2018 – November 2022	34	20	1	13	58.82%	Americas Rugby Championship: (2018); 0–4 at the 2019 RWC. Failed to qualify for the 2023 RWC
Scott Lawrence[111]	August 2023 – present	14	7	0	7	50%
Total	1912–present	287	106	5	176	36.93%

On 15 October 2024, the United States announced a 30-player squad for their 2024 November Tour.^[112] Tomas Casares was later added to the squad ahead of the opening game vs Portugal. ^[113]

• Caps Updated: 23 November 2024

Player	Position	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club/province
Shilo Klein	Hooker	(1999-05-04) May 4, 1999 (age 25)	2	San Diego Legion
Sean McNulty	Hooker	(1995-07-10) July 10, 1995 (age 29)	5	Miami Sharks
Kapeli Pifeleti	Hooker	(1999-09-01) 1 September 1999 (age 25)	16	Saracens
Pono Davis	Prop	(1997-08-04) August 4, 1997 (age 27)	5	Houston SaberCats
Jack Iscaro	Prop	(1997-08-04) 4 August 1997 (age 27)	12	Old Glory DC
Alex Maughan	Prop	(1995-04-24) 24 April 1995 (age 29)	7	Anthem RC
Paul Mullen	Prop	(1991-11-16) 16 November 1991 (age 33)	40	New Orleans Gold
Payton Talea	Prop	(1998-08-17) 17 August 1998 (age 26)	1	San Diego Legion
Jake Turnbull	Prop	(1993-07-17) 17 July 1993 (age 31)	13	Anthem RC
Jason Damm	Lock	(1995-01-26) 26 January 1995 (age 29)	8	Los Angeles
Siaosi Mahoni	Lock	(1999-01-29) 29 January 1999 (age 25)	11	Houston Sabercats
Greg Peterson (c)	Lock	(1989-08-31) 31 August 1989 (age 35)	49	San Diego Legion
Tomas Casares	Back row	(1999-04-11) 11 April 1999 (age 25)	3	Miami Sharks
Cory Daniel	Back row	(1995-09-11) September 11, 1995 (age 29)	9	Old Glory DC
Jamason Faʻanana-Schultz	Back row	(1996-06-13) 13 June 1996 (age 28)	13	Old Glory DC
Mikey Grandy	Back row	(1998-05-29) 29 May 1998 (age 26)	1	Anthem RC
Vili Helu	Back row	(1996-03-20) 20 March 1996 (age 28)	13	San Diego Legion
Paddy Ryan	Back row	(1998-10-13) 13 October 1998 (age 26)	13	San Diego Legion
Moni Tongaʻuiha	Back row	(1994-10-05) October 5, 1994 (age 30)	9	New Orleans Gold
Thomas Tu’avao	Back row	(1993-10-27) 27 October 1993 (age 31)	9	Unattached
Ruben de Haas	Scrum-half	(1998-10-09) 9 October 1998 (age 26)	35	Cheetahs
Ethan McVeigh	Scrum-half	(1999-12-14) 14 December 1999 (age 25)	5	Old Glory DC
Luke Carty	Fly-half	(1997-09-27) 27 September 1997 (age 27)	21	New Orleans Gold
AJ MacGinty	Fly-half	(1990-02-26) 26 February 1990 (age 34)	40	Bristol Bears
Dominic Besag	Centre	(2004-08-06) August 6, 2004 (age 20)	8	Saint Mary's College
Mark O'Keeffe	Centre	(1993-09-13) 13 September 1993 (age 31)	2	Chicago Hounds
Tavite Lopeti	Centre	(1998-11-20) 20 November 1998 (age 26)	18	Seattle Seawolves
Nate Augspurger	Wing	(1990-01-31) 31 January 1990 (age 34)	47	Chicago Hounds
Conner Mooneyham	Wing	(1996-03-26) 26 March 1996 (age 28)	5	Anthem RC
Noah Brown	Wing	(2001-10-01) October 1, 2001 (age 23)	1	Chicago Hounds
Erich Storti	Fullback		2	Anthem RC
Mitch Wilson	Fullback	(1996-04-15) 15 April 1996 (age 28)	12	Anthem RC

Last updated: November 23, 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

Last updated: November 23, 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

Last updated: November 25, 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only.

The following United States players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2001:^[114]

The Eagles do not have an official home stadium. Boxer Stadium in San Francisco was the unofficial home of the Eagles from 1996 to 2000, hosting 12 of their 17 test matches.^[115] The Eagles also played several of their home games at Infinity Park in Glendale, Colorado. The Eagles played a home match against a Tier 1 nation every June between 2012 and 2014, in front of large crowds at BBVA Stadium in Houston, Texas.^[116] Since 2012, the Eagles have played at other MLS stadiums, such as Talen Energy Stadium in Philadelphia and the Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles. The Eagles play some of their less high-profile matches at smaller soccer venues.

The highest attended matches with greater than 10,000 fans played in the U.S. involving the U.S. national team are:^[117]

Rank	Attendance	Opponent	Date	Venue	Metro area
1	61,500	New Zealand	2014-11-01	Soldier Field (NFL)	Chicago, Ill.[118]
2	39,720	New Zealand	2021-10-23	FedEx Field (NFL)	Washington D.C.[119]
3	30,051[a]	Māori All Blacks	2018-11-03	Soldier Field (NFL)	Chicago, Ill.[120]
4	23,212	Australia	2015-09-05	Soldier Field (NFL)	Chicago, Ill.[121]
5	22,370	Ireland	2017-06-10	Red Bull Arena (MLS)	New York, N.Y.[122]
6	20,181	Ireland	2013-06-08	BBVA Compass Stadium[b] (MLS)	Houston, Tex.[123]
7	20,001	Scotland	2014-06-08	BBVA Compass Stadium[b] (MLS)	Houston, Tex.[124]
8	18,700	Māori All Blacks	2016-11-04	Toyota Park[c] (MLS)	Bridgeview, Ill.[125]
9	18,500	Māori All Blacks	2013-11-09	PPL Park[d] (MLS)	Chester, Pa.[126]
10	17,418	Scotland	2024-07-12	Audi Field (MLS)	Washington D.C.[127]
11	17,214	Italy	2012-06-03	BBVA Compass Stadium[b] (MLS)	Houston, Tex.[128]
12	14,000	New Zealand XV	1980-10-08	San Diego Stadium[e] (NFL)	San Diego, Calif.[129]
13	13,591	Chile	2016-02-20	Lockhart Stadium[f] (NASL)	Fort Lauderdale, Fla.[130]
14	13,000	South Africa	2001-12-01	Robertson Stadium[g] (FBS)	Houston, Tex.[131]
15	11,300	Scotland	2018-06-16	BBVA Compass Stadium[b] (MLS)	Houston, Tex.
16	10,241	Argentina XV	2016-02-06	BBVA Compass Stadium[b] (MLS)	Houston, Tex.[132][9]

Notes

• The international rugby match in the U.S. with the largest crowd did not involve the United States national team; 61,500 watched Ireland defeat New Zealand 40–29 at Soldier Field on November 5, 2016.^[133]

The USA Falcons, formerly the USA Selects is the second national rugby team for the United States. The USA Falcons is a developmental team, usually fielding younger players looking to break into the U.S. national team, and sometimes including amateur domestic U.S. national team players who need more high-level matches.

The USA Selects formerly participated in the Americas Rugby Championship, when the tournament only featured "A" sides for Argentina, Canada, the United States, and Uruguay. The USA Selects best results in the ARC were their second-place finishes in 2013 and 2014^[134][135] Since 2016, the ARC only features an A team from Argentina along with the national sides of Brazil, Canada, Chile, Uruguay, and the United States. The USA Falcons now play in a separate tournament known as the Americas Pacific Challenge.^[136][137]

The U.S. women's national team, officially formed in 1987, has been an international powerhouse since its inception, although more recently have fallen behind other powerhouses such as England and New Zealand on the world rankings. The Eagles won the first official World Cup in 1991, and finished second in the two following World Cups (1994, 1998). The Eagles have set a high standard for international competition, leading an ensuing wave of women's rugby growth and game development worldwide. The US finished 7th in the 2002 tournament. The women's national team traveled to the United Kingdom in January 2006 to play Scotland, Ireland and England, winning all three games. The 2006 Women's Rugby World Cup was held in Edmonton, Canada.

• Rugby union in the United States
• USA Rugby
• United States national rugby sevens team
• United States national under-20 rugby union team
• List of United States national rugby union players
• Rugby World Cup
• American Cougars

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