The USA put their frustrations behind them with a 29-13 win over Samoa on Sunday to claim their spot at Australia 2027. Three late tries saw the Eagles pull away to finish 5th in the Pacific Nations Cup and put them back in the World Cup after missing out on the flagship tournament in 2023.
Rodney Iona opened the scoring for the visitors with a penalty goal early in the first half, but he was off-target with a second attempt soon after. Meanwhile the Eagles lost flyhalf Chris Hilsenbeck to a head knock with Luke Carty summoned from the bench. Carty made an immediate impression, firing a wide miss-out pass to an open Toby Fricker on the left wing to put the Eagles up by two.
Iona retook the lead for Samoa with a three-pointer after Carty’s conversion attempt was pushed wide right. Carty responded with a penalty of his own to put the Eagles back in front. Pono Davis was then binned for disrupting Connor Tupai before he could receive a pass on a Iakopo Mapu line break, but Iona’s shot at goal was skewed badly and the 8-6 score held to halftime.
Samoa would get no points while Davis was off the pitch, and Carty would have another crack off the tee but this time it was pulled to the left. The Manu finally found the tryline just after the hour mark when Ben Nee-Nee put Olajuwon Noa through a gap with a short pass on the gain line, and Melani Nanai followed up for the finish. Christian Leali’ifano converted and Samoa were up by 5.
The Eagles found another gear as the clock ticked towards 70 minutes. Carty stepped through some weak defense for the first try, and after another penalty miss captain Jason Damm punched in from close range to make it a two-score game with five minutes to play.
One final blow came just moments later as a midfield blunder allowed Ruben de Haas to hack the ball ahead. Rufus McLean regathered, and Kaleb Geiger bashed through the defense to score the fourth and final try for the Eagles. A yellow card to Tuna Tuitama with a minute to play was academic as the Samoans were already out of time.
The Eagles now close the book on their PNC and qualification journey, and look ahead to the November test window with a stop in Edinburgh to play Scotland set for November 1st. For Samoa it’s straight into a play-off series against Chile that will start in Salt Lake City next weekend, with the second leg set for Valparaíso in two weeks.
USA 29
Tries (4) – T. Fricker (21′), L. Carty (70′), J. Damm (74′), K. Geiger (76′)
Cons (3) – L. Carty 0/1, M. Wilson 3/3 (71′, 79′, 80’+1′)
Pens (1) – L. Carty 1/3 (36′)
YC (1) – P. Davis (37′)
SAMOA 13
Tries (1) – M. Nanai (64′)
Cons (1) – C. Leali’ifano (65′)
Pens (2) – R, Iona 2/4 (4′, 33′)
YC (1) – T. Tuitama (79′)
USA
1 Jack Iscaro (17 Ezekiel Lindenmuth), 2 Kapeli Pifeleti (16 Kaleb Geiger), 3 Pono Davis, 4 Marno Redelinghuys, 5 Jason Damm (capt.), 6 Vili Helu (19 Tevita Naqali), 7 Cory Daniel, 8 Paddy Ryan (20 Christian Poidevin), 9 Ruben de Haas, 10 Christopher Hilsenbeck (22 Luke Carty), 11 Toby Fricker (18 Maliu Niuafe 43′-47′) (23 Erich Storti), 12 Tommaso Boni, 13 Dom Besag, 14 Rufus McLean, 15 Mitch Wilson
Not used: 21 Ethan McVeigh
SAMOA
1 Aki Seiuli (17 Jarred Adams 59′), 2 Luteru Tolai (16 Ray Niuia 63′), 3 Michael Ala’alatoa (capt.), 4 Ben Nee-Nee, 5 Michael Curry (19 Potu Leavasa 59′), 6 Olajuwon Noa, 7 Alamanda Motuga, 8 Iakopo Mapu (20 Abraham Papali’i 65′), 9 Connor Tupai (21 Melani Matavao 65′), 10 Rodney Iona (22 Christian Leali’ifano 48′), 11 Tuna Tuitama, 12 Henry Taefu, 13 Melani Nanai, 14 Elisapeta Alofipo, 15 Lolagi Visinia (23 Tomasi Alosio)
Not used: 18 Marco Fepulea’i
Date: Sunday, September 14
Venue: DSG Park, Denver
Kickoff: 12:30 local
Weather: sunny, 70°F (21°C), wind E 4-7mph (7-11km/h)
Referee: Damián Schneider (Argentina)
Assistants: Andrew Brace (Ireland) & Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO: Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
