The US rugby team had a tough day against the powerful New Zealand All Blacks at FedEx Field near Washington D.C., suffering a heavy 104-14 defeat.
Eagles coach Gary Gold focused on the positives, saying, “I prefer to see the good in our performance. There were moments where we did some good things, and we can take some encouragement from the fact that we managed to create some pressure and score two tries.”
The US team managed to score a try on both sides of halftime. The first was scored by scrum half Nate Augspurger, followed by wing Ryan Matyas, who scored a try despite a tackle by New Zealand’s Will Jordan, with his shorts down. These were the first occasions that the US men’s team had scored against the All Blacks.
New Zealand coach Ian Foster remained composed, stating, “There were some lapses in our performance, especially in overplaying at times.”
The game began with a tribute to the late American player and coach Kathy Flores and New Zealand wing Sean Wainui, who tragically passed away in a car accident on October 18th at the age of 25.
