United States at the Rugby World Cup

The United States has played in all but one Rugby World Cup since the inaugural tournament in 1987. The USA is the second strongest national rugby side in North America, and the third strongest in the Americas after Argentina and Canada.

Map of nations best results, excluding nations which unsuccessfully participated in qualifying tournaments.

Summary

Nation Number of appearances First appearance Most recent appearance Streak Best result
 United States 7198720155One win (1987, 2003, 2011)

Summary of results by tournament

The United States squad ahead of the 2007 Rugby World Cup match with England at Stade Félix-Bollaert.
Year Round Played Won Lost Pts For Against Pts Diff
AustraliaNew Zealand 1987Pool3123999 –60
United KingdomRepublic of IrelandFrance 1991Pool30324113 –89
South Africa 1995(Did not qualify)
Wales 1999Pool30352135 –83
Australia 2003Pool41386125 –39
France 2007Pool40461142 –81
New Zealand 2011Pool41338122 –84
England 2015Pool40450156–106
Total–25322350892

Summary of results by opponent

Against Played Won Lost Drawn Win %
 New Zealand 1 0 1 0 0
 Australia 3 0 3 0 0
 South Africa 2 0 2 0 0
 England 3 0 3 0 0
 France 1 0 1 0 0
 Scotland 2 0 2 0 0
 Ireland 2 0 2 0 0
 Fiji 1 0 1 0 0
 Samoa 2 0 2 0 0
 Italy 2 0 2 0 0
 Tonga 1 0 1 0 0
 Romania 1 0 1 0 0
 Japan 3 2 1 0 67
 Russia 1 1 0 0 100
Total 25 3 22 0 12%

Notes:

Qualifying

The U.S. has qualified for every World Cup, except for the 1995 tournament.

RWC Record Defeated Lost to Qualifying method
1987 — No qualifying competition; all 16 participating nations were invited.
1991 1–3 Canada (14–12) Argentina (6–13, 6–23);
Canada (3–21) 		Finished third of three teams in Americas qualifying.
1995 1–2 Bermuda (60–3) Argentina (22–28, 11–16) Failed to qualify:
Lost to Argentina 44–33 in a two-game series.
1999 1–2 Uruguay (21–16) Argentina (24–52);
Canada (14–31) 		Finished third in Americas qualifying by defeating Uruguay 21–16.
2003 2–4 Uruguay (28–24);
Chile (35–22) 		Canada (9–26, 13–36);
Chile (13–21);
Uruguay (9–10) 		Finished ahead of Chile to qualify for the repechage;
Defeated Spain 120–26 in a two-game series in the repechage.
2007 3–1 Uruguay (42–13, 33–7);
Barbados (91–0) 		Canada (7–56) Defeated Uruguay 75–20 in a two-game series.
2011 3–1 Uruguay (27–22, 27–6);
Canada (12–6) 		Canada (18–41) Defeated Uruguay 54–28 in a two-game series.
2015 1–2–1 Uruguay (32–13) Canada (9–27, 11–13) Defeated Uruguay 59–40 in a two-game series.
 Results by Opponent
Opponent Played Won Lost Percent
Canada 10 2 8 20%
Uruguay 8 7 1 88%
Argentina 5 0 5 0%
Chile 2 1 1 50%

Rugby World Cup Hosting

So far the USA has not hosted any Rugby World Cup games, and no Rugby World Cups have been held in the Americas. The United States is, however, interested in pursuing a bid, possibly a joint bid with Canada, to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup or the 2027 Rugby World Cup.[1]

Team RWC records

Player RWC records

Career


Matches
Rank Player Matches
1 Chris Wyles 11
1 Mike MacDonald 11
3 Taku Ngwenya 10
3 Alec Parker 10
5 Louis Stanfill 9

Updated: October 12, 2015.
Tackles
Rank Player Tackles
1 Louis Stanfill 62
2 Phil Thiel 56
3 Alec Parker 55
4 Mike MacDonald 47
5 Mike Hercus 45

Updated: October 12, 2015.
Points
Rank Player Points
1 Mike Hercus 77
2 Chris Wyles 33
3 Kevin Dalzell 29
4 Ray Nelson 28
5 AJ MacGinty 25

Updated: October 12, 2015.

Tries Scored
The following table shows all U.S. players that have scored two or more tries in their World Cup career, plus all active players who have scored at least one World Cup try.

Player Tries 1987 1991 1995* 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015
Chris Wyles 4 1 1 2
Takudzwa Ngwenya 3 2 1
Kort Schubert 3 3
Ray Nelson 3 2 1
Louis Stanfill 2 2
Mike Hercus 2 2
Riaan van Zyl 2 2
Mike Purcell 2 2
Titi Lamositele 1 1
Chris Baumann 1 1
Mike Petri 1 1
Mate Moeakiola 1 1

Note: The U.S. failed to qualify for the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

Single tournament

Individual tournaments: 1987 to present

1987 Rugby World Cup

Pool 1 games -

Team P W D L PF PA Pts
 Australia 3300108416
 England 3201100324
 United States 310239992
 Japan 3003481230
1987-05-24
Japan  18 – 21  United States
Tries: Taumoefolau (2)
Yoshinaga
Pen: Yoshinaga
Kutsuki		 Tries: Nelson
Purcell
Lambert
Con: Nelson (3)
Pen: Nelson
Ballymore, Brisbane
Referee: Guy Maurette France
1987-05-31
Australia  47 – 12  United States
Tries: Leeds (2)
Penalty try
Campese
Smith
Slack
Papworth
Codey
Con: Lynagh (6)
Pen: Lynagh		 Try: Nelson
Con: Nelson
Pen: Nelson
Drop: Horton
Ballymore, Brisbane
Referee: Brian Anderson Scotland
1987-06-03
England  34 – 6  United States
Tries: Winterbottom (2)
Harrison
Dooley
Con: Webb (3)
Pen: Webb (4)		 Try: Purcell
Con: Nelson
Concord Oval, Sydney
Referee: Kerry Fitzgerald Australia

1991 Rugby World Cup

Pool A games -

Team Won Drawn Lost For Against Points
 New Zealand 30095399
 England 20185337
 Italy 10257765
 United States 003241133
1991-10-05
Italy  30 – 9  United States
Tries: Barba, Francescato, Vaccari, Gaetaniello
Con: Dominguez (4)
Pen: Dominguez (2)		 Tries: Swords
Con: Williams
Pen: Williams
Cross Green, Otley
Referee: Owen Doyle Ireland
1991-10-08
New Zealand  46 – 6  United States
Tries: Wright (3), Earl, Purvis, Timu, Tuigamala, Innes
Con: Preston (4)
Pen: Preston (2)		 Pen: Williams (2)
Kingsholm, Gloucester
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Efraim Sklar Argentina
1991-10-11
England  37 – 9  United States
Tries: Underwood (2), Carling, Skinner, Heslop
Con: Hodgkinson (4)
Pen: Hodgkinson (3)		 Tries: Nelson
Con: Williams
Pen: Williams
Twickenham, London
Referee: Les Peard Wales

1995 Rugby World Cup

Did not qualify.

The Americas were allotted only two teams for the 1995 tournament. Canada automatically qualified, by virtue of reaching the quarterfinals of the 1991 tournament. Only 1 place remained for the Americas qualifying, to be decided by the winner of the home-and-away series between the US and Argentina (the winner of the Americas South bracket) in 1994. In that series, the US lost their home match 22-28, and also lost their away match 11-16. With the 2-0 record and 44-33 aggregate score, Argentina secured the final qualifying spot for the Americas.

1999 Rugby World Cup

Pool 5 games -

Team Won Drawn Lost For Against Points
 Australia 300135316
 Ireland 201100454
 Romania 102501262
 United States 003521350
1999-10-02
Ireland  53 – 8  United States
Tries: Keith Wood (4), Eric Elwood (2), Brian O'Driscoll, Justin Bishop
Con: David Humphreys (4)
Pen: David Humphreys (2)		 Tries: Kevin Dalzell
Pen: Kevin Dalzell
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Referee: Joel Dume France
1999-10-09
United States  25 – 27  Romania
Tries: Kurt Shuman, Brian Hightower, Dan Lyle
Con: Kevin Dalzell (2)
Pen: Kevin Dalzell (2)		 Tries: Adrian Petrache, Gheorghe Solomie, Tudor Constantin
Con: Petre Mitu (2)
Pen: Petre Mitu
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Referee: Jim Fleming Scotland

2003 Rugby World Cup

Team Won Drawn Lost For Against BP Points
 France 40020470420
 Scotland 30110297214
 Fiji 20298114210
 United States 1038612526
 Japan 0047916300
2003-10-15
Fiji  19 – 18  United States
Tries: Naevo
Con: Little
Pen: Little (4)		 Tries: van Zyl, Schubert
Con: Hercus
Pen: Hercus (2)
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Attendance: 30,990
Referee: Joël Jutge France
2003-10-20
Scotland  39 – 15  United States
Tries: Danielli (2), Kerr, Townsend, Paterson
Con: Paterson (4)
Pen: Paterson (2)		 Pen: Hercus (5)
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Attendance: 46,796
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan South Africa
2003-10-27
Japan  26 – 39  United States
Tries: Kurihara, Ohata
Con: Kurihara (2)
Pen: Kurihara (4)		 Tries: Hercus, Eloff, Schubert, van Zyl, Khasigian
Con: Hercus (4)
Pen: Hercus (2)
2003-10-31
France  41 – 14  United States
Tries: Liebenberg (3), Poux, Bru
Con: Merceron (2)
Pen: Merceron (3)
Drop: Yachvili		 Tries: Hercus, Schubert
Con: Hercus (2)
WIN Stadium, Wollongong
Attendance: 17,833
Referee: Paul Honiss New Zealand

Mike Hercus was the leading points scorer for the US - and 7th leading scorer among all players - with 51 points (2 tries, 9 penalties, 7 conversions).

2007 Rugby World Cup

Pool A games -

Team Pld W D L TF PF PA +/- BP Pts
 South Africa 44002418947+142319
 England 43011110888+20214
 Tonga 420298996−719
 Samoa 4103569143−7415
 United States 4004761142−8111
 ENGSAMRSATGAUSA
England – 44 – 22 0 – 36 36 – 20 28 – 10
Samoa – – 7 – 59 15 – 19 25 – 21
South Africa – – – 30 – 25 64 – 15
Tonga – – – – 25 – 15
United States – – – – –
8 September 2007
18:00
England  28 – 10  United States
Tries: Robinson 35' m
Barkley 40+' c
Rees 49' c
Con: Barkley (2/3)
Pen: Barkley (3/3) 7', 22', 31'		 Report Tries: Moeakiola 74' c
Con: Hercus (1/1)
Pen: Hercus (1/1) 9'
12 September 2007
14:00
United States  15 – 25  Tonga
Tries: MacDonald 47' m
Stanfill 67' c
Con: Hercus (1/2)
Pen: Hercus (1/2) 33'		 Report Tries: Maka 2' c
Vaka 59' m
Vaki 70' c
Con: Hola (2/3)
Pen: Hola (2/2) 7', 26'
26 September 2007
20:00
Samoa  25 – 21  United States
Tries: Fa'atau 5' m
Tuilagi 9' c
Thompson 37' c
Con: Crichton (2/3)
Pen: Crichton (2/2) 30', 72'		 Report Tries: Ngwenya 53' c
Stanfill 79' m
Con: Hercus (1/2)
Pen: Hercus (3/4) 32', 65', 75'
30 September 2007
20:00
South Africa  64 – 15  United States
Tries: Burger 10' c
Steyn 28' c
Habana (2) 35' c, 42' m
van der Linde 48' c
du Preez 54' c
Fourie (2) 64' c, 73' c
Smith 77' c
Con: Montgomery (6/7)
James (2/2)
Pen: Montgomery (1/1) 17'		 Report Tries: Ngwenya 39' c
Wyles 51' m
Con: Hercus (1/2)
Pen: Hercus (1/1) 20'

2007 Squad:

Forwards: Blake Burdette, Owen Lentz, Mike MacDonald, Matekitonga Moeakiola, Chris Osentowski, Jonathan Vitale, Luke Gross, Mike Mangan, Hayden Mexted, Alec Parker, Mark Aylor, Inaki Basauri, Todd Clever, Fifita Mounga, Louis Stanfill, Henry Bloomfield, Dan Payne

Backs: Chad Erskine, Mike Petri, Mike Hercus (C), Valenese Malifa, Philip Eloff, Vahafolau Esikia, Thretton Palamo, Albert Tuipulotu, Paul Emerick, Takudzwa Ngwenya, Salesi Sika, Francois Viljoen, Chris Wyles

Head Coach: Peter Thorburn

In the 2007 Rugby World Cup, the US 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 US 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 an interception and a pair of passes, Takudzwa Ngwenya sped down the sideline and outran Bryan Habana, arguably the fastest man in world rugby, to score a try that received Try of the Year honors at the 2007 IRB Awards.

2011 Rugby World Cup

Australia vs USA at the Regional Stadium, Wellington. Australia won 67–5.
Team
 Pld W D L TF PF PA +/− BP Pts
 Ireland 44001513534+101117
 Australia 43012517348+125315
 Italy 4202139295−3210
 United States 4103438122−8404
 Russia 4004857196−13911
11 September 2011Ireland  22–10  United States Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth
15 September 2011Russia  6–13  United States Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth
23 September 2011Australia  67–5  United States Regional Stadium, Wellington
27 September 2011Italy  27–10  United StatesTrafalgar Park, Nelson

Chris Wyles was the USA's leading scorer of the 2011 tournament with 18 points (1 try, 3 penalties, 2 conversions).

Mike Petri, Paul Emerick, and JJ Gagiano each scored 5 points (1 try) for the US.

30 Man Squad:

The Eagles showed tremendous fight and power in their World Cup opening match against Ireland. The Irish came out strong but the Eagles were stiff in defense. The Irish suffered from poor goal kicking and were only able to gain a 3–0 lead before finally scoring their first try at the 39' mark to take a 10-0 half-time lead. The Irish came out more ready to play in the second half but still ran into stiff Eagles defense. Ultimately the Irish scored two more tries to give a final tally of 22 points. The Eagles succeeded in frustrating Irish expectations to gain a bonus point with a full strength squad and managed to post 10 points led by an interception try on full-time by Paul Emerick.[2]

The Eagles came into the World Cup with their measuring mark for success as being a win over Russia. The Eagles did not disappoint. Russia leaped out to an early 3–0 lead after a penalty goal from inside the 22 set up by a block on a Mike Petri box kick. The Americans took a 10–3 lead into the half after a break by Andrew Suniula set up a try for Mike Petri. The kicking duty fell upon Chris Wyles who capitalized on his first kick, a deep strike in poor conditions from the 10 meter line. Wyles was also successful on a conversion and with his last attempt at goal. He did, however, miss 3 kicks at goal and a drop goal. Russia would land once more on the board to snatch a bonus point from the match but fell to the final tally of USA 13–6 Russia.[3] Both Wyles and Mike MacDonald had amazing matches as McDonald scooped up the man of the match accolades.[4] The Eagles were absolutely dominant at the lineout winning 7 of Russia's 13 throws and winning all 12 of their own throws.[5] The win elevated the Eagles back up to 17th in the IRB rankings and dropped Russia one spot to 21st.

For their third match the Eagles trotted out a squad with 14 changes from the one that met Russia, ensuring that each player on the roster received a cap in the tournament. Australia got on the board early with tries at the 7- and 10-minute marks, but the Eagles answered with a JJ Gagiano try at the 22nd minute that cut the deficit to 10–5. Australia quickly responded with two more tries to take a 22–5 lead into the half along with clinching a bonus point. In the second half the Wallabies jumped on the Eagles leading to the final result of 67–5. This was the worst defeat a US team has ever suffered to Australia.[6]

The final match saw the Eagles playing for a 3rd-place finish in Pool C and an automatic qualification into the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The Eagles faced Italy (the Azzurri) and the scoring began early by the Azzurri, but the Eagles struck back with a Chris Wyles try and conversion to level the match 7-7. The Italians struck quickly with their second try, and scored their third try on the stroke of halftime to lead 20-10 at the half. Italy focused their second-half efforts on scoring a fourth try and the bonus point. The US second-half defense held for 25 minutes, but after tremendous pressure by the Italian scrum - which Italy dominated all match - the Azzurri got their fourth try and the bonus point in the 65th minute. That try and conversion were the only points for the Azzurri in the second half.[7] The defeat marked the end of the 2011 Rugby World Cup and the 2011 season for the Eagles.

2015 Rugby World Cup

Team
 Pld W D L TF PF PA +/− BP Pts
 South Africa 4 3 0 1 23 176 56 +120 4 16
 Scotland 4 3 0 1 14 136 93 +43 2 14
 Japan 4 3 0 1 9 98 100 –2 0 12
 Samoa 4 1 0 3 7 69 124 –55 2 6
 United States 4 0 0 4 5 50 156 –106 0 0
    20 September 2015Samoa 25–16 United StatesBrighton Community Stadium, Brighton
    27 September 2015Scotland 39–16 United StatesElland Road, Leeds
    7 October 2015South Africa 64–0 United StatesOlympic Stadium, London
    11 October 2015United States 18–28 JapanKingsholm, Gloucester

    U.S. summer preparations for the World Cup included four matches at the 2015 Pacific Nations Cup plus two additional World Cup warm-up matches. The U.S. earned three wins and three losses over these matches, with wins against Canada (twice) and Japan.

    At the World Cup, the U.S. lost its first match against Samoa 16–25. The Eagles suffered from ill discipline, committing 14 penalties (compared to 7 for Samoa); and from poor tackling, with a 79% tackle success rate and 29 missed tackles, (compared to Samoa's 86% tackle rate and 19 missed tackles).[8]

    The team entered World Cup play with the highest hopes in years. The pool draw placed the Eagles alongside Japan, a team they had beaten earlier in the summer, Samoa, a team they've played well in the past, and Scotland. Scotland, though a tier 1 nation, had struggled in recent years. The last team was South Africa, a team that lost its first match of the World Cup to Japan. In their opening match against Samoa, the United States trailed 14-8 at the half, and ultimately fell 25-16, after finding tremendous difficulties at the lineout and in the scrum.[9]

    Carrying a tough 0-1 start into the team's second match, the Eagles made history by claiming a first ever halftime lead over a tier 1 nation (13-6),[10] on the back of a strong showing in the scrum. The second half was less kind, as Scotland quickly overcame the deficit and pushed the final score well out of reach: Scotland 37, USA 16.[11]

    With a winless campaign becoming a real possibility, the coaching staff chose a roster that drastically differed from the starters in the first two matches.[12][13] Against South Africa, the Eagles struggled early and were dominated in the scrum, but kept the match close at the break with South Africa holding a 14 point lead. In the second half, the Springboks blew the match open, running the match to 64-0. The defeat is the fifth largest in USA Rugby history and the largest in a World Cup.[14]

     2015 RWC: U.S. statistical leaders
    Category Player Total Rank
    Carries Samu Manoa 57 2nd
    Carries over the gain line Samu Manoa 26 4th
    Turnovers made Andrew Durutalo 6 8th
    Penalties scored AJ MacGinty 7 9th
    Points scored AJ MacGinty 25 17th
    Tackles made Alastair McFarland 37 —

    Source: World Rugby Rank is as of the end of the pool stages, and does not include the knockout rounds.

    References

    1. ↑ United States contemplating bid for 2023 Rugby World Cup
    2. ↑ "Irish in Battle with Eagles, but Win". Rugbymag.com. September 11, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
    3. ↑ "USA Edges Russia in World Cup". Rugbymag.com. September 15, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
    4. ↑ "More than One Hero". Rugbymag.com. September 15, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
    5. ↑ "Rugby Union – ESPN Scrum – Russia v United States of America at New Plymouth, Sep 15, 2011". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
    6. ↑ "Wallabies Much Too Much for Eagles". Rugbymag.com. September 23, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
    7. ↑ "USA Brave in 27–10 Loss to Italy". Rugbymag.com. September 27, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
    8. ↑ Samoa vs United States, ESPN Scrum. Accessed 20 September 2015.
    9. ↑ "USA come up just short against Samoa", ESPN UK, September 20, 2015.
    10. ↑ "Scotland beat the USA 39-16 to go top of Pool B", SkySports.net, September 27, 2015.
    11. ↑ "Scotland find second wind to down Eagles", ESPN UK, September 27, 2015.
    12. ↑ "Green Lineup Selected for Springboks", RugbyToday.com, October 5, 2015.
    13. ↑ "Cliff Notes: Digesting the Shutout", Pat Clifton, October 8, 2015.
    14. ↑ "Second Half Sees USA to Historic Loss", Pat Clifton, October 7, 2015.
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