USA Eagles Name Summer Squad
With friendlies looming and an August tournament to determine a World Cup spot, the international roster has some new faces
The USA Eagles have named their roster for this summer, when they will play Belgium (July 5 in Charlotte, North Carolina), Spain (July 12, Charlotte), England (July 19, Washington DC). On Aug. 22, the Eagles will face Canada in the first match of the Pacific Nations Cup. (The US and Canada last met in the 2024 Pacific Nations Cup, with the Eagles winning 28-15 in Los Angeles.) At stake in the Cup: three World Cup 2027 qualifying spots. Canada, Samoa, Tonga, and the Eagles are the only contenders, as Fiji and Japan have already secured their places.
The Eagles’ 32-man roster for the summer of 2025:
Props
Ezekiel Lindenmuth (Houston Sabercats)
Jack Iscaro (Old Glory DC)
Pono Davis (Houston Sabercats)
Payton Telea (San Diego Legion)
Tonga Kofe (Utah Warriors)
Hookers
Kaleb Geiger (New England Free Jacks)
Kapeli Pifeleti (Provence)
Shilo Klein (San Diego Legion)
Locks
Sam Golla (Anthem RC)
Tevita Naqali (Old Glory DC)
Marno Redelinghuys (Houston Sabercats)
Viliami Helu (San Diego Legion)
Flankers
Christan Poidevin (San Diego Legion)
Cory Daniel (Old Glory DC)
Jamason Fa’anana Schultz (Old Glory DC)
Makeen Alikhan (Anthem RC)
No. 8s
Benjamin Bonasso (Miami Sharks)
Tomas Casares (Miami Sharks)
Scrum halves
JP Smith (Seattle Seawolves)
Ruben de Haas (NOLA Gold)
Fly halves
AJ Macginty fly (Bristol Bears)
Chris Hilsenbeck (Chicago Hounds)
Thomas Pittman (Chartres)
Centers
Dominic Besag (St. Mary’s College)
Erich Storti (Anthem RC)
Tavite Lopeti (San Diego Legion)
Wings
Lauina Futi (Seattle Seawolves)
Nate Augspurger (Chicago Hounds)
Noah Brown (Chicago Hounds)
Rufus Mclean (Houson Sabercats)
Toby Fricker (Anthem RC)
Fullbacks
Mitch Wilson (Anthem RC)
Coach’s Comments
In an interview on The Rugby Network after the squad was announced, USA Eagles coach Scott Lawrence noted the excellent season for Major League Rugby, which is coming to a close. “I’m not very excited that MLR is ending,” he said. “It’s been an awesome season, [with] a lot of parity… a competitive season. I’ve been enjoying the games every week.”
With regards to the roster and the schedule, Lawrence said: “We’ll keep it open and keep it competitive and we’ll pick the best team for each game.” He said he and his staff had been scouting forwards who have been “destructive throughout the course of the year.” Tonga Kofe “showed how explosive he can be,” Lawrence said, while Pono Davis is a “changed player.” Lawrence said that Gerhard 'Pote' Human, the Houston Sabercats’ coach, and his staff deserve credit for Davis’ improvement as a player. “They’ve brought him along tremendously,” he said. Lawrence added that Ezekiel Lindenmuth of the Sabercats was a “destructive scrummager,” with an impressive 70 percent of carries crossing the gain line. “He’s a beast.” Alex Maughan of Anthem RC is injured so didn’t make the roster, but Lawrence said Kaleb Geiger of the New England Free Jacks would be able to rotate between hooker and prop as Maughan does, giving the Eagles some versatility in the scrum. “He gives us that size we’re looking for in the front row,” Lawrence said of the 6 ft 1 inch, 250 lbs Colorado native Geiger.
Lawrence highlighted Christan Poidevin, a flanker for the San Diego Legion, as one forward to watch. “Christian is a great one. There’s tremendous competition in the back row,” he said. “This guy is going to show us something. You get a gut feeling about someone. I think he’s going to jump to the next level.”
Lawrence said he’s glad to have No. 8 Benjamin Bonasso “back in the mix” after an injury. “He’s really respected by his Eagles teammates. We’re happy to have him back for his playing ability and no -nonsense leadership.” Tomas Casares of the Miami Sharks is the other No. 8. Bonasso was born in Connecticut to Argentine parents; Casares was born in Argentina but earned his USA Eagles eligibility through his Delaware-born father.
Scrum-halves JP Smith and Ruben de Haas, both born in South Africa, will combine with fly-halves Chris Hilsenbeck (a US-born fly-half who until recently played for the German national team but has now switched back), Ireland-born AJ McGinty and England-born Thomas Pittman (who plays for Chartres in France but has signed with Anthem RC for the 2026 season.)
“Chris has been the find of the season for Chicago,” Lawrence said of Hisenbeck, who led MLR in points this season with 99. “He’s an experienced guy, a good communicator… We thought it was important to have someone with that experience to back AJ up.”
Lawrence noted that Pittman has an 88 percent kicking success rate and plays center as well as fly-half. “Again, we wanted to make sure we had good communication and connection amongst the backline,” he added.
Twenty-year-old center Dominic Besag is the only collegiate player on the roster. He plays his rugby at St. Mary’s College just outside of San Francisco, plays for the San Diego Legion youth academy, and will graduate in 2026. He made his Eagles debut in 2023 against Georgia. He now has 9 caps.
Rufus McLean, who was born in Boston but has played most of his rugby in Scotland, has impressed Lawrence this season with the Sabercats: “We wanted to increase the team speed overall,” said Lawrence. “We look at a guy who runs 10.4 meters per second and has played a high level of rugby… It’s good to have him in the mix there. That’s a huge one.”
The other guy I’m excited about is having Lauina Futi back,” Lawrence said. “He’s worked his way back into the squad; he’s started to really grow his game, his IQ is coming up there at Seattle… We’re excited to have him back in the mix.”
Born in American Samoa, Futi is one of eight players on the current squad who can boast Pacific Islander heritage: Ezekiel Lindenmuth (b. Samoa), Pono Davis (b. Hawaii), Payton Telea-Ilalio (b. California), Tonga Kofe (b. Oregon), Kapeli Pifeleti (b. Tonga), Tevita Naqali (b. Fiji), Jamason Fa’anana Schultz (b. Australia).
Notably, there are four Anthem RC players on the roster. Anthem RC, which was created as a joint venture backed by World Rugby, USA Rugby and Major League Rugby to grow USA -eligible talent, have yet to win a match in their first two seasons. Two-time defending MLR champions the New England Free Jacks only have one player on the roster.
Only three of the 32 Eagles currently play their rugby outside the US — in Bristol, Provence and Chartres. Five of the players play for the San Diego Legion, three play for Old Glory DC, three play for the Houston Sabercats, two play for the Chicago Hounds, and Miami, Seattle, Utah, NOLA Gold each contribute one player to the squad.
Notably absent from the lineup:
Ethan McVeigh, scrum-half, Old Glory DC. “Unfortunately for Ethan, he just didn’t get a lot of playing time,” said Lawrence. One of the key things Lawrence and his staff looked for in selecting the roster was “meaningful minutes.” “It’s a continuous review process,” he explained. “We let everybody play, see how they shape up in the season. The bare minimum is minutes — they gotta play.”
Peyton Wall, back, Chicago Hounds. “Peyton is on the right track,” said Lawrence. “He’ll be in the reserve group. He’s played four professional games.” He has “a lot going for him. We’ve got a plan for him going forward, that’s for sure.”
Joe Mano, prop, Utah Warriors. Lawrence said he spoke to Mano earlier in the year, and the Utah prop — who scored 14 tries in the MLR this year — told him he wouldn’t be in the country in the summer. “If you’re not going to be in the country, you can’t help the Eagles,” Lawrence said.
Jason Damm, a utility forward at RFCLA, didn’t make the roster and neither did David Ainu’u, who plays prop for Toulouse, who have won the French Top 14 league two years in a row.
The following players are injured or unavailable, according to USA Rugby.
Jake Turnbull (Anthem RC), Joe Taufete'e (NOLA Gold), Alex Maughn (Anthem RC), Nafi Ma'afu (Biarritz), Renger Van Eerten (CA Brive), Jason Damm (RFCLA), Siaosi Mahoni (Seattle Seawolves), Paddy Ryan (San Diego Legion), Riekert Hattingh (Seattle Seawolves), Mika Kruse (Seattle Seawolves), Conner Mooneyham (Anthem RC).
The 2025 extended squad, named earlier this year, is the 50-man pool the Eagles coaching staff can choose from throughout the year.
Here’s a chart looking at the 32-man summer squad, courtesy of The North America Rugby Database.
