The Eagles look to build on their comfortable win over Belgium with another European opponent in Charlotte on Saturday. Spain will square off against the USA for the third time in three years as Los Leones seek a first-ever victory over the Americans, having come up short in Madrid just a few months ago.
| FORM GUIDE |
Current World Ranking: 15 (70.02 points)
2025-07-05 – USA 36, Belgium 17 (Charlotte)
2024-11-23 – Spain 23, USA 26 (Madrid)
2024-11-16 – Tonga 17, USA 36 (Chambéry)
2024-11-09 – Portugal 17, USA 21 (Coimbra)
2024-09-21 – Samoa 18, USA 13 (Osaka)
Current World Ranking: 16 (67.34 points)
2025-03-16 – Georgia 46, Spain 28 (Tbilisi)
2025-03-01 – Portugal 31, Spain 42 (Oeiras)
2025-02-16 – Spain 32, Georgia 62 (Madrid)
2025-02-09 – Switzerland 13, Spain 43 (Yverdon-les-Bains)
2025-02-02 – Spain 53, Netherlands 24 (Madrid)
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 8 | Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz | Sam Golla |
| 12 | Tom Pittman | Tavite Lopeti |
|
IN | OUT |
| 1 | Bernardo Vázquez | Thierry Futeu |
| 3 | Jon Zabala | Joaquín Domínguez |
| 5 | Asier Usárraga | Manex Ariceta |
| 6 | Ignacio Piñeiro | Mario Pichardie |
| 7 | Matheo Triki | Ekain Imaz |
| 13 | Álvar Gimeno | Iñaki Mateu |
| 15 | JW Bell | Alberto Carmona |
| NOTES |
- Pablo Bouza has brought a more experienced Leones squad than expected to North America, having already achieved World Cup qualification as runners-up to Georgia in the Rugby Europe Championship
- 21-year-old hooker Álvaro García retains the captaincy despite the return of tighthead prop Jon Zabala, seven years his senior… both play their rugby in the French Top 14 with Stade Français and Pau respectively… a handful of others based with top flight French clubs are absent, most notably Toulouse prop Joel Merkler, Bayonne lock Manex Ariceta, and Toulon outside back Alberto Carmona
- nine starters return from the Spain lineup that came up three points short against the Eagles in Madrid this past November… on paper it’s a stronger selection on Saturday… only six of the USA starters on that day do so again, and just two of them forwards in Vili Helu and Cory Daniel
- Scott Lawrence has largely kept his team intact after the win over Belgium, showing just two injury-enforced changes to the run-on side… Sam Golla and Tavite Lopeti are ruled out, replaced by Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz and Tom Pittman respectively
- the return of Fa’anana-Scholtz sees a reshuffle in the pack, with Vili Helu starting at lock and new captain Benjamín Bonasso shifting over to the blindside flank
- Pittman is one of two debutants in the 23, and played his club rugby with Chartes in France this past season… the right-footed kicker will move to Major League Rugby with Anthem in 2026… the other newcomer is San Diego flanker Christian Poidevin, son of former Wallabies captain Simon Poidevin
- Ezekiel Lindenmuth was initially named as a replacement with the team seemingly confused about his eligibility… the loosehead prop played for Samoa on July 16 of 2022, and will be free to switch to the USA in time for next week’s test against England
| QUOTES |
Scott Lawrence (Head Coach)
“Last week was reflective of where we are as a team going into the first test match, our collective instincts are something to focus on when we first come together. Overall we’re happy with our set piece performance, and having under 10 penalties for the first test match is reasonable discipline, so if we can continue to win the set piece and discipline we’ll have a good outcome. We place a big emphasis on competition within the squad, we think these guys competed well this week in training.”
| PREDICTION |
With no travel commitments during the week the Eagles should be well rested from the run-out against Belgium. American fans will be looking closely at Pittman, who emerged as a surprise selection when the training squad was announced a month ago. The loss of Golla is significant but Fa’anana-Schultz brings size and physicality to the back row. Spain look a quality outfit this time around and are bolstered by García and Zabala in the scrum. Whether they can crack a punishing Eagles defense remains to be seen. USA are slight favorites at home.
| TEAMS |
USA
1 Jack Iscaro, 2 Shilo Klein, 3 Tonga Kofe, 4 Marno Redelinghuys, 5 Vili Helu, 6 Benjamín Bonasso (capt.), 7 Cory Daniel, 8 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, 9 Ruben de Haas, 10 AJ MacGinty, 11 Nate Augspurger, 12 Tom Pittman, 13 Dom Besag, 14 Toby Fricker, 15 Mitch Wilson
Replacements: 16 Kapeli Pifeleti, 17 Payton Telea-Ilalio, 18 Pono Davis, 19 Tevita Naqali, 20 Christian Poidevin, 21 JP Smith, 22 Erich Storti, 23 Lauina Futi
SPAIN
1 Bernardo Vázquez, 2 Álvaro García (capt.), 3 Jon Zabala, 4 Matt Foulds, 5 Asier Usárraga, 6 Ignacio Piñeiro, 7 Matheo Triki, 8 Raphaël Nieto, 9 Tani Bay, 10 Gonzalo Vinuesa, 11 Gauthier Minguillón, 12 Gonzalo López, 13 Álvar Gimeno, 14 Martiniano Cian, 15 JW Bell
Replacements: 16 Vicente Del Hoyo, 17 Thierry Futeu, 18 Joaquín Domínguez, 19 Marc Sánchez, 20 Ekain Imaz, 21 Kerman Aurrekotxea, 22 Iñaki Mateu, 23 Pau Aira
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, July 12
Venue: American Legion Memorial Stadium, Charlotte
Kickoff: 19:30 local (16:30 Pacific, Sunday 01:30 Spain)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 84°F (29°C), wind W 7-10mph (11-16km/h)
Broadcasts: Paramount+ (USA), RugbyPass TV
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Morné Ferreira (South Africa)
Assistants: Sam Grove-White (Scotland) & Robin Kaluzniak (Canada)
TMO: Cam Russell (Canada)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (5): USA 5, Spain 0
2024-11-23 – Spain 23, USA 26 (Madrid)
2023-11-18 – Spain 12, USA 42 (La Vila)
2003-04-27 – USA 58, Spain 13 (Fort Lauderdale)
2003-04-12 – Spain 13, USA 62 (Madrid)
1998-04-12 – Spain 3, USA 49 (El Puerto de Santa María)
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