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There are two things the Eagles roster for Tonga tells us: 1) playing regularly matters, and 2) an eye is already being put toward post 2015. Prior to this fall tour few would have thought they would see the likes of Mate Moeakiola, Greg Peterson, Roland Suniula, or even Ronnie McLean in an Eagles jersey again or for the first time. However, all four have now been a part of the Eagles in the last two matches with Moeakiola and Peterson set to start against Tonga. All four players prove that getting regular time with your club, at no matter what level, is extremely important.
Peterson is the outlier in this situation having played for the Waratahs once and being a regular and captain for Manly in the Shute Shield and the North Harbour Rays in the National Rugby Championship. However, for Moeakiola, Suniula, and McLean they don't play in any league that is considered full time. Moeakiola and Suniula have both spent the last two years in the Federale 1 while McLean is coming from the National League One. Both of those leagues are not considered to have full time professionals and many players have other jobs. All three, however, have experience playing full time.
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The complaint amongst domestic players has been that they are always passed over for U.S.-eligible players or players that play in Europe. Those accusations have gone down under Mike Tolkin but they still persist to a certain degree. The reason why many of these players have been chosen is because they are playing consistently. The National League One plays 30 games a year. There is no club in the U.S. that is doing that. So when Tolkin needs a player as cover it's easy for him to pick a player that has been playing regularly and not one that has only had a handful of matches in the fall. The PRP and ARP are improvements but it's still not at the level players would get playing in France or England.
Having a robust domestic pool as well as a European/Southern Hemisphere pool of fringe players is a good thing for the Eagles in the long term. The Eagles need to be casting their net as wide as possible from both at home and overseas. Without a professional league Americans are going to head all over the globe to gain experience. The U.S. also can't be picky about how someone qualifies for the U.S. as long as they have a desire to play for the Eagles. Both Peterson and McLean have that desire.
The Eagles have ramped up their domestic program recently with a number of domestic assemblies. More are planned for the upcoming year with possible matches against Canada 'A' or other teams, like an Argentinian provincial team. Still, with players like Suniula, Moeakiola, McLean, Will Magie, Tom Bliss, and others working their way through the lower or developmental leagues or Europe maybe some thought should be given to have camps in Europe where these players can become more familiar with the U.S. system. It gets expensive but with more money coming into the Eagles with higher gates it's not out of the realm of possibility. Plus, they would only have to travel to France or England, not across the Atlantic. This group of European-based Eagles could even play a match against an opponent like Germany or a reserve side of a club to test their ability.
The other important thing about this weekend's team is Tolkin's willingness to go with youth. Once again young Ben Tarr is on the bench, this time joined by Angus MacLellan. Even though neither of them may play much, going on tour is only going to help their progression. Look at what going on tour has done for players in the past like Kyle Sumsion or Seamus Kelly. Introducing a player to the rigors of international play early is only going to be a positive. Not only will it set the benchmark for their training at home but it will also raise the level of play as they take more professional attitudes into age grade play.
This fall is about wins and losses for the Eagles but it's also about ensuring they have the best group for next year's World Cup. It's hard to argue that they aren't making the most of not having their Premiership players available. Win or lose against Tonga Tolkin is going to know what he has going forward and that's a good thing.