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| Photo: Martin Bennett |
Make no mistake, the Eagles were thoroughly defeated by Tonga last Saturday in Gloucester. Tonga were lethal on the counterattack while the U.S. were their own worst enemy at times. That is reflected in our player grades. At the same time, the Eagles did do some nice things in the match and if you take out their disastrous 10 minute spell in the second half the match was fairly even. At times their defense and their ability to finish were good. That's also reflected in our grades making this one of the most difficult matches to judge.
Folau Niua (6.5)--For the second match in a row Niua did well at fullback. He still has a lot to learn and his tactical kicking was so-so at times but overall he was one of the better players for the Eagles. He stepped up and kicked accurately but wasn't trusted from long distances.
Tim Maupin (4.5)--After coming back into the line-up after a spell away it was not a match that Maupin would like to remember. He had an error that led to a Tongan try and his defense wasn't where it needed to be.
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Seamus Kelly (5)--Kelly hasn't been doing a lot to justify a starting place once Niua returns to the centers. Defensively he's still off a bit and he needs to get more involved in the match.
Andrew Suniula (5)--Like Kelly, Suniula didn't have the best day. The lack of regular time outside of the Eagles seems to be catching up with him.
Tim Stanfill (5.5)--Another start and another try for Stanfill. He has a great ability to put himself in the right positions. That said, he still has a lot to learn defensively.
Shalom Suniula (6)--Suniula was called on to fill Adam Siddall's shoes and did alright. The Eagles offense wasn't the problem on the day and in fact they looked good at times going forward.
Mike Petri (6)--Similar to Suniula, Petri deserves some credit for getting the Eagles offense going most of the time.
Matt Trouville (5)--Trouville is a solid player but hasn't done enough to really put him ahead of others once other players are healthy or released by their clubs. The U.S. has had back-row players that can really make an impact on the game, Trouville didn't have that same impact.
John Quill (5)--What we said for Trouville can be replicated for Quill except that Quill has a little bit better of an ability to change a game.
Scott LaValla (6.5)--LaValla's grade is one of the most difficult to give. He was a solid captain on the day and in general made the hard runs on offense and led defensively. You could even argue that his yellow card was a smart move because it essentially saved a try.
Greg Peterson (6)--After only two games we're big fans of Peterson. He has a solid rugby IQ and does a lot of the little things well. Given more time he could allow Samu Manoa to move to No. 8 giving the U.S. a very solid second and third rows.
John Cullen (5.5)--Cullen showed a lot of athleticism in the match and made an impact but not a consistent impact. Still, on a day when others slid backward he moved forward.
Mate Moeakiola (5)--The difficulty in grading all the forwards is that outside of the scrum they did reasonably well. The scrum was a let down again but it wasn't as bad as Romania which is a positive. Moeakiola helped in that area but the scrum still led to points for Tonga.
Phil Thiel (5)--The lineout was improved in this match over the last few weeks with a lot of credit to Thiel for nailing almost all of his throws. However, his one miss throw did prove costly.
Nick Wallace (5)--Wallace is struggling in the scrum at the international level. He does enough nice things to justify his selection but he needs to be better.
Subs
Tai Tuisamoa, 23 minutes (5)--Tuisamoa came in and kept the level up, which was good to see. He, like all of the subs, had a hard time making an impact by the time he came into the match.
Thretton Palamo, 23 minutes (5)--A mixed return for Palamo to the Eagles. He made a solid impact on defense once again but also make mistakes that cost his team.
Todd Clever, 18 minutes (5.5)--Clever was relatively quiet after coming on with a little less than 20 minutes to go. Still, he showed why he usually starts.
Tom Coolican, 18 minutes (5.5)--Coolican was active in coming off the bench and the lineout was decent and the scrum improved. Still, there are few moments each match which make you scratch your head.
Kyle Sumsion, 16 minutes (5)--For some reason Sumsion hasn't earned more playing time after a strong ARC. He's shown a lot of improvement over the last year and hopefully he's given a chance against Fiji. Against Tonga he did well in his limited minutes.
Ben Tarr, 15 minutes (5)--The game had slowed down considerably by the time Tarr entered on his debut but he did reasonably well for a very young player.