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| All the teams participated in a nice tribute to Nelson Mandela prior to the match. |
The U.S. put themselves in a big hole just a little over a minute into the match. Carlin Isles did well to chase down a Portuguese player but did not play the ball correctly and preventing Portugal from playing the ball. Referee Marius van der Westhuizen wasted no time in sending Isles to the bin. Portugal took immediate advantage to score.
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With the man advantage Portugal then added to their lead. Portugal won the restart and the U.S. missed some crucial tackles giving David Mateus an easy stroll in. At this point Isles returned and Steve Tomasin came on the pitch but it didn't do anything to stem the tide as Portugal scored their third try of the half to make it 21-0 at the break.
The second half started in disastrous fashion for the Eagles. Zack Test batted back the restart all they way back to the try line. Isles then mishandled the ball allowing Portugal's Carl Murray to simply fall on the ball for the try.
It was a complete blowout, however. Carlin Isles scored a very nice try a minute later. Channelling his inner Taku Ngwenya he burst down the sideline before cutting back to beat the Portugal defense to score. Folau Niua then made it 28-10 a minute later. Finally seeing possession the Niua took advantage of a Portuguese penalty to tap and score the quick try.
The Eagles would even get a third try in the match to make things interesting. Andrew Durutalo did well to rip the ball out of a Portugese players hands. Some quick passing out to Niua allowed him to take a great line and run under for the score. This time the conversion was good making it 28-17. However, all the Eagles tries came too late. Portugal was able to kill off the match with one late try.
It was a very poor way to end the day. The Eagles were starved of possession in the first half and their defense was the worst of the day. Against a country like New Zealand you expect the opponent to find easy holes in your defense but not against Portugal. Credit must be given to the Portuguese who had a very strong day but the U.S. should have done better.
Making things even worse for the Eagles is the face that with Portugal making the Cup quarterfinals the U.S. have now lost even more points in the Series standings. They will need a big effort on day two in order to make life easier for themselves later. The U.S. will play Spain tomorrow in the Cup QFs at 5:17 a.m. et/2:17 a.m. pt.
Starters: Isles, Edwards, Durutalo, Test, Thompson, Niua, Haitsuka
Subs Used: Tomasin, Craigwell