USA Eagles beat Russia for close win - Rugby World Cup News
The United States beat the Russian side with an unimpressive victory of 13-6 to bag their first victory in the Rugby World Cup 2011 at New Plymouth on September 15. Both sides struggled with the handling of the ball and gave almost nothing to the spectators.
Mike Petri scored the only try of the match for the USA Eagles.
United States made three changes in its side that faced an early defeat in the Rugby World Cup at the hands of Ireland on September 11 at the same venue. Matekitonga Moeakiola and Chris Biller were dropped from the side after an unimpressive run in the inaugural
game for the USA.
Russia, which is making debut in the RWC, also tried a few changes in its line-up but it did not seem to benefit them. The sides have met on three occassions before this match and United States managed to carry the day on each match. Previously, the teams
faced each other in the Churchill Cup in June and US Eagles tamed the rivals by a healthy margin of 32-25.
Russia surprised the Eagles with an early surge in the game as they took the initial lead on a penalty goal. Yuri Kushnarev was the man to give the psychological boost to his side just in the second minute of the match.
Chris Wyles eased the Eagles with a return try in the 12th minute of the match and picked his side up for the remaining match. Russia lost the momentum of game and made a anumber of errors afterwards. They seemed to struggle at the scrums, passing
and defence.
Meanwhile, Eagles also played a slow game, making things difficult against a meagre side from Russia. Mike Petri brought some life to the match as he scored the only try of the match in the 19th minute of the match. Wyles helped him with a conversion
goal and extended the US lead to 10-3 in the middle of first half.
The sides scored one penalty goal each in the second-half and left the crowd disappointed with their sluggish play. It was a testing but ultimately easy victory for the United States.
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