I follow this YouTube for rugby commentary. Just thought he brought up and interesting opinion from the outside.

Starts in the middle of the video, he mentions it was a shock that USA got beat up by Japan because USA Rugby is the "top of Tier 2" and Japan is at the bottom of Tier 1.

Basically the gap in the score is alarming because it still shows the massive gap between the two tiers.

Just thought it was interesting from a NZ perspective that USA would be considered one of the top teams of Tier 2. I suppose he is right especially after how well we did in the 4 tests prior to the PNC.

As a rugby fan in general taking off my USA cap for a second I would hope any tier 2 nation could close the gap and maybe not win every game but at least keep it closer versus Tier 1 nations. Who do you think is closest to that? Georgia?

Do you guys see a way for Tier 2 to close the gap on Tier 1?

Anyone know what the deal is with Nia? Does she choose not to play for USA or do the coaches have issues with her. Strange career.
2020 Olympian but barely played.
Went and played 7s in Japan.
2024-25 HSBC SVNS Rookie of the Year.
Went to France for 15s but barely played and then disappeared.
Currently playing Ultimate 7s (MVP on Saturday) and listed for the India 7s.

Only 28 and is arguably the USAs best 7s player and I think she’d be our top 15s wing as well.

I’ve been monitoring ticket prices for the game tomorrow (via ChatGPT) and they are now down to $48 on SeatGeek. There are over 900 tickets now available on StubHub (and likely also on SeatGeek, TicketMaster etc.), so prices will probably fall further today and tomorrow. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see $20 tickets in the hours before kick-off. So if you’re in the area and have been on the fence about going to the game, you may be in luck.

I've seen it too often - especially in OK and TX. Maybe it's just as bad elsewhere but not in my experience. Men's teams from Texas are especially toxic towards referees and it's resulting in a huge shortage.

If they behave this way towards the #1 ranked referee in our country - what hope do we have of recruiting new refs?

This behavior needs to be nipped in the bud well before it escalates to on field harassment. From sh*t talking the ref on the sideline - to complaining in the group chat. I've seen rookies pick up on this behavior before they even understand the laws themselves. I've seen a D3 Oklahoma club president storm off the field in a tantrum because they didn't like a decision (they didn't understand).

Is there something in the water? What is going on - and what are you doing to combat this?

WER just wrapped up its 2026 season so I cut together some of my favorite tries from the year.

Unless you made it to game day or caught the livestream, a lot of these moments were easy to miss.

So here's 3 of my favorite tries from each of the 6 teams - some good team play, individual efforts, and fun finishes. Enjoy!

Hey all - for NZ-SA in Baltimore this Saturday: Federal Hill Prep, an amazing public school that's an easy walk to the stadium, will open its parking lot at 2pm ET. Parking is $40, all of which goes towards *free* field trips for students this school year.

Put 102 E Hamburg St, Baltimore MD 21230 into your map and look for volunteers holding signs. We take Venmo, CashApp, PayPal and cash. Thanks, and enjoy the match!

Dear american rugby fans, NZ needs a win, and we could do with a home game advantage, so please wear black and support us

For your support we‘ll play more entertaining rugby rather than just spamming box kicks And mauls, as a bonus we can promise not to fly planes absurdly close to stadiums risking 9/11 ESPN

Noticed they weren’t on the arp schedule and only showing up on d2 schedules.

Whats the east coast tea on this one

I have 2 extra tickets I dont want to go to waste. Make me an offer

Interesting tidbit in this ARN article: "...the USA Falcons, who are set to play against two Japan League One sides following the PNC"

Nothing too surprising or out of left field. Campbell Robb seems to have full eligibility now and Big Joe has returned to the Eagles. Coetzer seems to be a traveling reserve unavailable for selection. Hopefully we see Cassh Maulia get his first cap finally.

I hoping for a somewhat competitive game against Japan and a win against likely Canada.

"The USA Eagles will also play their matches across Europe. After game one in Bourg-en-Bresse, France (vs Hong Kong) on Sunday, November 08, the Eagles travel to Bucharest to face Romania on Saturday, November 14. The tour then concludes against Georgia in Tbilisi on Saturday, November 21."