Advertisement
M. Baska (22'), M. O’Keeffe (40')
Tries
D. Pietsch (3', 71'), N. Frost (7'), J. Brial (19'), M. Faessler (33'), N. Hastie (43'), K. Pritchard (47'), H. McLaughlin-Phillips (62'), T. Ryan (73')
C. Hilsenbeck (23')
Conversions
T. Edmed (4', 20', 34', 44', 48'), H. McLaughlin-Phillips (63', 72', 74')
This told us less about the scoreboard and more about selection. Australia A travelled with an all-Wallaby tight five and a settled 9–10, and the game bent to that reality even after going a man down. The platform held, the tempo stayed theirs, and once the collisions and set piece were theirs, the points arrived on repeat.
For USA, this was a stress test for new combinations against Test-class opposition. It looked exactly like that: a lot of honest work in defence, a couple of bright strikes, but not enough accuracy in exits or lineout to stay in the arm-wrestle. When you blood a halves pairing at this level against a unit led by senior Wallabies, you need perfect basics. They didn’t get them.
The tilt was there before kick-off. Hooker Matt Faessler captained an Australian tight five of Tom Robertson, Zane Nonggorr, Miles Amatosero and Nick Frost – all Test-capped, all comfortable policing the gain line and the clean-out. Behind them, Nathan Hastie and Tane Edmed ran the field-position game against a new USA axis of Oscar Lennon and Chris Hilsenbeck. That spine dictated who played where on the park, and for how long.
Even the red card – David Feliuai gone on 14 minutes – didn’t flip the script. Australia A simply tightened their pictures with 14, took no risks in their own half and made the big men do the work. The numbers are blunt about what followed: perfect Australian lineout ball, clean scrum possession, 65% of the pill and a USA defensive shift that turned into a survival exercise.
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAKS
TACKLE
TACKLES MISSED
TURNOVERS WON
PENALTIES CONCEDED
RED CARDS
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
There was nothing subtle about the way the winners got home. Frost carried like an extra loose forward (23 carries, 85 metres) and his second-row partner Amatosero kept the ball alive with deft touches. Nonggorr and Robertson gave Faessler an unflustered platform, and the captain picked his moments to punch and tidy. In the back row, Joe Brial was the tone-setter on both sides of the ball, regularly winning the gain line and cashing in with a first-half score. When the contest could have tightened just after the break, Hastie sniped off front-foot ball to kill the jeopardy, and debutant Kadin Pritchard – playing his first senior game in gold – was busy and brave, racking up touches, offloading through contact and finishing his try smartly. Out wide, Dylan Pietsch finished a brace and Tim Ryan iced it late; Edmed steered with a cold eye, then Harry McLaughlin-Phillips came on and looked comfortable running the same map, grabbing a try and three extras.
USA’s best passages came when they could flip kick pressure into broken field. Michael Baska struck from the backfield and Mark O’Keeffe grabbed one on the edge, while Tavite Lopeti carried with intent. Up front, captain Jason Damm and Makeen Alikhan worked themselves to a standstill, and Paddy Ryan hit a mountain of tackles. But the defensive load (223 tackles) spoke to the real problem: too many minutes without the ball in the wrong parts of the pitch. The lineout wobbled under Australian pressure and the new halves pairing never found repeatable exits against an organised backfield, especially once replacements shuffled the deck. There were flashes – Nathan den Hoedt competed well and the bench added starch – but flashes don’t chase a game when your set piece is at 74% and you’re living on scraps.
Does 61–12 flatter Australia A? Not really. You don’t bank nine tries with 65% possession, a 100% lineout and 100% scrum because the bounce loves you; you do it because your pack is too cohesive and your decision-makers put the ball in ruthless places. If anything, the winners’ review will have a red circle around discipline – a first-half red card and double-digit penalties are an anchor they won’t lug around happily – and a note about depth at 10. Edmed was assured, and McLaughlin-Phillips made a lively case, but with Tom Lynagh absent the pecking order is still live across this tour.
For Australia A, this is exactly what Stephen Larkham wanted from a USA swing: leaders leading, fringe players asking hard questions, and an engine room that travels. Pritchard, Brial and Ryan added heat to selection conversations, while the all-Wallaby tight five gave the shape to let it happen. New Jersey next week is another chance to bank cohesion and test combinations under control.
For USA, it stung but it served its purpose. Scott Lawrence put newer faces in key shirts and got a true reading on the gap to Test-class packs and experienced spines. The takeaways are clear: tighten the lineout detail, find exit certainty at 9–10 and stop giving up cheap territory. There was fight and a couple of sharp finishes, but this level is about taking the kick, the throw and the next ruck with the same accuracy, every time. They’ll be better for feeling exactly how unforgiving that standard is as the Nations Cup comes into view.
