Email
The US Eagles won for the first time in the calendar year on Saturday, a last-minute penalty from the fly-half Adam Siddall securing a 25-23 victory over Georgia. Prior to the game in Rustavi, in 2013 Mike Tolkin's team had lost Pacific Nations Cup matches to Canada, Tonga, Fiji and Japan, a June tour Test to Ireland, two World Cup qualifiers to Canada and a highly entertaining game against the Maori All Blacks in Philadelphia last week.
Siddall kicked the winning penalty from 40 metres out, minutes after a penalty from Georgia's Merab Kvirikashvili seemed to have won the game for the home team, who entered the game ranked 16th in the world, two places ahead of the 18th-ranked Eagles in the International Rugby Board standings.
Kvirikashvili scored a try and kicked 13 points for Georgia, whose other try was scored by Merab Sharikadze. The Eagles' tries came from two backs based with English clubs, the Saracens full-back Chris Wyles and Leicester wing Blaine Scully, and the prop Nick Wallace – who ran his score in from 40m. Siddall, who moved up from full-back to make his first Test start at fly-half after regular No10 Toby L'Estrange sustained an injury against the Maori, kicked two conversions and two penalties for a 10-point haul.
Before Saturday, the Eagles' last victory had come against Romania in Bucharest last November. On Saturday Romania won 21-20 against Canada, who lost 19-15 to Georgia the week before. Tolkin's team will conclude their fall schedule in London next Saturday, when they play Russia at Allianz Park, the home of Saracens. Russia played against Japan in north Wales on Friday evening, losing 40-13.
USA: C Wyles; B Scully, F Niua, A Suniula, T Maupin; A Siddall, M Petri; N Wallace, P Thiel, S Pittman, G Harriman, S Manoa, T Clever (capt), C Dolan, D Asbun. Replacements: Z Fenoglio, O Kilifi, E Fry, I Basauri, J Quill, S Davies, S Kelly, L Hume.
;