Peterson starts for USA on Saturday

Thursday 10 November 2022 Written by: Adam


Peterson was on the bench for Sunday’s 68-14 victory over Kenya, with Portugal also vying for the last remaining place at Rugby World Cup 2023.

Saturday’s game kicks off at 2.30pm UK time, with the Eagles once again led by former Newcastle Falcons coach Gary Gold.

“The first match against Kenya was a good marker for us, I think we came out of the gate a little scattered for the first 20-odd minutes but I’m happy with the composure we built going forward from there,” said Gold.

“We’ve gone through our analysis this week, both on Hong Kong but more so on our own systems and training sessions. Improving discipline and keeping the offensive pressure against Hong Kong will be key as we progress and hope to keep ourselves at the top of the points table.

“It’s been a great training week so far, coming off a win is always a positive and with five new guys joining the USA Eagle ranks, team culture and pride in the squad is excitingly high.

“We still have quite a bit of work to do before we can rest assured, however myself, the coaches and the team are pleased with where we stand as a group, both on and off the pitch.”

USA end their qualifying competition on Friday November 18 when they take on Portugal, also in Dubai. Once all games are completed, the team with the highest number of group points will progress to take up the last place at France 2023.