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The US is due to square off with old rivals Canada later in the summer in the opening rounds of the Americas zone qualifying series.
The Eagles will look to turn the tables on our friends to the north, and oh by the way, the Canucks have a commanding 31-11-1 record in head-to-heads against the US.
We all remember that fateful day in August 2006 in St John’s, Newfoundland, when the Eagles were sent packing after suffering their biggest ever drubbing by the Canadians.
That loss forced the US into a two-game series with Uruguay that the Eagles swept en route to the Americas #2 seed for RWC 2007, but it also put them into a pretty tough pool.
There is some debate now as to which pool would be best suited to the USA making a run at the quarterfinals in 2011.
If the Eagles were to earn the Americas #1 seed and slot into Pool A, they would go up against New Zealand and France, two games that even the most ardent American fan would concede they have no shot in, but they would also play Tonga and Asia #1, presumably Japan.
If recent history is any gauge then those two games might be tough to win as well.
If they lose to Canada and eventually end up as Americas #2 they would go into Pool C and again the Americans wouldn’t catch a break as they’d line up against Australia, Ireland, Italy, and Europe #2, which could possibly be Romania, Georgia, or Russia.
And as those three European sides are currently ranked above the US, life could be tough going that route too.
Irrespective of which school of thought one subscribes to, the bottom line is that Scott Johnson’s charges naturally will be aiming to knock off the Canadians, if for no other reason than to snap their losing streak in the CanAm series.
The first game of the home-and-home series is set for Glendale, CO, on July 4th with the return match a week later in Edmonton, Alberta.
There is the chance that we could see another USA - Canada clash in the Barclays Churchill Cup prior to that series, and if that’s the case, the Eagles of course would strive to win that one for obvious psychological reasons.
So with all of that in mind, Coach Johnson and his staff will be thinking about who’s going to be in the squad, and for the first time in a long time they have options because the US is fairly deep in some key positions, in particular the back-row and halves.
The back-row brims with talent with the likes of Todd Clever, Pat Quinn, Hayden Smith, John Van der Giessen, Louis Stanfill, Rikus Pretorius, Ben Wiedemer, Kevin Sheahan and Scott Lavalla, who are all just flat out good.
Chad Erskine, Mike Petri, and Robbie Shaw are excellent scrumhalves, while at flyhalf, Mike Hercus and Nese Malifa are clever playmakers with Hanno Dirksen a young up and comer.
Throw into the mix experienced campaigners such as Mike MacDonald and Mark Crick in the front row, as well as Chris Wyles, Paul Emerick, and Albert Tuipulotu in the backs, plus the likes of Joe Welch at hooker or flanker, and the US has the makings of a very competitive team.
It’s early days of course, and injuries and player unavailability may play a role in Eagle lineups in 2009, but we can feel confident in the knowledge that the US should be able to put its best foot forward in a year when it really matters.
