Romanian Rugby stunned the United States at SeatGeek Stadium in Chicago on July 5. The Oaks overcame a late American try with two penalty kicks to win 22-20.
AJ McGinty scored a try in the 49th minute to give the USA the lead, but had two penalty kick chances to give the Eagles the lead with three minutes left, but missed both, and Romania won the Pershing Cup.
The U.S. will need to bounce back quickly as they face Scotland on July 12 in Washington, D.C., streamed on the FloRugby and FloSports apps.
Let’s take a look back at the USA Rugby vs. Romania match below.
US Rugby misses penalty kick in final seconds, Romania wins 22-20
In the final minute of extra time, AJ McGinty’s kick put the USA ahead by one point over Romania.
US Rugby can’t take advantage of Romania’s yellow card
AJ McGinty missed a penalty kick that would have given the Eagles a one-point lead with four minutes left in the game.
Don’t miss the final 10 minutes of the USA vs Romania rugby match
With 10 minutes left, USA Rugby is down 2 points to Romania. Watch the game live!
Live in the moment · Today 12:00 AM UTC
2024 America Series: USA vs Romania
Romanian Rugby takes the lead in the 68th minute. Romania 22, USA 20
Romania added three more points to give the Eagles a two-point lead.
Romanian rugby fights back, loses 20-19 to USA
Romania scored another penalty with about 15 minutes left in the game to bring them within one point again.
USA Rugby adds 3 points, Eagles 20, Romania 16
AJ McGinty converted a penalty kick in the 61st minute to give the U.S. a four-goal lead.
Romanian Rugby narrows lead; USA 17, Romania 16
In the Chicago game, Romania pulled within one point after scoring a penalty kick in the 59th minute to make it 17-16.
AJ McGinty leads USA Rugby. Eagles 17, Romania 13
AJ McGinty scored a try in the 49th minute and he also added another point to secure the win.
Romanian Rugby takes lead on penalty kicks, Romania 13 – USA 10
Romania scored a penalty kick three minutes into the second half to take a 13-10 lead.
The second half of the USA vs Romania rugby match begins
The second half began with the game tied at 10-10.
Romania Rugby misses chance to take lead. USA Rugby 10, Romania 10
Romania missed a penalty kick in the dying seconds of the game, and the U.S. defense held on in extra time to end the first half.
USA Rugby kicks to a 10-10 draw with Romania
The U.S. tied the game against Romania with a penalty kick from AJ McGinty in the 26th minute.
Romanian rugby takes the lead for the first time. Romania 10, USA 7
Romania converted the penalty to take a 10-7 lead over the United States.
Romanian rugby hits back early. USA 7, Romania 7
Tevita Manumua scored a try inside the first 10 minutes to help tie the game at 7-7.
USA Rugby takes lead after 3 minutes
The Eagles took the lead about five minutes and 30 seconds into the match with a try from Jamerson Fa’anana Schultz and a successful conversion from AJ McGinty to give Romania a 7-0 lead.
USA Rugby vs Romania kicks off
Kickoff is underway in Chicago with the US rugby team aiming to beat Romania.
At home🏟️
🔜 USA vs Romania
⏰ 8PM ET
📍 Seat Geek Stadium
📺 Flo Rugby pic.twitter.com/VeDor8ckiH— USA Rugby (@USARugby) July 5, 2024
USA Rugby will have the edge against Romania
Yes, Romania has qualified for the Rugby World Cup in 2023. No, Romania did not actually qualify for the Rugby World Cup.
It’s complicated. And that was clear.
Romania qualified for the 2023 Rugby World Cup after Spain was disqualified for using ineligible players. The national team makes no apologies for qualifying for the Rugby World Cup, but lost three games by a combined total of 242-8 to current first and second-placed South Africa and Ireland, who meet on July 6, and Scotland.
That’s not a typo.
But the U.S. failed to qualify for the Rugby World Cup in November 2022 after a hard-fought 16-16 draw with Portugal, eliminating the U.S. from its sixth consecutive appearance in the tournament.
So, even though they will be playing the national team that played in France in 2023, Bendon said the U.S. has a huge advantage over Romania.
“There’s a very good chance they’ll win that game,” Bendon said. “Head-to-head, talent-wise, the U.S. is a better team than Romania.”
USA vs Romania Rugby Lineup: Who is in the starting lineup for USA Rugby?
The Eagles are ready for Romania.
🗓️ Friday, July 5 at 8pm ET
📺Flo Rugby
🎟️ https://t.co/XVJMRigava pic.twitter.com/4RPwaEVi65— USA Rugby (@USARugby) July 4, 2024
USA vs Romania rugby lineup: Who will start for Romania?
🇺🇸🇹🇩 #Stealth carefully rugby The controversy occurred at 3am (Romanian) in Chicago’s SeatGeek Stadium 👉 https://t.co/jy1ZOBu1qP.
📹💻 Please check back on the RugbyRomania Facebook page for Romanian territory.#TotiPentruRomania pic.twitter.com/sq4M1EngyT
— Rugby Romania (@RugbyRomania) July 5, 2024
USA Rugby Kit for Romania
The calm before the storm ⛈️
🔜 USA vs Romania
⏰ 8PM ET
📍 Seat Geek Stadium
📺 Flo Rugby pic.twitter.com/ggkOghQ60S— USA Rugby (@USARugby) July 5, 2024
History of USA Rugby vs Romania
The matchup is part of the America Series and continues the rivalry between the United States and Romania. It marks the 100th anniversary of the U.S. vs. Romania game at the 1924 Paris Olympics and takes place the day after the Fourth of July.
The 1924 U.S. gold medal win was largely due to a win over eventual bronze medalist Romania. The Eagles were heavily underdogs in the game against Romania, but Charles Dorr scored 13 points and the U.S. won 37-0 and then defeated France 17-3 in the gold medal game.
Watch the USA Rugby promotional video before the match against Romania
USA Rugby posted a promotional video ahead of their match against Romania.
A big day in the Windy City, Chicago 🇺🇸
🗓️ Friday, July 5 at 8pm ET
📺Flo Rugby
🎟️ https://t.co/XVJMRigava pic.twitter.com/vqWTWUdcLG— USA Rugby (@USARugby) July 5, 2024
How to watch the USA vs Romania rugby match
The USA Rugby vs. Romania match will be streamed on the FloRugby and FloSports apps. Match replays, highlights and breaking news will be available on both platforms.
USA vs Scotland rugby in July 2024
The USA will host Scotland at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. on July 12 at 5:30 p.m. The match will be streamed on FloRugby and the FloSports app.
USA Rugby Schedule 2024
- July 5: USA vs. Romania, SeatGeek Stadium, 8 p.m. ET
- July 12: USA vs. Scotland, Audi Field, 5:30 p.m. ET
- Nov. 15: USA vs. Tonga, 6 p.m. ET
Romania Ruby Schedule 2024
- July 5: USA vs. Romania, SeatGeek Stadium, Chicago, 7 p.m. ET
- July 12: Canada vs. Romania, TD Place, Ottawa, 7 p.m. ET
USA Rugby World Rankings
The Eagles are ranked 17th in World Rugby with 67.94 points. Romania is 20th with 61.66 points.
World Rugby Rankings as of July 1st
The latest World Rugby rankings are as follows:
- South Africa, 94.54
- Ireland, 90.69
- New Zealand, 89.80
- France, 87.92
- England, 85.75
- Scotland, 82.82
- Argentina, 80.68
- Italy, 79.41
- Australia, 77.48
- Wales, 77.26
The complete rankings are here.
How to watch USA rugby matches with FloRugby
URC will stream all matches on its FloRugby and FloSports apps in the U.S. FloRugby and FloSports are also home to the following services in the U.S.:
FloRugby also houses match archives and match replays.
