The United States national rugby union team has played in all but two Rugby World Cups since the inaugural tournament in 1987. The USA is the strongest national rugby side in North America, and the second strongest in the Americas after the Argentina national rugby team.

The U.S. has played in eight World Cups from the inaugural 1987 tournament to the 2019 tournament—all but the 1995 and 2023 World Cups. The team's best result so far has been to win one game—which they accomplished in 1987, 2003, and 2011.

The U.S. is set to host the Rugby World Cup in 2031.

Summary of results by tournament

Summary of results by opponent

Against Played Won Lost Drawn Win % 1 0 1 0 0 3 0 3 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 4 0 4 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 3 2 1 0 67 1 1 0 0 100 1 0 1 0 0Total 29 3 26 0 10.3%

Notes: Results current through end of 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Qualifying

The U.S. has qualified for every World Cup, except for the 1995 and 2023 tournaments.

RWC Record Defeated Lost to Qualifying method 1987 — No qualifying competition; all 16 participating nations were invited. 1991 1–3 Canada (14–12) Argentina (6–13, 6–23); Canada (3–21) Finished third of three teams in Americas qualifying. 1995 1–2 Bermuda (60–3) Failed to qualify: Lost to Argentina 44–33 in a two-game series. 1999 1–2 Uruguay (21–16) Argentina (24–52); Canada (14–31) Finished third in Americas qualifying by defeating Uruguay 21–16. 2003 2–4 Uruguay (28–24); Chile (35–22) Canada (9–26, 13–36); Chile (13–21); Uruguay (9–10) Finished ahead of Chile to qualify for the repechage; Defeated Spain 120–26 in a two-game series in the repechage. 2007 3–1 Uruguay (42–13, 33–7); Barbados (91–0) Canada (7–56) Defeated Uruguay 75–20 in a two-game series. 2011 3–1 Uruguay (27–22, 27–6); Canada (12–6) Canada (18–41) Defeated Uruguay 54–28 in a two-game series. 2015 1–2–1 Uruguay (32–13) Canada (9–27, 11–13) Defeated Uruguay 59–40 in a two-game series. 2019 1–0–1 Canada (52–16) Defeated Canada 80–44 in a two-game series. 2023 5–3–1 Failed to qualify: Finished second in cross-regional playoff. 2027 1–2 Samoa (29–13) Canada (34–20); Japan (21–47) Defeated Samoa 29–13 in 2025 Pacific Nations Cup Fifth-place play-off

+ Results by Opponent Opponent Played Won Lost Percent Canada 11 2 9 18.18% Uruguay 8 7 1 87.5% Argentina 5 0 5 0% Chile 2 1 1 50% Japan 1 0 1 0% Samoa 1 1 0 100% Notes

Rugby World Cup hosting So far the USA has not hosted any Rugby World Cup games. However, the United States will host the 2031 Rugby World Cup, it will mark the first Rugby World Cup ever held in the Americas.

Team RWC records Most points scored in a single tournament: 86 (2003) Most points scored in a single match: 39 (39–26 vs. Japan in 2003) Largest margin of victory: 13 (39–26 vs. Japan in 2003)

Player RWC records

Career

+ Matches No. Player Matches 1 Mike MacDonald 11 1 Blaine Scully 11 1 Chris Wyles 11 4 Taku Ngwenya 10 4 Alec Parker 10 Updated: 2019.

+ Tackles No. Player Tackles 1 Louis Stanfill 62 2 Phil Thiel 56 3 Alec Parker 55 4 Mike MacDonald 47 5 Mike Hercus 45 Updated: 2019.

+ Points No. Player Points 1 Mike Hercus 77 2 AJ MacGinty 42 3 Chris Wyles 33 4 Kevin Dalzell 29 5 Ray Nelson 28 Updated: 2019.

Tries scored The following table shows all U.S. players that have scored two or more tries in their World Cup career, plus all active players who have scored at least one World Cup try. Player Tries ’87 ’91 ’95* ’99 ’03 ’07 ’11 ’15 ’19 Chris Wyles 4 1 1 2 Ray Nelson 3 2 1 Taku Ngwenya 3 2 1 Kort Schubert 3 3 Mike Hercus 2 2 Mike Purcell 2 2 Blaine Scully 2 2 Louis Stanfill 2 2 Mike Te'o 2 2 Riaan van Zyl 2 2 Bryce Campbell 1 1 Tony Lamborn 1 1 Titi Lamositele 1 1 Paul Lasike 1 1 Note: The U.S. failed to qualify for the 1995 Rugby World Cup. Most penalties scored: Mike Hercus, 15 (2003 & 2007)

Single tournament Most points in a single tournament: Mike Hercus, 51 (2003) Most tries in a single tournament: Kort Schubert, 3 (2003)

Individual tournaments: 1987 to present

1987 Rugby World Cup

1991 Rugby World Cup

1995 Rugby World Cup

The Americas were allotted only two teams for the 1995 tournament. Canada automatically qualified, by virtue of reaching the quarterfinals of the 1991 tournament. Only 1 place remained for the Americas qualifying, to be decided by the winner of the home-and-away series between the US and Argentina (the winner of the Americas South bracket) in 1994. In that series, the US lost their home match 22–28, and also lost their away match 11–16. With the 2–0 record and 44-33 aggregate score, Argentina secured the final qualifying spot for the Americas.

1999 Rugby World Cup

2003 Rugby World Cup

Mike Hercus was the leading points scorer for the United States - and 7th leading scorer among all players - with 51 points (2 tries, 9 penalties, 7 conversions).

2007 Rugby World Cup

2007 Squad:

Forwards: Blake Burdette, Owen Lentz, Mike MacDonald, Matekitonga Moeakiola, Chris Osentowski, Jonathan Vitale, Luke Gross, Mike Mangan, Hayden Mexted, Alec Parker, Mark Aylor, Inaki Basauri, Todd Clever, Fifita Mounga, Louis Stanfill, Henry Bloomfield, Dan Payne

Backs: Chad Erskine, Mike Petri, Mike Hercus (C), Nese Malifa, Philip Eloff, Vahafolau Esikia, Thretton Palamo, Albert Tuipulotu, Paul Emerick, Takudzwa Ngwenya, Salesi Sika, Francois Viljoen, Chris Wyles

Head Coach: Peter Thorburn

In the 2007 Rugby World Cup, the US joined England, Samoa, South Africa and Tonga in Pool A. The Eagles, ranked 13th in the world standings, lost all 4 games in Pool A, scoring 1 bonus point in the game against Samoa. Coached by New Zealander Peter Thorburn, the Eagles started off with tough match against the defending world champions England, losing 28–10. The US was then beaten by Tonga 25–15, lost to Samoa 25 – 21, and lost their final match to highly favored South Africa 64 – 15. The Eagles, however, had a major highlight in the South Africa match. After an interception and a pair of passes, Takudzwa Ngwenya sped down the sideline and outran Bryan Habana, arguably the fastest man in world rugby, to score a try that received Try of the Year honors at the 2007 IRB Awards.

2011 Rugby World Cup

11 September 2011 22–10 Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth15 September 2011 6–13 Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth23 September 2011 67–5 Regional Stadium, Wellington27 September 2011 27–10 Trafalgar Park, Nelson

Chris Wyles was the USA's leading scorer of the 2011 tournament with 18 points (1 try, 3 penalties, 2 conversions).

Mike Petri, Paul Emerick, and JJ Gagiano each scored 5 points (1 try) for the US.

30 Man Squad: Hooker: Chris Biller, Phil Thiel, Brian McClenahan Prop: Mike MacDonald, Mate Moeakiola, Shawn Pittman, Eric Fry Lock: Hayden Smith, John van der Giessen Loose: Todd Clever (c), Louis Stanfill, Nic Johnson, Scott LaValla, Patrick Danahy, JJ Gagiano, Inaki Basauri Scrumhalf: Mike Petri, Tim Usasz Flyhalf: Roland Suniula, Nese Malifa Center: Andrew Suniula, Paul Emerick, Tai Enosa, Junior Sifa Wing: Takudzwa Ngwyenya, James Paterson, Kevin Swiryn, Colin Hawley Fullback: Chris Wyles, Blaine Scully

The Eagles showed tremendous fight and power in their World Cup opening match against Ireland emotionally charged as the game coincided with the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The Irish came out strong but the Eagles were stiff in defense. The Irish suffered from poor goal kicking and were only able to gain a 3–0 lead before finally scoring their first try at the 39' mark to take a 10-0 half-time lead. The Irish came out more ready to play in the second half but still ran into stiff Eagles defense. Ultimately the Irish scored two more tries to give a final tally of 22 points. The Eagles succeeded in frustrating Irish expectations to gain a bonus point with a full strength squad and managed to post 10 points led by an interception try on full-time by Paul Emerick.

The Eagles came into the World Cup with their measuring mark for success as being a win over Russia. The Eagles did not disappoint. Russia leaped out to an early 3–0 lead after a penalty goal from inside the 22 set up by a block on a Mike Petri box kick. The Americans took a 10–3 lead into the half after a break by Andrew Suniula set up a try for Mike Petri. The kicking duty fell upon Chris Wyles who capitalized on his first kick, a deep strike in poor conditions from the 10 meter line. Wyles was also successful on a conversion and with his last attempt at goal. He did, however, miss 3 kicks at goal and a drop goal. Russia would land once more on the board to snatch a bonus point from the match but fell to the final tally of USA 13–6 Russia. Both Wyles and Mike MacDonald had amazing matches as McDonald scooped up the man of the match accolades. The Eagles were absolutely dominant at the lineout winning 7 of Russia's 13 throws and winning all 12 of their own throws. The win elevated the Eagles back up to 17th in the IRB rankings and dropped Russia one spot to 21st.

For their third match the Eagles trotted out a squad with 14 changes from the one that met Russia, ensuring that each player on the roster received a cap in the tournament. Australia got on the board early with tries at the 7- and 10-minute marks, but the Eagles answered with a JJ Gagiano try at the 22nd minute that cut the deficit to 10–5. Australia quickly responded with two more tries to take a 22–5 lead into the half along with clinching a bonus point. In the second half the Wallabies jumped on the Eagles leading to the final result of 67–5. This was the worst defeat a US team has ever suffered to Australia.

The final match saw the Eagles playing for a 3rd-place finish in Pool C and an automatic qualification into the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The Eagles faced Italy (the Azzurri) and the scoring began early by the Azzurri, but the Eagles struck back with a Chris Wyles try and conversion to level the match 7-7. The Italians struck quickly with their second try, and scored their third try on the stroke of halftime to lead 20–10 at the half. Italy focused their second-half efforts on scoring a fourth try and the bonus point. The US second-half defense held for 25 minutes, but after tremendous pressure by the Italian scrum - which Italy dominated all match - the Azzurri got their fourth try and the bonus point in the 65th minute. That try and conversion were the only points for the Azzurri in the second half. The defeat marked the end of the 2011 Rugby World Cup and the 2011 season for the Eagles.

2015 Rugby World Cup

U.S. summer preparations for the World Cup included four matches at the 2015 Pacific Nations Cup plus two additional World Cup warm-up matches. The U.S. earned three wins and three losses over these matches, with wins against Canada (twice) and Japan.

20 September 201525–16Brighton Community Stadium, Brighton27 September 201539–16Elland Road, Leeds7 October 201564–0Olympic Stadium, London11 October 201518–28Kingsholm, Gloucester

World Rugby RankingsRankings 10–20 as of 7 September 2015RankChange*TeamPoints 10 75.88 11 75.69 12 75.14 131 72.06 141 70.53 151 70.36 163 69.36 17 66.28 18 65.17 19 62.11 20 61.85 The U.S. reached as high as 15th in the rankings in the buildup to the 2015 World Cup.

At the World Cup, the U.S. lost its first match against Samoa 16–25. The Eagles suffered from ill discipline, committing 14 penalties (compared to 7 for Samoa); and from poor tackling, with a 79% tackle success rate and 29 missed tackles, (compared to Samoa's 86% tackle rate and 19 missed tackles).Samoa vs United States, ESPN Scrum. Accessed 20 September 2015.

The team entered World Cup play with the highest hopes in years. The pool draw placed the Eagles alongside Japan, a team they had beaten earlier in the summer, Samoa, a team they've played well in the past, and Scotland. Scotland, though a tier 1 nation, had struggled in recent years. The last team was South Africa, a team that lost its first match of the World Cup to Japan.