Today marks the 35th anniversary of America's first international in the modern era.
Visiting Australia defeated the United States 24-12 on January 31, 1976, at Glover Stadium, in Anaheim, California's La Palma Park.
In a match described by contemporaries as surprisingly close, the original Eagles fell behind 16-6, before a pair of second-half penalty goals from Kip Oxman brought the contest to within 4 points. Tries by flanker Ray Pearse and wing John Ryan then sealed the contest.
According to the authoritative Rothman's Rugby Yearbook, 'the losers fought back right to the end' and 'were by no means outclassed'.
The United States of American Rugby Football Union (USARFU) had been founded in the summer 1975, unifying for the first time rugby on our continental country. Dennis Storer, whose UCLA teams had claimed the mythical national title in 1972 and again in 1975, then took charge of the first national XV assembled since the 1924 Summer Olympics.
The game concluded a 1975-76 Wallaby tour of the British Isles held to be an unsuccessful. Australia won 11 and drew 1 in 18 matches -- but lost of 3 of 4 internationals plus the penultimate Barbarians fixture. In California, Australia's use of some reserve tourists as well as 83-degree heat also influenced the visitors' showing.
All of the Eagles were of course international debutants. Like four of his teammates, Oxman's only international was Anaheim. In addition to USARFU's fledgling organization, back then rugby insisted on a strict amateur code. The Stanford fullback became a real estate executive in San Francisco.
Some 7,000 attended the match, according to Britain's reliable SFMS. The gaudy figure was another reason contemporary observers subsequently expected American rugby to rise rapidly.
Australia 24 United States 12 (halftime: Australia 13-6)
United States
Penalties: Kip Oxman (4)
Kip Oxman; Del Chipman, Dave Stephenson, Greg Schneeweis, Steve Auerbach; Robbie Bordley (captain), Mike Swiderski; Eric Swanson, Fred Khasigian, Mickey Ording, Gary Brackett, Craig Sweeney, Skip Niebauer, Tom Klein, Tom Selfridge
Australia
Tries: Gary Pearse, Ray Price, John Ryan
Penalties: Jim Hindmarsh (4)
Jim Hindmarsh; John Ryan, Rex L'Estrange, Geoff Shaw (captain), Laurie Monaghan; Ken Wright, Rod Hauser; John Meadows, Chris Carberry, Ron Graham, Garrick Fay, Reginald Smith, Gary Pearse, Ray Price, Tony Shaw
Referee: AC Pontin (England)
Attendance: 7,000 (estimate)
The competitiveness of the Eagles is down to a simple equation.
Wallabies Athletes = Eagles Athletes
The Eagles were stacked with NCAA Gridiron players that were equal or better athletes to the ones on the other side of the pitch. Add the fact that the game was more a game of attrition and less a game of skill and that further helps the Eagles. These football players were playing rugby in the spring and football in the fall. There was no year round position specific training for football and the NFL wasn't the payday it is now, so these guys were having some fun playing rugby.
"Up until the mid 1970s, salary ranges of $20,000 to about maybe $60,000 were usually the norm for these players. Reports from various news entities say that maybe thirty years ago the average salary was $30,000. Yet for many of these players, it still took a second job for many of these players to survive and run their households."
It’s The Lie That The NFL Won't Tell Current Or New Players About On Their Future
Gregory Moore - American Chronicle
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/14465
If you carefully selected 40 NCAA football players and put them in an environment like Cal has for 1 year, you would be able to compete with tier 1 nations in a similar manner.
Posted by: It's The Athletes Stupid | 31 January 2011 at 14:29
Hardly, because the Austrailians were all amateurs as well, and completely knackered from a Lions tour. They probably came here looking for a great vacation trip and hey, why not play America's first international as well? LA? Beach? Sign me up!
40 NCAA football players after a year of rugby training couldn't hold a candle to full rugby professionals that spent their lives playing RUGBY!
Posted by: Sergeant Shultz | 01 February 2011 at 09:44
Count the Americans on the team -- I often win bar bets with this statistic.
Posted by: Ray Cornbill | 01 February 2011 at 15:28
Haha, good point.
Posted by: Sergeant Shultz | 01 February 2011 at 16:28
Fellas, are you feeling ok? Do you really think that rugby is so hard that little America would just limp into things so easily??!! Yes one year is not enough, but take 4 years and 200 guys who have soccer, basketball and other sports in their background and you will have a pretty damn good team! Go another 4 years and include the kids who are starting to play now or will start as TV shows more and more up until 2016.
The shear thought of it should excite you. Your petty thoughts about what was or is today is lost in your inabilility to say thank you to the first guys/Eagles, thank you or accept that the US has loads, oodles of talent ready for rugby!
Watch out, it has started!
Posted by: Fellas, are you blind or just stupid | 01 February 2011 at 20:26
I know this is off topic, but are any of you viewing wearerugby.com? I can't figure out if anyone in the USA really cares about what is happening in rugby league. The game is only popular in the north of England and in parts of Australia, so who is reading these cut and paste articles from these areas that Brian Lowe is putting up on that site? I think Brian Lowe is the only one. I would never check the site if it wasn't for the occasional USA rugby union news.
Posted by: League + Lowe = BLOWS! | 02 February 2011 at 11:48
No I forgot that site was even up. I have noticed that ARN seems to have died a quiet death.
Posted by: PeteM | 02 February 2011 at 13:16
Aren't all the rugby clubs in the USA and ex-pats here interested in the fact that Australian National Rugby League is going to keep the grounding rule the same ahead of the coming season?
HUGE NEWS!
Posted by: Lowe is a TARD | 02 February 2011 at 13:37
No we're not. We are foolishly wasting time on playing and supporting our shitty little clubs and college teams that play drek rugby. Of course I'm being generous when I say "foolishly". Most, if not all, of those who do this are in fact deliberately sabotaging USA's hopes of having a national team in the RWC quarterfinal.
Posted by: My Dinner With Andre The Giant. | 03 February 2011 at 08:03
MDWATG = Brian Lowe = Bowgan
Such a bitter little rugby league fan.
Posted by: Bogan Alert! | 03 February 2011 at 10:30
I get called Brian Lowe for this, I get called Brian Lowe for bringing college football into a discussion on college rugby...but no one ever calls me Brian Lowe when I make a defense of the D3 national championship.
Posted by: My Dinner With Andre The Giant | 04 February 2011 at 18:34