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(Compilation photo Alec Parker 2003 (Alex Goff), Dan Lyle 2001 (USA MNT), Kirk Khasigian, Mike MacDonald, Dave Hodges 2002 (Evan Wollen)
By Alex Goff
Well it’s time to name RUGBYmag.com’s Team and Player of the Decade.
In doing so we asked some (anonymous) experts, and looked back at the early years of the decade, reminding all of us that the decade covers more than the last couple of years.
Wins matter, because players on successful teams should of course be assumed to be better than those on losing teams. But that’s not always the case, as teams during rough patches can still play well.
Most of the names are unsurprising, but there are a few trouble spots. Here is RUGBYmag.com’s USA Team of the Decade, with subs and explanations.
MacDonald (Dropkickphotos)
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 Khasigian
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Osentowski (Ian Muir)
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Gross
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Parker (Rugby Magazine Japan)
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Schubert (Dropkickphotos)
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Hodges. (This is our favorite shot of Dave Hodges. Taken the morning after the USA defeated Uruguay in 2002 by Alex Goff, it shows the battered face of a true warrior.)
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Lyle (right) and Dalzell (left) (Alex Goff)
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Hercus (Rugby Magazine Japan)
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Van Zyl (Dropkickphotos)
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Eloff
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Emerick (Richard Lane)
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Palefau (Numina Photo)
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Wyles (Paul Meyers)
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1. Mike MacDonald. Somewhat out of favor at present, and heavily criticized in his early years from those who felt grit and “paying your dues” made a better international prop. But Big Mac has been consistent, improved greatly over time, and was twice named Player of the Game in a losing cause. Capped 58 times.
2. Kirk Khasigian. Easy to forget Khasigian as he played his last international in 2003, but he was far and away the best hooker of the decade. It’s possible Chris Biller will surpass him, but Khasigian had a flanker’s mobility and was one of the smartest players ever to wear an Eagle on his chest.
3. Chris Osentowski. This is actually a very, very difficult pick. If you combine power, strength, physicality and athleticism, you would probably end up picking Jacob Waasdorp, whose Eagle career was cut short by his own choice after Tom Billups stepped down. Osentowski gets the start based on his brain and his heart. Smaller than most he was considered a great technician at tighthead. Mate Moeakiola, could get a look here, and Shawn Pittman and Will Johnson show great potential for the coming decade.
4. Luke Gross. Lasted longer than most thought he would, and was still a professional in 2008. Defensively, no one worked as hard as he did.
5. Alec Parker. The thing about Gross and Parker, is that they are our picks for the team of the 1990s, too. Parker was first capped in 1996 and last capped … November 21. He has incredible staying power and reads the game superbly.
6. Kort Schubert. This is the toughest pick. Kort Schubert or Todd Clever? They are similar in many ways and very different in others. The choice is tough.
Schubert was capped 49 times, during which time the Eagles were 16-33 (.327). He captained the Eagles when they lost 39-31 to France, and 77-3 to Wales.
Clever capped 31 times, 10-21 (.323). He captained the Eagles when they beat Canada 12-6, and lost to Canada 41-18
Schubert was captain for 16 games, with a record of 4-12.
Clever has captained the Eagles 11 times, 5-6.
Schubert scored four tries, including a USA record three in the 2003 World Cup.
Clever has scored eight tries, a record for a USA forward.
Schubert has been criticized for not being physical enough, not caring enough, and yet when he played professionally in Wales was dubbed “Mr. 100%.” Clever has been criticized for his lack of discipline, and yet has been given the responsibility of captaining the Eagles by two different coaches.
We finally pick Schubert for two reasons: 1. Competition for his place was fierce, with the likes of Shaun Paga, Tasi Mo’unga, Conrad Hodgson and Olo Fifita all pushing him; Clever’s competition is currently nowhere near as strong; 2. Schubert played well for longer. He was an Eagle, and a good one, in 2000 and in his final match, against Canada in 2008, he was the best player on the field. Clever was capped in 2003 but wasn’t a USA regular until 2005, and didn’t hit his stride until 2007.
This is not a knock on Clever, who is our 2009 Player of the Year and likely to be considered one of the best Eagles ever, but for the totality of 2000-2009, we pick Schubert.
7. Dave Hodges. A complete monster on the field for the USA. More on him later.
8. Dan Lyle. Retired after the 2003 season and still had more to give. The best USA player ever. If you can find footage of the USA or Bath playing from 1996-2003 you will know what we mean.
Was recently feted at Bath for his impact with that club, where thousands of fans applauded Lyle for accomplishments too many on this side of the Atlantic forget.
One more note on the loose forwards. Without professional rugby in the USA, often great players have to choose a career over rugby. If those issues, along with injuries and a head coach who unwisely didn’t rate him, hadn’t held him back, we would possibly have been putting Tony Petruzzella here. No flanker worked harder.
9. Kevin Dalzell. His best year was 1999, but he remained a multi-skilled #9 who could run, kick, and do all that other stuff, too.
10. Mike Hercus. It’s hard to remember that there have been other players at flyhalf for the Eagles. Nese Malifa, Matt Sherman, Grant Wells, Link Wilfley, Kain Cross and Cayo Nicolau all started at #10 during that time. But they account for 23 games, and Hercus played in 48. His 465 points are the USA record by 179 points, and while he’s not the runner he once was, earlier in his career he was a huge attacking threat on his own.
11. Riaan Van Zyl. The wing position is tough because the USA goes through wingers the way the band Spinal Tap goes through drummers. Injuries, loss of form, even trouble with the law have all scuttled promising careers. Van Zyl didn’t play any longer than the test, but he had an immediate impact, helping the Eagle backline embrace a professionalism that led to a great 2003. He scored nine tries in 13 tests and remains one of the game’s true gentlemen.
12. Phil Eloff. Normally playing at outside center, you will see we have picked two outside centers here. Eloff was certainly strong enough an physical enough to play at #12, and during the 2000s, the Eagle inside centers often didn’t quite take it to the hoop the way they needed to. Uncompromising, and a clutch player, Eloff could score tries and defend and, eventually, learned to pass as well.
13. Paul Emerick. Has played for the USA at center, wing and fullback, but this is where he belongs. A pairing of a healthy Eloff and in-form Emerick would be scary.
14. Mike Palefau . OK, here we could go all kinds of directions. Jovesa Naivalu? Really just potential. David Fee? Yes, he was defensively aware and a pretty nifty finisher. Jone Naqica? Not enough games. Takudzwa Ngwenya? Not enough consistency. Malaki Delai? Just a fleeting moment.
Palefau combined the athleticism of some with the finishing power of others. In the Peter Thorburn doghouse he just went on to help any other team he played for win rugby games. Doesn’t get enough credit for his rugby intelligence.
15. Chris Wyles. Francois Viljoen and Kurt Schuman were both good fullbacks, and in fact it was only due to an injury to Viljoen that Wyles got his shot at the #15 jersey. He took it from there. Highly skilled and very calm.
Subs:
16. Matt Wyatt
17. Jacob Waasdorp
18. Todd Clever
19. Shaun Paga
20. Mose Timoteo. (Could have put Kimball Kjar here)
21. Salesi Sika
22. Kevin Swiryn (Another choice at wing? He has been brilliant so far, and we figure he will be so for a while. But we’ll wait to start him.)
Player of the Decade
If you’re young you may not appreciate this, but life for a professional American rugby player in the early part of the decade was very tough. There was no talk of resting players, and with a heavy test schedule in the summer off-seasons didn’t exist. For most of his professional and international career, from 1997 to 2004, Dave Hodges hardly ever took a month off. He played as many as 48 games in a year, and continued to give everything he had.
It was a streak few could handle. Many would get injured, or just eventually break down. Hodges kept on going, while playing at a world class level. In 2001 this writer profiled Hodges, whose coach at Llanelli said Hodges could have walked onto the Wales team unchallenged. He was a smart player, a very savvy player, supremely unselfish, a team man all the way, and captained the Eagles during their very best moments.
Player of the Decade 2000-2009, Dave Hodges.
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