USA have held off a resilient Spain side by 29-22 in North Carolina to remain undefeated in the Nations Cup with three wins from three matches.
The American forward pack, led by openside Paddy Ryan who finished with three turnovers, were able to come up with a handful of key turnovers in the final quarter to hold on for victory.
The Eagles led after three first half tries before Spain hit the front after turning the tide after half-time. A runaway intercept try to centre Martiniano Cian early in the second half by Spain drew level with the USA at 19-all.
USA missed their chance to pull away when reserve lock Nafi Ma’afu charged onto a loose ball to break into Spain’s backfield but his offload to centre Julian Roberts hit the deck with Spain able to escape.
Back-to-back breakdown penalties gave Spain a chance to break the 19-all deadlock, with flyhalf Gonzalez Lopez nailing a 45-metre penalty goal to go up by 22-19 with 20 minutes to go.
Both sides missed penalties, before left wing Perry Mayo broke Spain open after sustained attack to give USA the lead back.
Midfielder Dom Besag found a smart offload to Mayo, who zig zagged through Spain’s backfield to score under the posts for a 26-22 lead.
With USA back on attack, Spain were pinged for not rolling giving veteran flyhalf Carty a bankable three for a 29-22 lead in the 73rd minute.
Needing to respond in the final stages, Spain’s No.9 Tani Bay was stripped for a turnover just as they had entered USA’s 22 with Paddy Ryan jumping on the loose ball.
A second breakdown steal by openside Ryan snuffed out another chance moments later, with Carty slamming the ball downfield to win a goal line dropout to relieve pressure. Ryan came up with a critical steal defending his goal line in the first half.
Earlier, fullback Mitch Wilson opened the scoring in the left corner after a long team movement starting with a line break from 21-year-old inside centre Dom Besag giving the Eagles a 7-0 lead in the 10th minute.
Spain hit back immediately with scrumhalf Tani Bay finishing centre Cian’s explosive line break for his fourth try of the Nations Cup in his third game.
From a scrum platform inside Spain’s 22, the Eagles punched through Spain’s defence with four straight forward carries from the back of the scrum. Openside Paddy Ryan dived over untouched after the gain line wins by USA’s loose fowards.
A yellow card to Mayo from an aerial challenge changed the momentum again, giving Spain a one man advantage late in the first half.
Tani Bay provided the assist for reserve outside back Jaime Manteca diving over going back down the right blindside on the Eagles’ try line in Mayo’s absence.
Centre Julian Roberts scored in the corner three minutes from half after phenomenal shape from the Eagles’ backs created the open man on the edge. After lead up carries from the forwards, the strike play came off perfectly for USA.