In 1876 Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, which largely used the rugby code.

American football was fierce, and as injuries mounted, the public became alarmed at its brutalities and President Theodore Roosevelt threatened to outlaw the sport.

[9] Following the end of World War I, the U.S. participated in the Inter-Allied Games where they defeated Romania, before losing to a France XV side, a match in which no caps were awarded.

The assembled U.S. team was again based heavily from Northern California, with 9 Stanford alumni, 5 from Santa Clara, and 3 from Cal.

[19] Rare vintage film footage of the 1924 gold medal match was released in the documentary, "A Giant Awakens: the Rise of American Rugby".

The U.S. national team came to further prominence during the 1980s, and from the start of the decade, were playing a notably larger number of games every season.

They could not muster up a win in 1981 either, losing 3–6 to Canada, and 7–38 to South Africa, in what was considered to be the lowest attended international rugby match, with only 30 spectators present at a private polo ground in Glenville, New York.

The U.S. won their first ever World Cup game, defeating Japan 21–18 at Ballymore Stadium in Brisbane, with fullback Ray Nelson scoring 13 points.

[30] The U.S. made their way through a qualifying tournament to reach the 1991 Rugby World Cup in the United Kingdom, pooled with defending champions New Zealand, hosts England, and Italy in a tough group.

Argentina defeated the Eagles twice in close games in the series to qualify, leaving the U.S. missing out on the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa.

[32] However, the Eagles subsequently suffered their heaviest defeat ever, losing 106–8 to England in a warmup match before the 1999 Rugby World Cup.

Coached by New Zealander Peter Thorburn, the Eagles started off with tough match against the defending world champions England, losing 28–10.

After a Todd Clever interception and a pair of passes, Takudzwa Ngwenya sped down the sideline and outran the speedster Bryan Habana to score a try that received Try of the Year honors at the 2007 IRB Awards.

In the 2009 Churchill Cup, the Eagles lost to Ireland and Wales, but defeated Georgia to take home the Bowl.

[45] The Eagles finished 2010 ranked 16th in the world,[46] and with a record in test matches of 2 wins (Russia, Portugal) and 1 loss (Georgia).

[54] In their 2011 Rugby World Cup opening match against Ireland the Eagles defense initially held, before conceding their first try at the 39' mark.

The performances in the Rugby World Cup showed improvement, and the win over Russia left the team with a 1–3 RWC record and feeling as a modest success.

Also notable was the performance of lock John van der Giessen, who achieved the most lineout steals of all players in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, despite appearing in only three matches.

The highlights of the June tests were a win over higher-ranked Georgia, and a match against Italy at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston that drew a record crowd of 17,214.

The U.S. started with competitive matches against Canada (9–16), Ireland (12–15), and Tonga (9–18), but finished with double-digit losses against Fiji (10–35) and Japan (20–38), and sliding to #18 in the rankings.

Subsequently, in November 2014 the Eagles were defeated 74–6 by New Zealand in a match played in front of a crowd of more than 61,000 spectators at Soldier Field, Chicago.

[65] Continuing on the road to the World Cup, the U.S. faced off against English Premiership side Harlequins, where the Americans fell to the visitors 24–19.

U.S. head coach Gary Gold called up an all-professional squad for the June 2018 tests, drawing from a mix of Major League Rugby players and overseas professionals.

During the June 2018 tests, the U.S. defeated Scotland 30–29 to give the U.S. its first win over a Tier 1 nation since beating France at the 1924 Olympics.

Notes: Below is table of the representative rugby matches played by a United States national XV at test level up until November 23, 2024.

Dennis Storer Ray Cornbill[92][93] On 15 October 2024, the United States announced a 30-player squad for their 2024 November Tour.

The Eagles played a home match against a Tier 1 nation every June between 2012 and 2014, in front of large crowds at BBVA Stadium in Houston, Texas.

The USA Selects formerly participated in the Americas Rugby Championship, when the tournament only featured "A" sides for Argentina, Canada, the United States, and Uruguay.

The Eagles have set a high standard for international competition, leading an ensuing wave of women's rugby growth and game development worldwide.

The women's national team traveled to the United Kingdom in January 2006 to play Scotland, Ireland and England, winning all three games.