the United States Eagles.

The Eagles suffered devastating losses against the New Zealand All Blacks and South Africa Springboks, scoring just three tries while allowing a whopping 120 points. On the final day against Bermuda they barely survived against a team they should have beaten handily, but sheepishly accepted the 18-12 victory.

So it was back to the drawing board for the Eagles, who last year made their first appearance on Island soil since their younger counterparts defeated Bermuda 60-3 in the World Cup qualifier. That triumph weighed heavily on fans attending matches at National Sports Club which made the Eagles one of the least popular teams in the tournament.

The Eagles have beefed up their roster for this year's event, which begins on November 12, with two players from the qualifier expected to play significant roles. The most familiar face will be six-foot-five Kevin Swords, the lock who captained the Eagles in the qualifier, along with one other player from that team, scrumhalf Mark Pidcock.

The bruising the Eagles took on the pitch led manager Michael de Jong to make changes, especially to the second row which he described after last year as "very unfit.'' De Jong expects this year to be just as challenging for the Eagles, particularly since their first match will be against the Barbarians on the second day of the round robin. Should they be fortunate enough to beat what is expected to be a much stronger Barbarians, champions in 1993 and finalists a year ago, they'll have to face the winner of the South Africa-Bermuda game.

The South African-born de Jong believes the Springboks and All Blacks will be the strongest outfits in '95, and if last year proves to be any indication New Zealand will be even stronger.

"If you want to know the honest truth, I think it's going to be very tough for anybody to beat New Zealand,'' said de Jong in a telephone interview. "I looked at South Africa's roster because I'm originally from there so I know a lot of them and they'll be tough to beat. I don't know what to expect from the Barbarians, but I've seen them the last two years playing in the finals. We haven't played them in those last two years and it seems like they're pretty strong in the forwards and pretty good at ball retention, but I don't think they're on a level with New Zealand.

"I don't think South Africa is either. I would say with the way it's set up it's for a South Africa-New Zealand final.'' That doesn't mean de Jong won't expect a better effort from his Eagles, who will once again be captained by Brian Vizard. Wing Mike Smith, who sparked the Eagles in '93 but didn't play last year will be a key addition along with three graduates from the USA B programme -- lock AJ Rengers, wing Mike Glass and centre Steve Barrett.

"I think we've done a much better job at recuiting players than last year,'' said de Jong. "Our pack will be a lot more mobile. If you think about it we had huge second rows that played like lummoxes last year.

"If you look at our roster you'll see at least 11 of the guys who are still playing all the time, so I would hope that they're still fit.'' De Jong admitted the All Blacks' total domination a year ago will forever change the way teams prepare for the Classic. The post-match parties are still a focus, but the Kiwis raised the standard by galloping over opponents to the tune of 70-5, 50-10 and 30-0.

"We're still going to have a good time, but we know that we're going over there to play rugby wheras before it was have a good time,'' said de Jong.

"We've got to be prepared for what anyone throws out.'' CLASSIC COLLISION -- Mike Smith, shown here nursing a broken nose following the Eagles finale in the 1993 Classic, will be a key addition to the US line-up in 1995.