The Americas Rugby Championship, featuring the development sides of the respective unions, gets underway tonight in Langford. Here’s a look at the lineups and stream links for the first matches.
UNITED STATES vs ARGENTINA
Friday, October 11, 18:00 PST, Langford
English stream: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_m-7ER78KI
Spanish stream: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsknX64zamo
Head coach Mike Tolkin and his American side will be desperate to put in a performance after an absolutely dismal season for the senior side. On paper this is a stronger side than last year, though that’s not a difficult task given that they were dead last and failed to even beat Uruguay. Unfortunately for the USA Selects, as they have been named, they are facing the defending champions Argentina first, and they too have selected a stronger team than last year.
Despite questions over his suitability for the position by nearly every pundit outside of the Eagles camp, Toby L’Estrange is again handed the no10 jersey and entrusted with guiding the Selects backline to victory. Adam Siddall, considered by many to be a strong challenger for the jersey, is instead at fullback, with Cameron Chapman strangely moved to centre. Relative unknowns Ed Mills and Mark Roberts are on the wing, but will they see the ball?
The forwards to be appear much stronger. Titi Lamositele is a top prospect at loosehead, while Phil Thiel and Shawn Pittman are World Cup veterans. The second row pairing is a promising one with height and athleticism, and the back row features three strong players. Cameron Dolan captains the side and should prove ready to move up to senior honours, barring injury of course.
New Otago Highlanders recruit Matias Diaz headlines the Jaguars pack, one that also contains highly rated Bruno Postiglioni and Matias Alemanno. The back row isn’t quite as fearsome with the late withdrawal of Benjamin Macome, but flanker Martin Chiappesoni, in particular, should prove a handful after already displaying his talents on the IRB sevens circuit.
More problems are in store from a potent backline that features one of last year’s tournament standouts Javier Rojas alongside future star Juan Ignacio Brex, another who has already turned heads with the sevens side. Both flyhalf options, starter Sebastien Poet and reserve Patricio Fernandez, have impressed with the national u20 side and are considered future Pumas. Captaining the side is Joaquin Tuculet, a member of the Rugby Championship squad and tipped by many to take over from Juan Martin Hernandez sooner rather than later.
Expect this to be a feeling out process at first as both sides get used to each other, but Argentina have more than enough strength to walk away victorious. The Americans will put up a fight and might keep it close until the final quarter, when a couple late scores stretch out the lead to around 15 points, Jaguars win.
UNITED STATES
Adam Siddall; Mark Roberts, Cameron Chapman, Milemoti Pulu, Ed Mills; Toby L’Estrange, Shaun Davies; Titi Lamositele, Phil Thiel, Shawn Pittman; Graham Harriman, Will Haydock; Danny Barrett, Liam Murphy, Cameron Dolan (capt.). RES: Cameron Falcon, Nick Wallace, Chris Sullivan, Tai Tuisamoa, Derek Asbun, Chris Saint, Pita Moala, Tim Maupin.
ARGENTINA
Joaquin Tuculet (capt.); Facundo Barrea, Juan Ignacio Brex, Javier Rojas, Matias Orlando; Sebastien Poet, Pedro Imhoff; Bruno Postiglioni, Martin Garcia Veiga, Matias Diaz; Matias Alemanno, Guido Petti; Joaquin Camacho, Martin Chiappesoni, Francisco Panessi. RES: Julian Montoya, Roberto Tejerizo, Esteban Viale, Juan Martin Guerineau, Fidel Lamy, Gonzalo Bertranou, Patricio Fernandez, Dan Isaack.
CANADA vs URUGUAY
Friday, October 11, 20:00 PST, Langford
English stream: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLeauoLql-w
Spanish stream: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVdTgdo3r7A
Hosts Canada have selected a bit of a mishmash side for the tournament, comprised mostly of CRC players but with a couple exiles and some returning senior players thrown into the mix. While only a handful will be looked at as real immediate test prospects, there is a steady look to the team, one that probably won’t be good enough to beat Argentina, but should retain the second spot that they held last year.
Leading the team out is prop Andrew Tiedemann, a member of the World Cup side and a professional player in France last season. Highly rated Jake Ilnicki, himself a former captain of the national u20 side, has returned from New Zealand and will be hoping to impress the selectors. The rest of the pack is pretty average but a name that sticks out is World Cup star Adam Kleeberger, who at last returns after having major shoulder surgery.
The midfield contains two similar cases, as both Mike Scholz and Conor Trainor are in need of game time before the November tour. Veteran BC stalwart Joe Dolesau, a Fijian who qualifies on residency, is given his first shot at Canada honours on the wing. An interesting name is that of Jack Fitzpatrick, an Irish Schools international who played fullback for Canada at this year’s u20 tournament. He gets the first shot at flyhalf, though one wonders if he has ever played there before!
Uruguay have yet to name their lineup for the match, but their squad features many similar names to last year. Back rower Diego Magno is far and away their best player, with captain and hooker Arturo Avalo probably next in line. Both tighthead props, Francisco Jimenez and Juan Rombys, are big and strong in the scrum, but behind them the pack is young and undersized. Juan de Freitas has often been played at centre, but has been selected on the flank this time.
Alejo Duran is a quick and skilful halfback, but his targets will be vastly overpowered by every other backline in the tournament. Gaston Mieres has plenty of experience and serious pace, but he is also the lightest player of any side, and while the Canadian wingers are hardly giants Mieres should be swatted away without much difficulty.
Los Teros have little hope of winning this game, or any game for that matter. They will test sides in the scrum and should use the maul well, but beyond that they will be speed bumps and not much more. Canada should win this by at least 20 points regardless of what the Uruguayan lineup looks like.
CANADA
Adam McQueen; Duncan Maguire, Conor Trainor, Mike Scholz, Joe Dolesau; Jack Fitzpatrick, Jamie Mackenzie; Andrew Tiedemann (capt.), Micha Govorchin, Jake Ilnicki; Hank McQueen, Aaron Flagg; Callum Morrison, Adam Kleeberger, Zac Coughlan. RES: Ray Barkwill, Doug Wooldridge, Ryan March, Kyle Baillie, Matt Heaton, Alistair Clark, Sean White, Jordan Wilson-Ross.
URUGUAY
t.b.a.
