June 29, 2017
Eagles & Canada Play to Advance to Rugby World Cup 2019
Photo: Miss Colleen Rugby Pix
Doug Coil
The Eagles and Canada played to a draw in the first of two Rugby World Cup 2019 Qualifier on June 24 at Tim Horton Field in Hamilton, Ontario. The second match of the Qualifier will conclude on July 1 at Torero Stadium in San Diego with the kick off at 6 pm ET/ 3pm PT.
The winner of the Qualifier matches between the USA and Canada will qualify as the Americas 1 team in Pool C of the Rugby World Cup 2019. They will join England, France , Argentina and the Oceania 2 team. The Loser will play against Uruguay January 27 and Feb 3 to become the Americas 2 team, while the loser of that match still has one opportunity to advance through the repechage.
The Americas 2 team will be in Pool D, along with Australia, Wales, Georgia and Oceania 1. The repechage winner will be in Pool B along with New Zealand, South Africa, Italy and Africa 1.
Leading up to the Qualifiers, the Eagles played two Emirates Airlines Summer Series matches losing to 4th ranked Ireland on June 10 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey and narrowly losing to 12th ranked Georgia at Fifth Third Bank Stadium at Kennesaw State University on June 17.
Canada also had two test matches to prepare them for the RWC 2019 Qualifier against the United States. Canada lost to Georgia on June 10 and then to 16th ranked Romania on June 17.
The qualifiers against Canada are being broadcast in the United States live on The Rugby Channel. In Canada, the matches are on TSN 3. For other countries the match will be on World Rugby.
USA Squad Preview for Match 2
The USA will play Canada in the second leg of the Rugby World Cup Qualifier against Canada at Torero Stadium in San Diego at 3pm PT/ 6pm ET. Eagles Captain Todd Clever will make his final international test appearance, his 76th, with 73 of them starting.
The winner of the Qualifier matches between the USA and Canada will qualify as the Americas 1 team in Pool C of the Rugby World Cup 2019. They will join England, France , Argentina and the Oceania 2 team. The Loser will play against Uruguay January 27 and Feb 3 to become the Americas 2 team, while the loser of that match still has one opportunity to advance through the repechage.
Head Coach John Mitchell has made five changes in his starting XV and is facing a winner-takes-all match for qualification to the ninth World Cup after drawing 28-28 last weekend in Hamilton, Ontario. Saturday’s July 1st match will be held on the campus of University of San Diego at Torero Stadium with the kick off at 3 p.m. PT. An exhibition match featuring the USA Women’s Eagles and the Women’s Premier League All-Star team will follow at 5:30 p.m. PT. Both matches will be broadcast live on The Rugby Channel.
John Mitchell spoke with USA Rugby about the match saying that “At the end of the day you’re only as good as the depth in your group and we’re fortunate to have good depth. It’s difficult to leave people out, but we have to try to create the best team mix with the way we want to play. We have to select people that are aligned with how we want to get the job done. There are some consequences for the performance and we’ve brought some other people in that we believe will make a difference with their skill sets.”
Mitchell has made five changes in the starting XV with another two changes in the reserves. In the forwards Chris Baumann and Tony Lamborn return from minor injuries at tight head prop and open side flanker, respectively. Nate Brakeley also returns as a lock. In the backs, Ryan Matyas returns to the lineup at wind and Madison Hughes will see his first Summer test action at fullback. There are also two forward reserve changes as John Quill moves from his starting role at flanker. Joe Taufete’e will be a reserve as a hooker, although he could play prop.
Last week, Canada challenged the scrum. The changes in the tight five and back row are hoped to provide increased stability to this unit. The Eagles front row will consist of Tony Purpura, James Hilterbrand and Chris Baumann. Nate Brakeley and Nick Civetta have been an effective combination at lock with Civetta scoring two tires against Canada last week. In the back row is Captain America, Todd Clever, who will be joined by Tony Lamborn and Cam Dolan.
Todd Clever has been a force on the USA Rugby scene for many years. He has served as captain, scored 16 tries in his career and will retire after the match with 76 caps, the all-time USA leader.
In the backs, the halfback combination of Nate Augspurger and AJ MacGinty remains the same, as does centers Marcel Brache and Bryce Campbell. Two changes were made in the back three with Ryan Matyas returning from an illness at wing. He will join Mike Te’o, who also scored two tries against Canada. At fullback will be Madison Hughes, who earn his first cap of 2017, after finishing the 2016-17 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series as Eagles Sevens captain and the third best points leader with 279 points.
AJ MacGinty is a seasoned professional at flyhalf and has a very accurate foot. He has 147 points in 14 test appearances.
The Eagles enter the match against Canada unbeaten in their last six appearances, However this is a critical match that will determine qualification to the RWC 2019. A win relieves additional qualifying pressure, enables resources to be saved and allows USA Rugby to tap into corporate sponsorship.
In addition to Todd Clever retiring from international play, John Mitchell will be also leaving the team after this match. He has been the Eagles Head Coach for the past 17 months and hopes to lead the team to Rugby World Cup 2019 qualifying.
Canada Squad Preview for Match 2
Canada’s Head Coach Mark Anscombe has made only one change in his starting XV.
SAN DIEGO — Canada’s senior men’s head coach Mark Anscombe has named his starting XV for Saturday’s winner take all 2019 Rugby World Cup qualifier. Gordon McRorie replaces Phil Mack at scrum-half, as he is unavailable due to family commitments. Andrew Ferguson will replace McRorie as a reserve.
Canada was in a position to win the first match at the 80th minute, but an O’Leary kick was wide. Canada will feel good about their forward play and DTH van der Merwe was a force that the USA had difficulty containing.
The forwards remain unchanged with Djustice Sears-Duru, Ray Barkwill and Jake Ilnicki in the front row. Co-captain Brett Beukeboom joins Evan Olmstead at lock. The back row will have Matt Heaton and Admir Cejvanovic as flankers with Tyler Ardron at No. 8.
In the backs, Rob McRorie will be the only change at scrumhalf where he will pair with Shane O’Leary, who kicked 13 points last weekend, at fly-half. Taylor Paris and Andrew Coe start on the wings with Connor Braid and co-captain DTH van der Merwe in the centers. Ciaran Hearn will be at fullback.
Mark Anscombe told Rugby Canada that “We’re creating lots of opportunities but we’re just not finishing them. This week if we can be clearer about them finishing them and our decision making is smarter then we’re going to run in some tries. If we front up and play smart we can neglect their home advantage and get the result we want.”
Last week, Canada had two tries from Van der Merwe, while Aaron Carpenter also scored a try.
The winner of Saturday’s game qualifies for the 2019 Rugby World Cup as Americas 1 where they will join Pool C with England, Argentina, France and Oceanic 2. The loser will still have two more opportunities to qualify for the tournament.
Canada has never missed a Rugby World Cup, since its inception in 1987. Its best result was in 1991 when they reached the cup quarterfinals. They have also not lost a RWC Qualifier since 2009 when they lost 12-6 to the USA before rebounding to win 41-18 to make the 2011 tournament.
Saturday’s game, which takes place at Torero Stadium, kicks off at 6pm ET/3pm PT and is LIVE on TSN 3.
Men’s Eagles (Match 2): 1. Tony Purpura 2. James Hilterbrand 3. Chris Baumann 4. Nate Brakeley 5. Nick Civetta 6. Todd Clever (C) 7. Tony Lamborn 8. Cam Dolan 9. Nate Augspurger 10. AJ MacGinty 11. Ryan Matyas 12. Marcel Brache 13. Bryce Campbell 14. Mike Te’o 15. Madison Hughes 16. Joe Taufete’e 17. Ben Tarr 18. Dino Waldren 19. David Tameilau 20. John Quill 21. Andrew Durutalo 22. Shaun Davies 23. Will Magee
Canada v. USA (Match 2)
1. Djustice Sears-Duru 2. Ray Barkwill 3. Jake Ilnicki 4. Brett Beukeboom (C) 5. Evan Olmstead 6. Admir Cejvanovic 7. Matt Heaton 8. Tyler Ardron 9. Gordon McRorie 10. Shane O’Leary 11. Taylor Paris 12. Connor Braid 13. DTH van der Merwe 14. Andre Coe 15. Ciaran Hearn 16. Benoit Piffero 17. Anthony Luca 18. Matt Tierney 19. Kyle Baillie 20. Aaron Carpenter 21. Andrew Ferguson 22. Nick Blevins 23. Dan Moor
Men’s Eagles (Match 1): 1. Tony Purpura 2. James Hilterbrand 3. Paddy Ryan 4. Ben Landry 5. Nick Civetta 6. Todd Clever (C) 7. John Quill 8. Cam Dolan 9. Nate Augspurger 10. AJ MacGinty 11. Matai Leuta 12. Marcel Brache 13. Bryce Campbell 14. Mike Te’o 15. Ben Cima 16. Peter Malcolm 17. Ben Tarr 18. Dino Waldren 19. Matthew Jensen 20. David Tameilau 21. Andrew Durutalo 22. Shaun Davies 23. Will Magee
Canada (Match 1): 1. Djustice Sears-Duru 2. Ray Barkwill 3. Jake Ilnicki 4. Brett Beukeboom (Co-C) 5. Evan Olmstead 6. Admir Cejvanovic 7. Matt Heaton 8. Tyler Ardron 9. Phil Mack 10. Shane O’Leary 11. Taylor Paris 12. Connor Braid 13. DTH van Der Merwe (Co-C) 14. Andrew Coe 15 Ciaran Hearn 16. Benoit Piffero 17. Anthony Luca 18. Matt Tierney 19. Kyle Baillie 20. Aaron Carpenter 21. Gordon McRorie 22. Nick Blevins 23. Dan Moor
USA Men’s Eagles Summer 2017 Schedule
v. Ireland (Emirates Airline Summer Series) – L 55-19
v. Georgia (Emirates Airline Summer Series) – L 21-17
v. Canada (Rugby World Cup 2019 Qualifier) –D 28-28, Preview Article
v. Canada (Rugby World Cup 2019 Qualifier) – Saturday, July 1 @ 6 p.m. ET – Torero Stadium
