World u20 Trophy set to kick off

Uruguay and the USA will both be involved in the World Rugby u20 Trophy tournament set to kick off in Zimbabwe on Tuesday. Los Teritos will represent South America while the Junior All-Americans qualified as North America’s entry after defeating Canada in a memorable contest at Dell Diamond in February.

All-American coach JD Stephenson has made six changes to the team that knocked off Canada, four in the forwards and two in the backs. Chance Wenglewski and Mason Pedersen are the new props with France-based Victor Comptat and Zimbabwe-born Deven Marshall in the engine room. Malon Al-Jiboori moves to the blindside flank. Devin Lim replaces unavailable Lindenwood teammate Deion Mikesell on the left wing, and Rodney Giles is given the nod on the right in place of Tyler Sousley.

Los Teritos will be coached by former international prop Guillermo Storace, and feature a number of names familiar to Uruguayan fans. Rodrigo Lamé, Matías Brignoni, and Iñaki Ormaechea all come from strong rugby families, the latter being the youngest son of former Teros legend Diego Ormaechea. Santiago Arata will be a key player for the team after winning his first senior caps during the 2016 Americas Rugby Championship.

On the first day of action USA will be up against Namibia, while Uruguay face a stern challenge in Fiji. Spain will match up against Hong Kong, and hosts Zimbabwe welcome Samoa. All games will take place at the Harare Sports Club.

All matches will be streamed live by World Rugby.

USA
1 Chance Wenglewski 2 Steven Branham 3 Mason Pedersen 4 Victor Comptat 5 Deven Marshall 6 Malon Al-Jiboori 7 Brennan Falcon 8 Hanco Germishuys (capt.) 9 Louis Mulholland 10 Ben Cima 11 Devin Lim 12 Brian Hannon 13 Lorenzo Thomas 14 Rodney Giles 15 Mitch Wilson

16 Ruairi Van Raalte 17 Roman Salanoa 18 Chad Sneyd 19 Veuki Taumoefolau 20 Ruben de Haas 21 Duncan van Schalkwyk 22 Tyler Sousley

URUGUAY
1 Rodrigo Lamé 2 Yamandú Arburúas 3 Gonzalo Couto 4 Juan Diego Quintero 5 Lorenzo Surraco 6 Agustín Ortas (capt.) 7 Matías Brignoni 8 Santiago Civetta 9 Santiago Arata 10 Felipe Etcheverry 11 Guillermo Williamson 12 Iñaki Ormaechea 13 Tomás Inciarte 14 Bautista Mascia 15 Luis Zeballos

Replacements from: Agustín Sosa, Guillermo Pujadas, Germán Kigel, Juan Cruz Codesal, Mike Johnson, Sebastián Pfieff, Federico Bruno, Lucas Durán, Agustín Della Corte, Rafael Olaso, Martín Fitipaldo

DAY ONE FIXTURES

Tue, Apr 19 – 04:00 ET, 10:00 local – USA vs Namibia
Tue, Apr 19 – 06:00 ET, 12:00 local – Spain vs Hong Kong
Tue, Apr 19 – 08:00 ET, 14:00 local – Uruguay vs Fiji
Tue, Apr 19 – 10:00 ET, 16:00 local – Samoa vs Zimbabwe