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Mexico are now one win away from claiming top spot in the North Zone of the Rugby Americas North Championship. In fact with the USA South vs Bermuda match cancelled all it will take is two tournament points to book a spot in the Grand Final. That means a draw or bonus point loss with four tries scored will also be good enough. There’s no question Las Serpientes will have their eyes on victory, however, and there’s every reason to think they’ll be up to the task.
The Caymans will have some confidence coming off a solid win over rivals Bermuda but did not fare as well in their tournament opener, losing heavily to the Panthers. They will though have home field advantage which should be a help and have a strong lineup with a particularly dangerous three-quarter line at their disposal.
Undoubtedly their most potent attacking weapon is flying winger Justin Wight who seems to find the tryline in virtually every game he plays. The men tasked with creating space and getting him the ball are also lethal in their own right. Mikey Wilson and Venasio Tokatokavarua are a handful for any team in the competition and will garner extra attention from their opposites.
The forwards are designed for open, attacking rugby with a highly mobile back row and two more loose forwards in Shane Westin and Alex Pineau on the bench ready to step in when the starters get tired. National sevens captain Mark Soto will play at lock, not his ideal position but again underlines the desire for quick ball and chaos.
Las Serpientes have made just two changes from the team that defeated USA South in Puebla. Both are the result of injury to key players. Livewire flanker Gonzalo Pons and outstanding flyhalf Agustín Sánchez will miss out. Stepping in are Erik Castillo and Miguel Carner. Both are veteran players and more than capable replacements, further indication of Mexico’s improving depth.
Look for the set piece to be heavily in favor of the Serpientes pack which will be considerably larger, particularly in the second row where Roberto Calderón and Cesar Treviño as well as the addition of Castillo should dominate the lineout. Andrés Rodríguez has been in top form and the backline looks very dangerous with new midfielder Franco Guerrero impressing this season and the giant Fharid Samano an imposing figure on the wing.
Though historically the results are dead even with the two splitting the eight games they have met in the past, Mexico are undoubtedly on an upwards trajectory. With a vastly greater number of players to choose from the Serpientes are swiftly moving beyond the reach of the Caribbean Island nations. The Caymans will surely put up a fight on their home turf but a win over the relative super power of Mexico would be a mighty upset at this point.
CAYMAN ISLANDS
1 Jordan Southway, 2 Danny McGrath, 3 Jonny Gibson, 4 Chris Kennedy (capt.), 5 Mark Soto, 6 Sam Anderson, 7 Alex Robertson, 8 Ben Blair, 9 Morgan Shelver, 10 Morgan Hayward, 11 James McGinn, 12 Mikey Wilson, 13 Venasio Tokatokavarua, 14 Justin Wight, 15 Eddie Westin
Replacements: 16 Peter De Vere, 17 Johann Fourie, 18 Andy Hall, 19 Joey Westin, 20 Shane Westin, 21 Alex Pineau, 22 Iain Currie, 23 Abdul Patterson
MEXICO
1 Marcos Flegmann, 2 Mizael Loredo, 3 Max Douek (capt.), 4 Sebastián Díaz, 5 Cesar Treviño, 6 Santiago Prieto, 7 Roberto Calderón, 8 Simon Pierre, 9 Andrés Rodríguez, 10 Miguel Carner, 11 Fharid Samano, 12 Pascal Nadaud, 13 Franco Guerrero, 14 Luis Arredondo, 15 Rodrigo Ripoll
Replacements: 16 Pedro Morales, 17 tba, 18 Erik Castillo, 19 Tobias Hernández, 20 Alejandro Chávez, 21 Diego Ramírez, 22 Luc Martin, 23 Rodrigo Márquez
Date: Saturday, June 17
Venue: Truman Bodden Complex, George Town
Kickoff: 16:00 local (14:00 PT, 17:00 ET)
Referee: Josh Houston (USAR)
Assistants: Haylee Slaughter (USAR) & AN Other (CIRFU)
Broadcasts: Live Stream
