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The fifth and final round of the Americas Rugby Championship begins in Santiago as Chile host Canada on Saturday afternoon. It’s been a long road for the two sides, with the Canadians having been together for the best part of two months starting with the World Cup qualifying preparations.
At stake is pride and perhaps a step up the ARC ladder if Chile can create an upset. Should they win with a bonus point try they will in all likelihood finish in fourth spot overall. A win without a bonus point should be enough to leapfrog Brazil into fifth spot. Canada cannot advance from their position, they can only slide further down.
Both teams are coming off defeats with Canada’s win over Brazil two weeks ago the only win between the two sides. In fact Chile’s only victory since the creation of the revamped ARC was their win in the 2016 opener against Brazil. Since then they have dropped 13 consecutive tournament fixtures.
Mark Cross has made frequent changes to his lineup throughout and he has saved his strongest XV of the competition for the end. First choice prop José Tomás Munita returns to provide a major boost to the scrum at tighthead and Manuel Dagnino replaces Benjamín Soto at No8, with Cross seeking a little extra punch from the base.
The young halfback combination that played against Uruguay is replaced by veterans Juan Pablo Perrotta and Benjamín Pizarro. In the midfield José Ignacio Larenas has recovered from injury to take the skipper’s armband back from Javier Richard, while newcomer Lucca Avelli will start on the wing having impressed at centre in previous matches.
Kingsley Jones has also tinkered since the qualifiers against Uruguay and he rolls the dice once again this week. Luke Campbell reappears at No8 with Dustin Dobravsky switching to the blindside flank and Kyle Baillie reverting to the second row. On the bench uncapped Noah Barker is selected as loosehead prop cover after coming off the bench to play hooker against the Argentina XV last week.
It will be a landmark achievement for Ray Barkwill who wins his 50th test cap for Canada. The 37-year-old hooker is a rarity having only made his international debut in November 2012 at the age of 32.
There are three changes in the backs, all significant. Kainoa Lloyd is rewarded for his positive impact off the bench with a start on the wing. He and Cole Davis represent the most significant threats to Chile with ball in hand.
With Brock Staller left out the kicking duties go to Gordon McRorie who is selected to start a test at flyhalf for the first time. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the selection of World Rugby u20 Trophy midfielder Josh Thiel, who will make his senior international debut at the unfamiliar position of fullback.
Whether those risks pay off for Canada could well decide the outcome of the match. Chile have been underwhelming but the injection fresh legs and experience should see an improved performance at home. The Canadians will also have to deal with the blazing heat of the mid-day Santiago sun, not exactly an ideal situation at the tail end of their extended campaign.
Despite the absence of several leading players the Cóndores have made significant upgrades and on paper this represents their greatest opportunity to upset Canada for the first time. The restoration of Munita and Larenas in particular will inspire confidence. If Chile can hold their discipline they will make this very difficult for their visitors.
Canada, however, remain favorites with a size and strength advantage. They also offer a superior lineout where Larsen and Baillie should dominate. Look for them to celebrate their new logo with a hard-earned road victory over a game but outgunned Cóndores side.
CHILE
1 Vittorio Lastra, 2 Tomás Dussaillant, 3 José Tomás Munita, 4 Nikola Bursic, 5 Mario Mayol, 6 Javier Richard, 7 Anton Petrowitsch, 8 Manuel Dagnino, 9 Juan Pablo Perrotta, 10 Benjamín Pizarro, 11 Ítalo Zunino, 12 Francisco de la Fuente, 13 José Ignacio Larenas (capt.), 14 Lucca Avelli, 15 Tomás Ianiszewski
Replacements: 16 Rodrigo Moya, 17 Sebastián Otero, 18 Basilio Díaz, 19 Benjamín Soto, 20 Alfonso Escobar, 21 Beltrán Vergara, 22 José Tomás Maturana, 23 Mauricio Urrutia
CANADA
1 Djustice Sears-Duru, 2 Ray Barkwill, 3 Jake Ilnicki, 4 Josh Larsen, 5 Kyle Baillie, 6 Dustin Dobravsky, 7 Lucas Rumball, 8 Luke Campbell, 9 Phil Mack (capt.), 10 Gordon McRorie, 11 Kainoa Lloyd, 12 Nick Blevins, 13 Doug Fraser, 14 Cole Davis, 15 Josh Thiel
Replacements: 16 Martial Lagain, 17 Noah Barker, 18 Cole Keith, 19 Conor Keys, 20 Cam Polson, 21 Andrew Ferguson, 22 Patrick Parfrey, 23 Guiseppe du Toit
Date: Saturday, March 3
Venue: Estadio de La Pintana, Santiago
Kickoff: 13:10 local (08:10 Pacific, 11:10 Eastern)
Referee: Pali Deluca (UAR)
Broadcasts: TSN (Canada), ESPN3 (USA / South America), World Rugby (Stream)
