ARC Preview – Uruguay vs Canada

Canada return to the place of their greatest calamity in 2018 as they travel to Montevideo to face Uruguay on the opening day of the 2019 Americas Rugby Championship. It’s been a long road since with the Maple Leafs eventually earning their place in Japan later this year, but they are still haunted by memories of the Estadio Charrúa which has served them defeat on three consecutive occasions.

All told Canada has not defeated a senior Uruguayan XV since February 6, 2016, their first round meeting of the revamped ARC played at Langford. Since then they have dropped three tests and one ‘A’ match in the Americas Pacific Challenge. The most notable, of course, was the Americas 2 sweep in the World Cup Qualifiers one year ago.

It’s a much different side that Canada sends this time. Only two starters remain from the series decider in Montevideo, with another five in the squad suiting up that day. The team also shows numerous changes from their Repechage campaign in November with the majority of their overseas talent left out.

Two European pros have landed to boost the forwards. Pau’s Matt Tierney retains his spot at tighthead prop and Conor Keys comes in from Rotherham to partner Josh Larsen in the second row. Larsen is one of four in the pack who played Major League Rugby last weekend, with Eric Howard rewarded with just his second test start at hooker after leading NOLA to victory over the Toronto Arrows on Saturday.

Flankers Kyle Baillie and Lucas Rumball were on opposites sides that day. The latter assumes the captaincy in the absence of regular skipper Phil Mack, who will miss the South American leg to stay with the Seattle Seawolves. Luke Campbell starts at No8, the only member of the starting pack unaffiliated with a European or MLR side.

The midfield combination that started against Hong Kong is retained with Ciaran Hearn arriving from London Irish and UBC’s Ben LeSage alongside. Theo Sauder continues at fullback but the rest of the backline is retooled. Arrows teammates Jamie Mackenzie and Kainoa Lloyd are handed starts and Patrick Parfrey returns from injury to play at the pivotal flyhalf position. Canada Sevens squad member Andrew Coe wins his first cap since November of 2017.

Noah Barker shows his versatility covering hooker on the bench, where there are two players set to make their debuts. Nakai Penny earns a spot in the team after impressing with the Seawolves during their title-winning season, while 20-year-old scrumhalf Will Percillier joins the team from France where he is part of the Stade Français academy program.

Los Teros coach Esteban Meneses has resisted experimentation with World Rugby Rankings points on the line. A defeat of more than 15 points would see Canada switching places with Uruguay on the table, the visitors currently in 20th spot while the Teros hold on to 17th. Meneses has called in eight of his MLR pros in a side only a handful of European-based professionals short of full strength.

Former Munster prop Mario Sagario returns after missing the November tests and first choice hooker Germán Kessler is back from a knee injury. Openside flanker Juan Manuel Gaminara captains the side for the fourth straight ARC. It’s an intimidating forward pack that boasts three times the number of test caps won by their Canadian counterparts.

The experience divide isn’t quite as dramatic in the backs but it’s still two-to-one in terms of caps. Starting centres Andrés Vilaseca and Joaquín Prada are creeping towards their half-century. The pairing is notable as it sees Juan Manuel Cat lining up at flyhalf. Uruguay have yet to solidify a backup to France-based Felipe Berchesi at the position with Cat now being eyed as potential cover. It’s a position he is familiar with at club level but he has never before started a test in the No10 shirt.

Other backline stars include Houston SaberCats scrumhalf Santiago Arata and Austin Elite fullback Rodrigo Silva. Both scored highlight-reel tries against Canada in the Qualifiers last year and will have been identified as major threats. Nicolás Freitas returns from injury to start on the left wing. He spent a season training with the Jaguares and is another who the Canadian coaches will have noted, particularly his strength in defense.

Austin tighthead Juan Echeverría arrived with Vilaseca during the week, the only MLR player not in the starting lineup. Utility forward Gonzalo Soto Mera earns a recall after being left out of the European tour, as does backup flyhalf and goal-kicker Andrés De León.

The scrum battle leans towards Uruguay but Canada have a clear edge at the lineout with Baillie key to disrupting his Gold teammate Ignacio Dotti, the only member of the Teros starting side taller than 6’2″ (1.88m). There are attacking threats in both backlines and questions to be answered from both sets of halfbacks though Arata does loom as a potential game changer.

Winning in Montevideo is no longer a routine occurrence for this Canadian side. On Saturday they will be underdogs based on rankings, test experience, and previous results. This team does, however, have three test wins behind them and renewed belief. That will be enough to make this a close contest but on paper the edge must go to Los Teros.

Kickoff is set for 9:40pm local time, 4:40pm Pacific, 7:40pm Eastern. Live broadcasts will be available on ESPN in South America, FloRugby in the USA, and online at TSN.ca in Canada. Those located elsewhere can watch on the World Rugby website.

URUGUAY
1 Mateo Sanguinetti, 2 Germán Kessler, 3 Mario Sagario, 4 Ignacio Dotti, 5 Diego Magno, 6 Juan Manuel Gaminara (capt.), 7 Juan Diego Ormaechea, 8 Alejandro Nieto, 9 Santiago Arata, 10 Juan Manuel Cat, 11 Nicolás Freitas, 12 Andrés Vilaseca, 13 Joaquín Prada, 14 Federico Favaro, 15 Rodrigo Silva

Replacements: 16 Guillermo Pujadas, 17 Facundo Gattas, 18 Juan Echeverría, 19 Gonzalo Soto Mera, 20 Leandro Segredo, 21 Tomás Inciarte, 22 Andrés De León, 23 Agustín Della Corte

CANADA
1 Djustice Sears-Duru, 2 Eric Howard, 3 Matt Tierney, 4 Conor Keys, 5 Josh Larsen, 6 Kyle Baillie, 7 Lucas Rumball (capt.), 8 Luke Campbell, 9 Jamie Mackenzie, 10 Patrick Parfrey, 11 Kainoa Lloyd, 12 Ciaran Hearn, 13 Ben LeSage, 14 Andrew Coe, 15 Theo Sauder

Replacements: 16 Noah Barker, 17 Ryan Kotlewski, 18 Cole Keith, 19 Mike Sheppard, 20 Dustin Dobravsky, 21 Nakai Penny, 22 Will Percillier, 23 Nick Blevins

Date: Saturday, February 2
Venue: Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo
Kickoff: 21:40 local (16:40 Pacific, 19:40 Eastern)
Referee: Federico Anselmi (UAR)
Broadcasts: ESPN Vivo (Brazil), ESPN 3 (South America), FloRugby (USA), TSN.ca (Canada), World Rugby