ARC Preview – USA vs Brazil

Riding high after their victory over Canada in São José dos Campos, Brazil will enter dangerous waters as they arrive in Texas to play the USA at Dell Diamond on Saturday. They will be buoyed somewhat by the dominant win of the Argentina XV last weekend and also the absence of three Premiership stars though the task remains a difficult one.

It will be a special occasion for two legends of Brazilian rugby. The Duque brothers – Lucas and Moisés – will each celebrate their 50th test caps for Brazil after more than a decade of service to their country. Only three Tupis have achieved the mark before, with João Luiz da Ros the record-holder in 67 caps.

The duo were both in the lineup that famously defeated the Eagles at São Paulo in 2016. All told eight members of the Tupis run-on side played on that day. This is arguably and stronger Brazilian side than that day but they are not playing at home and are against a vastly superior Eagles selection.

There is but one change to the forward pack that crushed the Canadians two weeks ago. Italian-born lock Matteo Dell’Acqua makes his test debut with Gabriel Paganini swapping to the bench. Wilton Rebolo continues at hooker with regular captain Yan Rosetti settling for a spot on the bench in his first game back from long-term injury.

The backs are identical both in the starting selection and the reserves. Felipe Sancery continues to lead the side and the boot of Josh Reeves will be heavily relied upon for both points and territory. Midfield reserve Lorenzo Massari had a brief cameo in his debut against Canada and will be hoping to see more game time against the USA.

Titi Lamositele and AJ MacGinty have returned to England and Joe Taufete’e is ruled out with injury leaving Paul Lasike as the only Premiership representative in the USA lineup. Lasike, of course, was meant to sit out with suspension but a successful appeal sees him make an immediate return after being sent off against the Argentina XV.

Handed his first test start is Chance Wenglewski, who replaces Lamositele at loosehead prop, while James Hilterbrand is recalled at hooker. Paul Mullen swaps shirts with Dino Waldren to make it an entirely changed front row while Nate Brakeley starts at lock in place of Greg Peterson.

There is some shuffling in the backs as Will Magie partners Glendale teammate Shaun Davies in the halfbacks with Marcel Brache shifting to fullback. Regular skipper Blaine Scully returns on the wing along with Mike Te’o, the latter making his first test appearance in a year after missing several months with a knee injury.

Toulouse prop David Ainu’u is set to make his Americas Rugby Championship debut after winning his first caps in November and Ben Landry has recovered from a head knock to take up a spot on the bench. There is one uncapped player in the squad as former England u18 hooker Kapeli Pifeleti is included though it could be in the back row where he debuts with Dylan Fawsitt also present.

Brazil did not enjoy their last visit to Round Rock, falling 51-3 in 2017. They do traditionally struggle on the road though they have improved somewhat since then. Look for the Tupis to put in a credible performance but the USA will not be complacent following their poor showing in Round 2. Expect the Eagles to pull away in the final quarter.

Kickoff is set for 7:10pm local time, 5:10pm Pacific, 8:10pm Eastern, 10:10pm Brasilia. FloRugby is the exclusive broadcaster in the USA while TSN will show the match on its digital platforms in Canada. ESPN 3 will be the carrier in South America and World Rugby will have a live stream for those located elsewhere.

USA
1 Chance Wenglewski, 2 James Hilterbrand, 3 Paul Mullen, 4 Nate Brakeley, 5 Nick Civetta, 6 John Quill, 7 Hanco Germishuys, 8 Cam Dolan, 9 Shaun Davies, 10 Will Magie, 11 Mike Te’o, 12 Paul Lasike, 13 Bryce Campbell, 14 Blaine Scully (capt.), 15 Marcel Brache

Replacements: 16 Dylan Fawsitt, 17 David Ainu’u, 18 Dino Waldren, 19 Ben Landry, 20 David Tameilau, 21 Kapeli Pifeleti, 22 Ruben de Haas, 23 Will Hooley

BRAZIL
1 Lucas Abud, 2 Wilton Rebolo, 3 Jardel Vettorato, 4 Matteo Dell’Acqua, 5 Luiz Vieira, 6 Cléber Dias, 7 Arthur Bergo, 8 André Arruda, 9 Lucas Duque, 10 Josh Reeves, 11 Robert Tenório, 12 Moisés Duque, 13 Felipe Sancery (capt.), 14 Lucas Tranquez, 15 Daniel Sancery

Replacements: 16 Yan Rosetti, 17 Caíque Silva, 18 Pedro Bengaló, 19 Gabriel Paganini, 20 Alexandre Alves, 21 Douglas Rauth, 22 Lorenzo Massari, 23 Ariel Rodrigues

Date: Saturday, February 23
Venue: Dell Diamond, Round Rock
Kickoff: 19:10 local (17:10 Pacific, 20:10 Eastern, 22:10 Brasilia)
Referee: Damián Schneider (UAR)
Assistants: Scott Green (USAR) & Mike O’Brien (USAR)
Broadcasts: ESPN 3 (South America), FloRugby (USA), TSN.ca (Canada), World Rugby