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A direct line to Rugby World Cup 2023 opens at Infinity Park on Saturday where the USA host Uruguay with the Americas 1 spot on offer. The winner of the series will earn a place in Pool A alongside New Zealand, France, Italy, and an African qualifier; the loser will have two more chances to earn a ticket to France via the Americas 2 or the Repechage qualifier next year.
Uruguay advanced as the top South American side after defeating Chile and Brazil in Montevideo, though they were given a major scare by the Cóndores. Similarly the Eagles required a complete turnaround in form to recover from a stunning loss to Canada in St. John’s and secure their seat opposite Los Teros.
One outlier aside, recent results suggest this will be a closely-fought series. The two sides have split their last four games, each winning once at home and once on the road. They sit neck-and-neck on the World Rugby Rankings at 16 and 17 with the USA ahead by only a miniscule amount.
Charged with setting the standard at kickoff for the Eagles on Saturday are 10 of the same starters who were defeated at Starfire Stadium two years ago. It’s a very similar lineup that faced Canada three weeks ago with only three exceptions.
AJ MacGinty’s absence is the most notable due to injury. Will Magie fills in at flyhalf with Bryce Campbell once again assuming the captaincy. Mika Kruse has recovered sufficiently to resume his place on the wing with Ryan Matyas missing out. Will Hooley returns to the match day squad for the first time since RWC 2019 to take up a spot on the bench.
Up front there is one change with Andrew Guerra handed his first test start in place of Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz on the flank. Newcastle Falcons giant Greg Peterson is recalled on the bench, and Matt Harmon replaces Chance Wenglewski as backup loosehead prop. NOLA flanker Moni Tonga’uiha is set to win his first cap as a replacement.
It’s a largely predictable lineup for Los Teros with three personnel changes to the team that beat Brazil in July. Two European-based forwards have been deemed unfit to play in the first test, though Uruguay are hopeful that first choice hooker Germán Kessler and veteran flanker Franco Lamanna will return for the second leg in Montevideo.
With Kessler out it’s Facundo Gattas who gets the start at hooker as Guillermo Pujadas drops to the bench. Both were part of the World Cup squad. Otherwise it’s an unchanged pack with record cap winner Diego Magno and Eric Dosantos both capable of covering both second or back row.
Agustín Ormaechea is ruled out with injury but the team has received a major boost with the return of Top 14 star Santiago Arata who starts in the No9 shirt. A backline reshuffle sees Nicolás Freitas move into the midfield with Rodrigo Silva on the wing and Felipe Etcheverry handed the start at fullback.
The USA will have a side advantage in the backline but Uruguay have the edge in speed and guile. In Felipe Berchesi they have an accomplished kicker and there is bags of experience with seven players in the match day squad above the 50-cap threshold compared to just one for the USA.
Both teams are effectively comprised entirely of professionals with the Eagles drawing from Major League Rugby and Los Teros heavily leaning on SLAR franchise Peñarol. The set piece will be an intriguing battle, though one point of difference for the USA looks to be the ball carrying ability of their France-based front row trio of David Ainu’u, Kapeli Pifeleti, and Joe Taufete’e.
A warm and dry day with only a light breeze is on the forecast, leaving this one down to a battle of wits and determination. An Eagles team with the likes of MacGinty and Paul Lasike would be expected to win more convincingly at home. Without they are lukewarm favorites to win, but whether they can build a score to carry into the South American leg remains to be seen.
Kickoff is set for 6pm local time, 5pm Pacific, 8pm Eastern, and 9pm in Montevideo. Live broadcasts are available on FloRugby in the USA and Star+ in Uruguay. Those located outside the Americas can watch a live stream provided by World Rugby.
USA
1 David Ainu’u, 2 Kapeli Pifeleti, 3 Joe Taufete’e, 4 Nate Brakeley, 5 Nick Civetta, 6 Hanco Germishuys, 7 Andrew Guerra, 8 Cam Dolan, 9 Ruben de Haas, 10 Will Magie, 11 Mika Kruse, 12 Bryce Campbell (Capt.), 13 Tavite Lopeti, 14 Christian Dyer, 15 Marcel Brache
Replacements: 16 Dylan Fawsitt, 17 Matt Harmon, 18 Paul Mullen, 19 Greg Peterson, 20 Moni Tonga’uiha, 21 Nate Augspurger, 22 Luke Carty, 23 Will Hooley
URUGUAY
1 Mateo Sanguinetti, 2 Facundo Gattas, 3 Diego Arbelo, 4 Ignacio Dotti, 5 Manuel Leindekar, 6 Manuel Ardao, 7 Santiago Civetta, 8 Manuel Diana, 9 Santiago Arata, 10 Felipe Berchesi, 11 Gastón Mieres, 12 Andrés Vilaseca (capt.), 13 Nicolás Freitas, 14 Rodrigo Silva, 15 Felipe Etcheverry
Replacements: 16 Guillermo Pujadas, 17 Juan Echeverría, 18 Matías Benítez, 19 Diego Magno, 20 Eric Dosantos, 21 Tomás Inciarte, 22 Federico Favaro, 23 Felipe Arcos Pérez
Date: Saturday, October 2
Venue: Infinity Park, Glendale
Kickoff: 18:00 local (17:00 Pacific, 20:00 Eastern, 21:00 Montevideo)
Referee: Frank Murphy (Ireland)
Assistants: Peter Martin (Ireland) & Scott Green (USA)
TMO: Derek Summers (USA)
Broadcasts: FloRugby (USA), Star+ (Uruguay), World Rugby (outside Americas)
RECENT RESULTS
2019-03-02 – USA 25, Uruguay 32 (Starfire Stadium, Tukwila)
2018-03-03 – Uruguay 19, USA 61 (Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo)
2017-02-04 – USA 29, Uruguay 23 (Toyota Field, San Antonio)
2016-03-05 – Uruguay 29, USA 25 (Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo)
