Americas Rugby Trophy – Brazil XV vs Canada ‘A’ – ARN Guide

The Americas Rugby Trophy comes to a close on Wednesday when the Brazil XV takes on Canada ‘A’ in Mogi das Cruzes. It’s the first time representative sides from the two nations will have faced each other since the last edition of the Americas Rugby Championship in 2019.

Chile have already claimed the title but bragging rights are still on the line. It was the Tupis who were victorious three years ago in São José dos Campos. At the time it was a significant upset but only four spots separate the two sides on the World Rankings today. This match will not count towards those standings, though Brazil’s lineup isn’t far from their best outfit.

Interim Head Coach Josh Reeves has made just one personnel change to the starting side that came up short to the Chile XV. Robert Tenório drops out, with with Lorenzo Massari and Victor Silva each moving in one spot to No12 and No13 respectively. Robson Morais fills the vacancy on the wing.

The bench has been bolstered by three additions. Matteo Dell’Acqua is a surprise arrival from Italy to act as second row cover. Gabriel Quirino takes the backline reserve spot previously occupied by Morais, and Felipe Cunha takes over from the inexperienced Igor Luciano as backup scrumhalf.

Meanwhile the changes have been rung for the Canadians who are facing a short turnaround after dropping their first match against the Chile XV on Friday. Only six starters are retained and half of those will make a positional switch.

Lindsey Stevens and Kyle Steeves come into the front row, with the latter making his first international appearance. It’s an all-new back row trio in Matt Klimchuk, Owain Ruttan, and Siaki Vikilani. Kyle Baillie moves into the second row and assumes the captaincy with both Lucas Rumball and Ben LeSage left out.

Jason Higgins is fit to start at scrumhalf after being a late scratch against Chile. Cooper Coats and Robbie Povey swap jerseys with Povey directing at No10, and the new midfield pairing is Gabe Casey and Alex Russell. D’Shawn Bowen takes over from David Richard on the wing as the McMullin twins – Talon and Takoda – await their turns from the bench.

Brazil are the more experienced side here with Cléber Dias, Gabriel Paganini, and André Arruda leading the charge up front. There is youth in their backline, but even more so for Canada. The scrum may prove the most challenging for the visitors. Give the favorites tag to the well-rested home side.

Kickoff is set for 7:30pm local time, 6:30pm Eastern, 3:30pm Pacific. Live broadcasts will be available on ESPN3 and Star Plus in South America, while those elsewhere can watch a live steam on the Brazil Rugby Facebook page.

BRAZIL XV
1 Brendon Alves, 2 Leonardo de Souza, 3 Henrique Ferreira, 4 Cléber Dias, 5 Gabriel Paganini (capt.), 6 Adrio de Melo, 7 Matheus Cláudio, 8 André Arruda, 9 Douglas Rauth, 10 Lucas Tranquez, 11 Daniel Lima, 12 Lorenzo Massari, 13 Victor Silva, 14 Robson Morais, 15 Guilherme Coghetto

Replacements: 16 Endy Willian, 17 Alexandre Alves, 18 Levy Marinho, 19 Matteo Dell’Acqua, 20 Diego Vidal, 21 Felipe Cunha, 22 João Amaral, 23 Gabriel Quirino

CANADA ‘A’
1 Liam Murray, 2 Lindsey Stevens, 3 Kyle Steeves, 4 Conor Keys, 5 Kyle Baillie (capt.), 6 Matt Klimchuk, 7 Owain Ruttan, 8 Siaki Vikilani, 9 Jason Higgins, 10 Robbie Povey, 11 Josiah Morra, 12 Gabe Casey, 13 Alex Russell, 14 D’Shawn Bowen, 15 Cooper Coats

Replacements: 16 Andrew Quattrin, 17 Emerson Prior, 18 Conor Young, 19 Izzak Kelly, 20 Corey Thomas, 21 Ross Braude, 22 Talon McMullin, 23 Takoda McMullin

Date: Wednesday, October 26
Venue: Estádio Nogueira, Mogi das Cruzes
Kickoff: 19:30 local (15:30 Pacific, 18:30 Eastern)
Referee: Nehuén Jauri Rivero (Argentina)
Assistants: Damián Schneider (Argentina) & Francisco González (Uruguay)
Broadcasts: ESPN3, Facebook, Star Plus