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The 2018 Americas Pacific Challenge is set for October. This year’s edition is to be the third in tournament history. Like the 2016 and 2017 Americas Pacific Challenge events, the 2018 edition will also take place in Uruguay.
The competition will involve six participants, each of whom will play three matches. The match days are to be October 06, 10, and 14.
All six involved are to have the opportunity of preparing for RWC 2019. In the case of Canada the Americas Pacific Challenge will go beyond fine-tuning as the North Americans finalize their preparations for the do-or-die RWC Repechage Finals in France in November.
The five remaining competitors in the Americas Rugby Challenge have booked their places in RWC 2019. All five are to field their respective ‘A’ sides, as is also the case with Canada. The competitors are to be the Argentina XV, Canada ‘A’, USA Selects, Uruguay XV, Samoa ‘A’, and Tonga ‘A’.
The teams are identical to those from the 2017 tournament. Special interest will go to certain rivalries given the pools that will be played in RWC 2019. The Argentina XV’s match vs USA Selects is a preview of the seniors match in Japan.
For the Uruguay XV their match against Fiji in Kamaishi will be targeted as a ‘winnable’ encounter. The opportunity of the Uruguay XV facing both Samoa ‘A’ and Tonga ‘A’ in Montevideo is a unique manner of preparing against a team that plays entirely different to that of Uruguay’s regular opponents.
Referees have also been confirmed for the tournament. The four officials are to be Joaquín Montes (Uruguay), Derek Summers (USA) y Shuhei Kubo (Japan), and Pablo Deluca (Argentina).
SCHEDULE (URUGUAY TIME)
Saturday October 06
11:00am Argentina XV v Samoa ‘A’
1:30pm Tonga A v USA Selects
4:00pm Uruguay XV vs Canada ‘A’
Wednesday October 10
11:00am Tonga ‘A’ v Samoa ‘A’
1:30pm Argentina XV vs Canada ‘A’
4:00pm Uruguay XV vs USA Selects
Sunday October 14
11:00am Tonga A vs Canada ‘A’
1:30pm Argentina XV vs USA Selects
4:00pm Uruguay XV vs Samoa ‘A’
