- Eagles to defy 10-point handicap (10/11, Paddy Power)
Canada v USA, Saturday 4 September, KO 18:30 (BST)
The desperation in Canadian rugby right now is summed up by the choice of venue for the home leg of their two-match Rugby World Cup 2023 qualifier series against arch-rivals, USA.
The out-of-sorts Canucks have opted for Swilers RFC in St John’s, Newfoundland – the most easterly rugby club in the country- in a bid to upset the odds and turn the tables on the Eagles.
Newfoundland is as hostile as it gets from a geographical point of view and was the scene of one of the USA’s worst defeat at the hands of Canada.
Back in 2006, the USA were humped, 56-7, but times have long since changed and it is the Eagles who now dish out the 50-point beatings.
Four years ago, again in the Rugby World Cup qualifiers, Canada managed to hold the Eagles to a draw first time around on home soil before capitulating in Houston in the second leg.
And Kingsley Jones side will settle for keeping the scoreline as close as possible this Saturday when the teams meet.
However, Canadian rugby is in a state of flux at present and it is doubtful they have the ability to do that.
The national team – once Rugby World Cup quarter-finalists in the amateur era – has sunk to 22nd in the world – six places below the Eagles, who have not been beaten in the last 12 derby matches.
Canada have lost their last 10 matches against all opposition and had their backsides handed to them by England and Wales in the July internationals.
At the same time, USA scored four tries to run England closer than they ever have done, and while the way they fell apart against Ireland was disappointing, they still showed enough in the first quarter of that defeat in Dublin to persuade us that they will be too strong for Canada, even in a far-flung rocky outpost.
Canada will put up a fight, they always do in this fixture, but the power balance has firmly shifted to their near-neighbours who, by all accounts, have had the better build-up.
For the Eagles, captain AJ MacGinty is back from injury and takes his place on the bench. By contrast, Canada are missing their two most influential forwards, Even Olmstead and Tyler Ardron, and their most-promising youngster in goal-kicking scrum-half Will Percillier.
Verdict: It won’t just be the Jamie Cudmore ‘woke’ saga ripping Canadian rugby apart this weekend. The Eagles to go big.
Teams:
CANADA
1 Djustice Sears-Duru, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 3 Matt Tierney, 4 Corey Thomas, 5 Conor Keys, 6 Lucas Rumball (capt.), 7 Matt Heaton, 8 Siaki Vikilani, 9 Ross Braude, 10 Peter Nelson, 11 Kainoa Lloyd, 12 Spencer Jones, 13 Ben LeSage, 14 Brock Webster, 15 Cooper Coats
Replacements: 16 Eric Howard, 17 Cole Keith, 18 Tyler Rowland, 19 Mason Flesch, 20 Michael Smith, 21 Robbie Povey, 22 Jason Higgins, 23 Patrick Parfrey
USA
1 Chance Wenglewski, 2 Dylan Fawsitt, 3 Paul Mullen, 4 Nate Brakeley, 5 Nick Civetta, 6 Hanco Germishuys, 7 Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, 8 Cam Dolan, 9 Ruben de Haas, 10 Will Magie, 11 Mika Kruse, 12 Bryce Campbell (capt.), 13 Marcel Brache, 14 Christian Dyer, 15 Luke Carty
Replacements: 16 Kapeli Pifeleti, 17 David Ainu’u, 18 Joe Taufete’e, 19 Siaosi Mahoni, 20 Andrew Guerra, 21 Nate Augspurger, 22 Tavite Lopeti, 23 AJ MacGinty
