Canada, U.S. Eagles renew rivalry in Rugby World Cup qualifying series

Canada and the U.S. Eagles will both be missing players from their starting lineup when they kick off their two-legged Rugby World Cup qualifying series Saturday in St. John's, N.L.

Star fly half A.J. MacGinty, who had been tabbed to captain the Eagles, will start on the bench after travel complications. Canada coach Kingsley Jones, meanwhile, is without lock Kyle Baillie, wing Cole Davis and prop Jake Ilnicki, who are not 100 per cent fit.

The 16th-ranked Eagles and 22nd-ranked Canadians will meet again Sept. 11 in the return leg in Glendale, Colo. The aggregate winner will advance to face No. 17 Uruguay in early October to determine who slots into Pool A at the 2023 World Cup in France in Pool A alongside No. 2 New Zealand, No. 5 France, No 14 Italy and Africa 1.

MacGinty, who plays his club rugby in England for Sale Sharks, was not expected to arrive in St. John's until later Thursday.

"It has been a bit of a nightmare for A.J., just in terms of the fact that it has taken him so long to get in here," U.S. coach Gary Gold said Thursday. "But the good thing is he's been in the States for a few days so he had had an opportunity to acclimatize."

"He will be available for us [off the bench] which is good news, but it's been a bit of a challenge to say the least," he added.

Will Magie of the Austin Gilgronis will start in MacGinty's place.

Flanker Lucas Rumball, one of 11 Toronto Arrows players in the matchday 23, will captain Canada with Arrows teammate Ben LeSage as vice-captain.

There are three Toronto players in the forward pack and three in the backline, not counting wing Kainoa Lloyd who is a former Arrow. Five others are on the bench.

Arrows centre Spencer Jones and wing Brock Webster, from the Canada sevens program, both start and earn their first caps. Toronto forward Mason Flesch and scrum half Jason Higgins could debut off the bench.

Canadian fly half Peter Nelson will serve as kicker, with Cooper Coats also available if needed. Jones can also kick.

Uncapped Seattle Seawolves centre Tavita Lopeti is on the U.S. bench.

With the pandemic interrupting rugby's international schedule, both teams have played just two games — during the July test window — since the 2019 World Cup.

Canada lost 68-12 to No. 9 Wales and 70-14 to No. 3 England in its lone action since falling 66-7 to eventual champion South Africa at the World Cup in Japan on Oct. 8, 2019.

The Americans were beaten 43-29 by England and 71-10 by No. 4 Ireland in July.

Path to qualifying

The Canada-U. S. loser will face No. 28 Chile in an October home-and-away playoff with the winner facing the loser of the North America-Uruguay series to determine who advances to the World Cup as Americas 2 in Pool D with No. 3 England, No. 7 Argentina, No. 10 Japan and No. 13 Samoa.

The loser of that playoff has one more chance to join them via repechage.

Uruguay advanced to face the Canada-U. S. winner by finishing first in a three-team South American tournament over runner-up Chile and Brazil.

The Canadian men, who have never missed a World Cup, had booked their ticket in the first stage of qualifying until last time out. Canada made it to the 2019 tournament the hard way, winning a four-team repechage after losing playoff series to the U.S. (80-44 on aggregate) and Uruguay (70-50 on aggregate).

The U.S. has not lost to Canada since 2013. The two sides drew 28-28 in the first leg of their qualifying series ahead of the 2019 World Cup.

The U.S. bench proved to be the difference in the second leg of that qualifying series, with the Eagles scoring 33 points in the last 26 minutes en route to a 52-16 victory in San Diego.

On Saturday, Gold will be able to call on replacement front-rowers Kapeli Pifeleti (Saracens, England), David Ainu'u (Toulouse, France) and Joe Taufete'e (Lyon, France) as well as MacGinty.

"I think they're looking at the last 20 minutes," Jones said in surveying the American bench.

Relying on Major League Rugby talent

Both teams draw heavily on Major League Rugby talent. There are 17 MLR players in Canada's matchday 23 (not counting former MLR players Djustice Sears-Duru and Lloyd) and 16 in the U.S. squad.

That makes for a lot of familiarity, more so given the two teams are staying in the same hotel.

There are also ties in the U.S. team. The Eagles pack features four members of Rugby United New York.

Jones; squad has had its own travel issues. Nelson, who plays in France, did not arrive until last Saturday but wasn't able to train until passing COVID tests Monday.

The forecast for the 3 p.m. local time kickoff, at Swilers Rugby Club, calls for showers with a high of 18 Celsius.