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Canadian Suggit wins women's 7s post

Canadian Ric Suggit is to coach the women's 7s Eagles, replacing Sue Parker after less than a year.

The move can be seen as confirming USARFU's preference for Commonwealth figures. Like Suggit, the union's chairman, chief executive, and men's 15s coach are foreigners specially brought in to fill high-profile role.

Coming right after seven-a-side's admission to the Olympic Games, a phenomenon expected to bring ample new resources to the abbreviated game, the hiring is likely to renew debate over the idea that the 'professional' rugby can succeed in America only if Americans are able to try their hands as professionals. 

'I am delighted that we have been able to find a coach for our women's sevens team who has so much international experience in both men's and women's rugby,' CEO Nigel Melville said in a press release.

Melville deferred questions about the search process to women's high performance manager Alex Williams, who had not responded to an email query. 

Parker, named to the post last May after Julie McCoy stepped down following the USA's semifinal showing at the 2009 World Cup, was initially among the pool of candidates but opted to withdraw, according to Rugby Magazine, which had commissioned from her an article on women's 7s for its upcoming issue.

Suggit, better known as 'Sluggo', led the Canadian men's 15s team to a 10-18-1 record from 2004-07, including a series of a one-sided wins over Peter Thorburn's Eagles, and to the 2007 World Cup, where the Maple Leafs posted an 0-3-1 mark. After the world championship, his contract was not renewed.

Separately, Stephen Hazel is taking over as coach of the Denver Barbarians from Dave Hodges, who is stepping away to focus on his responsibilities as national team assistant. 

Hazel led the Barbos to their only Super League championship during a previous stint as head man, in 1998-99. In the same era, he managed the Eagles at the 1998 Pan American Championship and the 1999 World Cup.

Fast start needed at Dubai 7s

There's scarcely room for slow starts in Dubai, the season-opening tournament kicking off tomorrow.

Expectations for the 7s Eagles are surging following the abbreviated game's admission to the Olympics and a new sponsor deal. But in recent seasons the US has stumbled out of the blocks.

More important, after failing to score any points in last season's final four tournaments, Al Caravelli's next generation has yet to fill in for the likes of Chris Wyles, Takudzwa Ngwenya, Todd Clever, and others. Not much less may do if the US is to retain its 'core' place on the ever-improving 7s circuit: Argentina, the World Cup runnerup, also failed to score over the 2008-09 season's final two stops.

With high-scoring Kevin Swiryn sidelined by an ankle injury, nearly half the squad is new to the 7s World Series. Just four players came to this event last year, and only skipper Jone Naqica has played more than 10 tournaments.

What the Eagles lack in experience, they could make up in size. Matt Hawkins, Mark Bokhoven and newcomers Leonard Peters, Volney Rouse, and Peter Sio comprise a larger set of forwards.

The weekend opens with England, narrowly third a year ago, 6th-placed Kenya, and European 7s champ Russia. Next week looks more grueling: America's pool in South Africa includes New Zealand, Samoa, and World Cup champ Wales, all of whom topped the 11th-placed US a year ago.

Separately, a USA 7s highlight show will again air on network television after this February's Las Vegas event, organizers announced. ESPN 360 also will carry the knockout rounds from earlier tournaments.

USA to Dubai 7s and South Africa 7s
Forwards: Mark Bokhoven (Denver Barbarians), Matt Hawkins (Belmont Shore), Leonard Peters (Gentlemen of Aspen), Volney Rouse (San Francisco Golden Gate), Peter Sio (Belmont Shore)
Backs: Nick Edwards (New York AC), Ata Malifa (Belmont Shore), Valenese Malifa (Belmont Shore), Jone Naqica (captain, San Francisco Golden Gate), Mile Pulu (San Francisco Golden Gate), Andrew Suniula (Pearl City), Shalom Suniula (Pearl City)

Related:
    Prospect of Eagle 7s contracts, sponsor
    7s turnover a test of US systems
    Surging 7s Eagles could be facing turnover

   

Emirates in Eagle 7s pact

Emirates Airlines, title sponsor of the Dubai 7s tournament, will underwrite the 7s Eagles.

The agreement is a 'landmark deal for USA Rugby,' chair Kevin Roberts said in a press release. 'Emirates is passionate about rugby and will bring fresh impetus to the game's development in the U.S.'

Terms of the pact were not disclosed. 'Following the weekend’s action we will certainly be looking at developing this partnership with USA Rugby further,' Emirates president Gary Chapman said in a prepared statement.

But Al Caravelli's squad lacked gear for the season-opening opening tournaments in Dubai and South Africa until the USA 7s tournament stepped in, Rugby Magazine reported.

The team will wear USA 7s-branded jerseys during the season's first two tournaments, according to the publication, whose parent company also owns the USA 7s. Union officials contradicted the report, saying the Eagles will wear adidas kit.

The airline pact underlines seven-a-side's increased commercial appeal following its admission to the Summer Olympics. Emirates, which also backs the English and Samoan 7s teams and and three other Sevens World Series stops, apparently will feature on 7s Eagle gear, as USARFU distributed photos of Emirates logos on adidas-made jerseys. However, the Eagles are contractually required to wear USA 7s-branded jerseys at the Wellington, Las Vegas, and Hong Kong tournaments.

The 15s squad purchased adidas uniforms for last month's World Cup qualifiers, as the US has lacked a gear sponsor since Canterbury declared bankruptcy. Boulder is in the midst of a Massachusetts lawsuit with Kooga over allegations that the union repeatedly violated several clauses of its agreement, notably exclusivity, and improperly terminated the deal. USARFU has set aside $50,000 for damages, seeming to signal it does not consider the matter significant.

Separately, the US has climbed to 16th in the IRB rankings after Russia fell to Canada, capping a resurgent 2009 for Eddie O'Sullivan's Eagles.

A new podcast with a familiar voice has joined the American rugby scene.

RuggaMatrix USA, featuring Bruce McClane, yesterday debuted with an interview of English coach Simon Hardy. Should New York's answer to Ireland's George Hook manage to land interviews with senior American figures, the show could be revealing.

United States 27 Uruguay 6 (halftime: USA 13-3)

Flanker Todd Clever nabbed a pair of second-half tries as the USA clinched a berth in the 2011 World Cup with a 27-6 victory over Uruguay in Ft. Lauderdale.

The four tries-to-none performance rose little above perfunctory. Still, America's 4th win in its last 5 tests distanced Eddie O'Sullivan's 2009 from from the past 3, which combined to produce 4 wins in 20 internationals.

More positively, Saturday's contest was the second time this year that all of the try scoring was done by past (or present) Collegiate All-Americans. Flanker Lou Stanfill (Cal) and wing Kevin Swiryn (St. Mary's) accounted for America's first-half tallies, joining Clever (Nevada-Reno), whose second came after Swiryn's ankle injury prompted the backrower's unusual shift out to center.

The All-American strike rate is no more a fluke than Clever's 7s-fueled midfield skills. In the 27 most recent internationals dating to 2006, the US has scored 71 tries. All-Americans have claimed 37 of them. Try-scoring is not a perfect for overall performance, but it is obvious enough, particularly when you are not winning much.

The 52 percent share contrasts with the 37 percent of USA international appearances won by former collegiate standouts over the same time. Thus All Americans turned Eagles are punching above the weight.

Indeed, until recently the percentage was lower as O'Sullivan's predecessors had no regard for unprofessional 'schoolboys' or even domestic-based players. It is hard to remember that Swiryn, disregarded by Scott Johnson in favor of Australian recruits, is a first-year man. The 2008 All-American skipper has scored in three straight matches, on top of a phenomenal 7s season.

2009 also saw a rare try on debut for Colin Hawley, the University of California wing who crossed against Georgia. But reluctance to aggressively promote collegiate prospects appears to linger among USARFU's senior management.

Although the union has been touting revenue growth, this year's All-American squad was all but shelved, forced to fall back on pay-your-own-way in order to visit South Africa, a tour that was not announced until the last minute. Meanwhile, the Americas Rugby Championship, the shrunken representative competition which has replaced the National All-Star Championship and the North America 4, was staged in early fall, when students such as Hawley have just started classes and obviously can't play.

In New Zealand, the Eagles will meet Australia, Ireland, Italy, and an undetermined European qualifier, which almost guarantees foreign media will fasten on O'Sullivan's facing the team he coached to its most successful era, while overlooking more interesting phenomena.

United States 27 Uruguay 6 (halftime: USA 13-3)

United States
Tries: Todd Clever (2), Louis Stanfill, Kevin Swiryn
Conversions: Mike Hercus, Valenese Malifa
Penalty goal: Mike Hercus

Chris Wyles; Takudzwa Ngwenya, Paul Emerick (Alipate Tuilevuka), Junior Sifa, Kevin Swiryn (Pat Danahy); Mike Hercus (Valenese Malifa), Tim Usasz (Mike Petri); Mate Moeakiola (Jacob Sprague), Phil Thiel (Brian McClenahan), Will Johnson, John van der Giessen, Hayden Smith (Alec Parker), Louis Stanfill, Todd Clever (captain), JJ Gagiano

Uruguay
Penalties: Jerónimo Etcheverry (2)

Referee: David Smortchevsky (Canada)
Attendance: 2,237 (announced)

Dual challenge lies in Uruguay final

Tomorrow's Uruguay game presents the dual challenge of qualifying for the World Cup and satisfying expectations for a persuasive home win against a lower-ranked opponent.

Neither objective comes along that often, and taking them together creates an obvious tension between prudence and performance. While the quadrennial World Cup takes precedence, there is no denying that Uruguay is to the USA what the US is to the European and Southern hemisphere powers.

The Ft. Lauderdale contest thus becomes a comprehensive final exam for the 2009 season, which has seen the Eagles regain their footing after three very poor campaigns. Failure means another RWC qualifying round; passing brings two full years to get ready for New Zealand; and honors offers rare stability and even confidence heading into 2010.

The Todd Clever-led XV is unchanged from last week's Montevideo outfit, something that never happened in the amateur era and remains unusual. Though it lifted America's IRB ranking back to 17th, the 27-22 win did not sit well in camp because the Teros rallied with 16 points in the final quarter.

With the 15s Eagles in Ft. Lauderdale and many recent 7s stalwarts out of the mix -- including Chris Wyles, Takudzwa Ngwenya, James Gillenwater, Dallen Stanford, Paul Emerick, Rikus Pretorius, and Clever -- the 21-man assembly that began Wednesday in San Diego shapes as a symbolic milestone for Al Caravelli.

Following a season that saw the US go as high as 8th before finishing 11th in the Sevens World Series standings, the abbreviated code gained admission to Olympic Games, raising the stakes for the fifth-year head coach. In America, 7-a-side could well become the higher-profile version of rugby, and it will certainly continue as the leading commercial property.

Caravelli's habitual preference for youth and athleticism thereby advances from an avant-garde approach to developing American internationals to bare necessity in keeping up with the Commonwealth nations, for whom Olympic glory is the pinnacle of sporting achievement. Last year's cast is not an option even for the 2011 Pan American Games, let alone the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Six players including club 7s MVP Peter Sio and capped 15s flyhalf Ata Malifa advanced from September's development assembly, and are joined 3 outright newcomers and 11 Caravelli-era veterans in chasing the dozen roster spots for the season-opening tournaments in Dubai and South Africa.

Four players (Corey Blair, Malense Malifa, Volney Rouse, and recent captain Kevin Swiryn) will be joining after the Ft. Lauderdale assembly. The union's profiles for many of the other contenders are either out of date or don't exist.

Elsewhere, 6-2 Navy travels to West Point, New York, tomorrow to meet 6-0-1 Army. The Black Knights have already captured the Northeast territory title.

United States v Uruguay
United States: Chris Wyles (Saracens); Takudzwa Ngwenya (Biarritz), Paul Emerick (Parma), Junior Sifa (Midleton), Kevin Swiryn (Old Puget Sound Beach); Mike Hercus (Gold Coast Stingrays), Tim Usasz (Nottingham); Mate Moeakiola (Pearl City), Phil Thiel (Life), Will Johnson (Oxford Univ.), John van der Giessen (Albigeois), Hayden Smith (Saracens), Louis Stanfill (New York AC), Todd Clever (captain, Golden Lions), Nic Johnson (Denver Barbarians)

Reserves: Brian McClenahan (Olympic Club), Jacob Sprague (Mystic River), Alec Parker (Gentlemen of Aspen), JJ Gagiano (Roma); Mike Petri (New York AC), Valenese Malifa (Belmont Shore), Andrew Suniula (Pearl City), Alipate Tuilevuka (Provo Steelers)

United States 7s Squad
Forwards: Cory Blair (Belmont Shore), Mark Bokhoven (Denver Barbarians), Matt Hawkins (Belmont Shore), Aotealoa Holani Nahaou Unaloto (Mission), Trevor Richards (Univ. of Nebraska), Volney Rouse (San Francisco Golden Gate), Kevin Wiggins (Wilmington)

Backs: Nick Edwards (New York AC), Dimitri Efthimou (Mystic River), Tai Enosa (Tempe), Ata Malifa (Belmont Shore), Valenese Malifa (Belmont Shore), Jone Naqica (San Francisco Golden Gate), Leonard Peters (Gentlemen of Aspen), Mile Pulu (San Francisco Golden Gate), Peter Sio (Belmont Shore), Tyler Spitz (Belmont Shore), Shalom Suniula (Pearl City), Kevin Swiryn (OPSB), Clint Whittler (Belmont Shore)

Moral victories now real

In 2009, moral victories have turned into real ones.

Georgia and Canada, at last, were beaten at home and Uruguay dispatched on the road. Ft. Lauderdale should yield the same result on Saturday.

Having regained the initiative, Eddie O'Sullivan now has two years to source new players, toward the goal of recovering or even surpassing 2005's 13th place in the world world standings. That will likely be done from the top down.

Why? Mainly because four years of 'development' competitions have yielded little. This fall, only front rower Phil Thiel advanced from the Americas Rugby Championship to the Eagles for the first time. There are few, if any, bona fide newcomers from the 2006-08 North America 4 seasons who are still on hand.

Structurally, the ARC falls some four months after from the Super League season, when much of the country isn't playing 15s, while our best collegians are just starting school, and as top 7s candidates are (should be) getting ready for the Sevens World Series. Then too, the notion that the Super League is home to the country's best players was decisively torpedoed by this fall's withdrawals of four-time champ Belmont Shore and Santa Monica.

Meanwhile, with 24 months to go to New Zealand, USARFU's oft-promised competitions review is inoperative.

So it is up to O'Sullivan to drive a top-down approach, which may not be fashionable, but has several advantages. First, it relies on the Eagle mentor to identify his needs and drive the players' improvement through active coaching. Two, success or failure is primarily attributable to the coach. Three, it is (should be) far less expensive for the union and thus less disruptive to the domestic game.

Earlier this year I noted that O'Sullivan's charges were no longer making excuses about disadvantages caused overseas professionalization. Again we are finding that accountability is the first step toward victory.

United States 27 Uruguay 22 (halftime: USA 13-3)

United States
Tries: Tim Usasz, Kevin Swiryn, Junior Sifa, Alipate Tuilevuka
Conversions: Mike Hercus (2)
Penalties: Mike Hercus

Chris Wyles; Takudzwa Ngwenya, Paul Emerick (Alipate Tuilevuka), Junior Sifa, Kevin Swiryn; Mike Hercus, Tim Usasz (Mike Petri); Mate Moeakiola, Phil Thiel *, Will Johnson, John van der Giessen, Hayden Smith, Louis Stanfill, Todd Clever (captain), Nic Johnson
* new cap

Uruguay
Tries: Jerónimo Etcheverry
Conversion: Jerónimo Etcheverry
Penalties: Jerónimo Etcheverry (4), Nicolás Morales

Jerónimo Etcheverry; Martin Crosa, Joaquin Pastore, Juan Llovet, Leandro Leivas; Nicolás Morales, Juan Campomar; Rodrigo Sanchez, Martín Espiga, Mario Sagario, Carlos Protasi, Matías Fonseca, Nicolas Brignoni, Alfredo Guria, Rodrigo Capo Ortega (captain)

Referee: Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)
Attendance: 2,000 (estimated)

Ontario 27 USA 'A' 24 (halftime: Ontario 18-10)

Ontario scalped USA 'A' 27-24 Saturday in Toronto to end the shadow Eagles' short, winless Americas Rugby Championship, an outcome that is as revealing of the planning as the playing of the first-year tournament.

As it did over the brief life of the North American 4, Rugby Canada's management of the IRB-sponsored development competition looked the nimbler of the two hemispheric rivals. Where the CRU recast its Premier League as a feeder, USARFU contented itself with spending Dublin's $150,000 to prepare for November's Uruguay qualifiers, a one-time event.

Beyond failing to reactivate the dormant territorial sides or include college standouts, USARFU's ARC approach left the players with no match practice. Every American got one start. The Canuck sides played three games in September alone, while the coaching staff looked looked over three to four times as many players.

In other words, our archrival put its best and most promising youngsters into a growth environment, while America focused on marginal selections. The story was the same in 2007, when USARFU subordinated the NA4 campaign to the World Cup; but how to explain the lack of up-and-comers from the 2006 and 2008 tournaments?

In a related matter, the Mid-Atlantic territory Sunday announced reviving its senior program on its own initiative. 'While the [National All-Star Championship] no longer exists for the men, we still believe that giving the best players in MARFU a high level rugby experience is good for the whole territory,' president Kris Kabza said in a press release.

Saturday in Toronto, 2008 All American-turned-2009 7s standout and Eagle debutant Kevin Swiryn scored a hat trick as Paul Keeler's XV twice made up double-digit deficits. But Ontario flyhalf Steve Piatek's fifth penalty goal won the match for the Blues.

Argentina's Jaguars defeated British Columbia for the championship by 35-11.

Ontario Blues 27 USA 'A' 24 (halftime: Ontario 18-10)

USA 'A'
Tries: Kevin Swiryn (3)
Conversions: Volney Rouse (2), Malenese Malifa
Penalties: Malenese Malifa

Nicholas Edwards; Dallas Robinson (Corey Blair), Kevin Swiryn (captain),  Milemoti Pulu,  Leonard Peters; Malenese Malifa (Volney Rouse), Benny Mateialona; Jim Jewison (Jamie Hugh), Brian McClenahan, Tony Lewis (Phil Thiel), Ryan McTiernan, Kevin Erskine (Brian Doyle), Dan LaPrevotte, Peter Dahl, Patrick Danahy

Ontario
Tries: Mike Scholz, Mark MacSween
Conversions: Steve Piatek
Penalties: Steve Piatek (2)

Dan Gordon; Colin Brown (Ryan MacSween), Mike Scholz, Derek Daypuck (Steve Shortlly), Dan West; Steve Piatek, Adam Schouten; Doug Wooldridge (Thomas Dolezel), Mike Pletch, Dan Pletch, Brett Beukeboom (Haddon Murray), Scott Dunham, Keegan Selby, Alistair Clark, Mark MacSween

Referee: not available
Attendance: not available

Fiji match cancelled

USARFU has quietly canceled its November 28 match against Fiji, unable to arrange funding for the friendly.

Boulder had been looking for England or perhaps the International Rugby Board, which helped engineer England's shunting Fiji aside in order to play Australia next month at Twickenham, to assist with event costs. The game was announced in June but not budgeted by USARFU, according to people familiar with the matter.

The cancellation is America's first since 1992, when for lack of funds it declined a match with touring England, already in Vancouver, Canada. The embarrassment produced a new approach to national team operations, beginning 1993, under which the team could not draw upon general union funds but had to pay for itself.

The Fijian union has already communicated the contest is off. Boulder yesterday confirmed next month's World Cup qualifying dates and venues for the pair of matches against Uruguay, but said nothing of Fiji. 'We are delighted to host a great rugby nation like Fiji. The Pacific Coast has a strong rugby following and there is no doubt that the community will get behind this match and make it a success,' chief executive Nigel Melville previously said in announcing the match.

Test matches typically require the host union to look after the visiting team's in-country expenses (e.g., ground transportation, meals, and lodging) in addition to event costs. The upside is the host keeps all of the event revenue.

The IRB pays hosting costs for World Cup matches, meaning the expenses of November 21's match at Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida, will be covered by Dublin. The cost of Feburary's USA 7s, which hosts 16 teams plus officials (approximately 4 to 5 times the size of a 15s tour party), are borne by the tournament.

Fiji are ranked 9th in the IRB standings, so the cancellation is a missed opportunity for the 18th-ranked Eagles to regain ground. However, the players will be released to go home for Thanksgiving.

Prospect of Eagle 7s contracts, sponsor

Eagle 7s players will likely be under contract this upcoming season, chief executive Nigel Melville said in an interview.

USARFU is hoping to sell commercial rights to the national 7s team to a third party, Melville said in an interview with American Rugby News. One of the benefits of such an agreement would be the contracting of players and providing them with insurance.

The initiative is straightforward enough: find a sponsor to underwrite the team's operating costs. I haven't had time to listen to American Rugby News' podcast interview with Melville or Eagle 15s coach Eddie O'Sullivan, or to make any followups.

One obvious question is how Eagle 7s player agreements would relate to USARFU's pacts with Bill Tatham, who has exclusive rights to operate professional 7s tournaments and leagues in America. A 2008 extension provided Tatham with exclusive licensing and broadcasting rights to union competitions such as the club and all-star championships.

It also stands out that the reported plan is nowhere to be found in the 'draft' edition of the union's 2009-12 strategic plan. Such a landmark might well figure into a document dated September 12.

The entire description of the 7s program reads:

3.6 Elite Rugby Sevens – Build an elite rugby sevens program for men and women that creates winning teams for the IRB World Sevens series annually, Pan American Games and RWC 7’s (2013)/2016 Olympic Games.

By the by, increased US Olympic Committee resources is not the same as commercial dollars, and the draft plan itself has reduced USARFU's revenue target by 40 percent, to $12 million from the previously stated $20 million. The latter is meaningful in the context of the massive shift of dues and certain sponsorship monies from youth segment that drives them to senior representative programs.

A year ago, USARFU set out to contract 15s players, inking a notable deal with England-based Chris Wyles, but had to abandon the program for lack of cash.

Related:
    Melville: USARFU pro strategy scaled back
    Wyles contract highlights changing Eagle pathway

Canada 41 United States 18 (halftime: Canada 24-0)

That the Eagle rebound should be v-shaped is no more obvious than the connection between the test team and USARFU's overall health.

Playing short-handed for more than 50 minutes, the US fell 41-18 to Canada Saturday in Edmonton, six tries to two. Following a pair of wins over Georgia and the Maple Leafs, the lopsided match revealed an US XV that is not yet consistently accurate in the setpiece and other primary objectives, thus limiting offensive thrust.

Defeat in the second of two World Cup qualifying matches concedes Canada a berth in pool A and consigns the Eagles to face Uruguay in another two-game series, expected to be contested this November. Presuming Eddie O'Sullivan's improving charges handle the Teros, the US would have to win two of three matches against Australia, Ireland, and Italy in order to reach the 2011 quarterfinals -- suggesting the seventh World Cup will not spark rugby's epiphany among mainstream sports fans.

Just as this winter's decision to set aside Commonwealth-style 'professionalization' has been salutary for the 2009 Eagles, so USARFU might be advised to rethink its 'top down' plan for advancing on all fronts, from outsized growth in playing numbers to revenue that falls to the bottom line.

2009's player registration advanced at a rate level with the start of the decade, but no more. With test-match attendance having fallen sharply through this year's six-game home schedule, it is evident that International Rugby Board grants and the increased dues intake, as well as the short-term National Guard pact, are vital to the budget's reported increase to $8-plus million from $4 million.

Yet if the union cannot pay for the best of the collegians, who make up more than one-third of dues payers and this year contributed six newcomers to the senior national squad, then the link between the 'grassroots' and the test team is both quantitatively and qualitatively broken.

With another dollop of rookies such 2008 All-American skipper Kevin Swiryn, over the next two seasons the Eagles could aspire to fully recovering ground lost over the past four years' 6-24 campaigning. But the gains evident in the spring-summer season are more attributable to focused coaching and players charged to excel, rather than lament something they are not.

If the 2009 edition to date has done what it can with what it has, then Edmonton confirmed confirmed that playing catchup is something the US has rarely been able to afford.

Unlike Charleston, when the US resisted early Canadian pressure, Saturday's match saw the US concede three first-half tries, two after Paul Emerick's dismissal, leaving Todd Clever's charges trailing 24-0 -- 18 points adrift in the aggregate scoring that determines World Cup qualification. Fourth-quarter scores to Swiryn and the skipper showed that a side capable of making its mark on a game, if not quite drawing close enough for respectability or an end to the 12-match road losing streak.

'We let the game get away from us early on and struggled to keep shape. We played better in the second half, but by that point we were chasing the game and forcing things a bit,' coach O'Sullivan said in a prepared statement.

Fall matches against Uruguay and Fiji are expected to succeed October's Americas Rugby Championship.

Canada 41, United States 18 (halftime: Canada 24-0)

United States
Tries: Kevin Swiryn, Todd Clever
Conversion: Mike Hercus
Penalties: Mike Hercus (2)

Chris Wyles; Takudzwa Ngwenya, Paul Emerick (dismissed), Roland Suniula (Salesi Sika), Kevin Swiryn; Mike Hercus (Ata Malifa), Tim Usasz (Mike Petri); Matekitonga  Moeakiola (Mike MacDonald), Chris Biller (Joe Welch), Shawn Pittman, John van der Giessen, Hayden Smith (Alec Parker), Louis Stanfill, Todd Clever (captain), Nic Johnson (JJ Gagiano)

Canada
Tries: James Pritchard, Adam Kleeberger, Justin Mensah-Coker, Ed Fairhurst, DTH van der Merwe, Matt Evans
Conversions: James Pritchard (4)
Penalty: James Pritchard

James Pritchard; Matt Evans, DTH van der Merwe, Ryan Smith, Justin Mensah-Coker; Ander Monro, Ed Fairhurst; Kevin Tkachuk, Pat Riordan (captain), Dan Pletch, Mike Burak, Tyler Hotson, Jebb Sinclair, Nanyak Dala, Adam Kleeberger. Replacements unavailable.

Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)
Attendance: not available