By Canadian Press

Canadian men face Chile in ARC in bid for 100th all-time test win

Feb 10, 2017 | 7:45 AM

Canada and Chile have both revamped their lineups ahead of Saturday’s Americas Rugby Championship match in Langford, B.C.

Canada coach Mark Anscombe has made five changes to the team that lost 20-6 to Argentina ‘A’ last Saturday in the snowy slop at Westhills Stadium.

Djustice Sears-Duru, Benoit Piffero, Ollie Nott, Gradyn Bowd and Guiseppe du Toit come into the starting 15 with du Toit, Nott and Conor Keys set for their test debuts. Keys started the loss to the Argentina Jaguars which was not considered an official test because Argentina fielded its second side.

Cole Keith, Reegan O’Gorman, Matt Beukeboom, Robbie Povey and George Barton can all earn their first caps coming off the bench.

“It’s exciting to see some new blood and see what they can do,” Anscombe said in a statement. “We’ve got to be realistic in what we expect from them but it’s a great opportunity and all part of the process of building for the future.”

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It’s another green Canadian team with the starting 15 having a combined cap count of 139. Captain Gordon McRorie (23), centre Nick Blevins (37), prop Djustice Sears-Duru (22) and wing Taylor Paris (18) account for 100 of those.

Veteran scum half Phil Mack has 34 of the 45 caps on the bench.

Chile coach Bernard Charreyre has made 11 changes to the team that lost 17-3 in Brazil. There are nine new faces and two positional changes. Hooker Tomas Dussaillant is out with a fractured thumb.

“There was only a period of 10 minutes where they were dominated by Brazil last weekend, the rest of that game was pretty even,” Anscombe said of Chile. “They’ve got a reasonable forward pack that’s capable of winning good ball so we’re going to have to be aware and alert and make sure our defence is on the ball.”

The Canadian men are ranked 18th in the world compared to No. 30 for Chile.

Canada, 99-140-5 since 1932, is looking for a landmark 100th test win that would seem likely if things go anywhere near the way they did last year when the teams met.

Canada thumped Chile 64-13 in their first-ever meeting — in Santiago at last year’s tournament. Canada’s nine tries were the second most by a Canadian team in a test match, while the 64 points represented the third most by Canada.

The forecast is warmer for Saturday but there may be high winds.

The Argentina loss dropped Anscombe’s record to 1-6-0 since taking over Canada last March, although the New Zealand native hasn’t been able to field his strongest lineup in most of those matches.

Gradyn Bowd starts at No. 10 as Anscombe continues to evaluate talent at fly half. Robbie Povey started last week with McRorie moving to No. 10 when Povey came off. Pat Parfrey is out with a leg injury.

Prop Matt Tierney makes his first test start for Canada alongside hooker Piffero while Nott comes in at openside flanker. Du Toit partners the hard-charging Blevins in the centres as Brock Staller shifts from No. 13 to fullback.

The Canadian men head to Burnaby to face the 17th-ranked U.S. Eagles at Swangard Stadium on Feb. 18 before flying south for matches against No. 21 Uruguay on Feb. 25 and No. 34 Brazil on March 3. 

Canada

Djustice Sears-Duru, Glasgow Warriors Scotland), Oakville, Ont.; Benoit Piffero, Blagnac Sporting Rugby Club (France), Montreal; Matt Tierney, Section Paloise (France), Oakville, Ont.; Conor Keys, UVic Vikes, Stittsville, Ont.; Liam Chisholm, UVIC Vikes, Kenora, Ont.; Lucas Rumball, Balmy Beach RFC, Toronto; Ollie Nott, UVIC Vikes, Qualicum, B.C.; Admir Cejvanovic, Burnaby Lake RFC, Burnaby, B.C.; Gordon McRorie (capt.), Calgary Hornets, Calgary; Gradyn Bowd , UVIC Vikes, Red Deer, Alta.; Taylor Paris, Agen (France), Barrie, Ont.; Guiseppe Du Toit, UVIC Vikes, Maple Ridge, B.C.; Nick Blevins, Calgary Hornets, Calgary; Dan Moor, Balmy Beach RFC, Toronto; Brock Staller, UBC Thunderbirds, Vancouver.

Replacements

Eric Howard, Brantford Harlequins, Ottawa; Rob Brouwer, Lindsay RFC, Lindsay, Ont.; Cole Keith, James Bay AA, Sussex, N.B.; Reegan O’Gorman, Marist Albion (New Zealand), Vancouver; Matt Beukeboom, Section Paloise (France), Lindsay, Ont,; Phil Mack, James Bay AA, Victoria; Robbie Povey, Bedford Athletic (England), Northampton, England; George Barton, Clermont Espoirs (France), Duncan, B.C.

Chile

Vittorio Lastra, Rodrigo Moya, Jose Tomas Munita, Mario Mayol, Nikola Bursic, Arturo Seeman, Anton Petrowitsch, Benjamín Soto (capt.), Jan Hasenlechner, Francisco Cruz, Tomas Ianiszewski, Simon Pardakhty, Jose Ignacio Larenas, Franco Velarde, Pedro Pablo Verschae.

Replacements

Martín Mendoza, Claudio Zamorano, Gonzalo Martínez, Manuel Dagnino, Eduardo Orpis, Juan Pablo Larenas, Jorge Castillo, Rodrigo Fernandez.

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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press