It is part of the 2017 Americas Rugby Championship, which returns for its second year as part of an initiative by World Rugby to develop the sport in second-tier nations. All games in the ARC are Test matches except those featuring defending-champion Argentina XV, which is that country鈥檚 national B team. The full Argentina Pumas national side is ranked No. 7 in the world and would overwhelm the America鈥檚 competition.
sa国际传媒 will also meet world No. 28 Chile on Feb. 11 at Westhills Stadium and play the No. 17-ranked U.S. Eagles on Feb. 18 at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby. The away games in this tournament for the world No. 18-ranked Canadian side will be at No. 19 Uruguay on Feb. 25 and at No. 35 Brazil on March 4 at venues to be determined.
鈥淲ith the ARC competition, as well as the remaining fixtures we have in 2016, it presents an opportunity for players to put their hand up for a place in future squads and demonstrate that they have the ability to play Test rugby,鈥� said Victoria-based Canadian head coach Mark Anscombe, in a statement.
sa国际传媒 was 3-2 in the 2016 America鈥檚 competition with wins over Uruguay and Brazil at Westhills Stadium, and a victory over Chile in Santiago, but losses to Argentina XV and the U.S.
Tickets for the games in Langford and Burnaby go on sale today at events.rugbycanada.ca.
It will be one of two international rugby events hosted on the Island next year. It was announced earlier that the 2016 Rio Olympics bronze-medallist Canadian team will host the sa国际传媒 Sevens women鈥檚 tournament for the third consecutive year at Westhills Stadium on May 27-28.
