sa国际传媒鈥檚 depth will be tested Saturday when the Langford-based national rugby team opens World Cup qualifying for France 2023 against the United States in St. John鈥檚, N.L. (10:30 a.m. PT on pay site Premier Sports).
Veterans Jake Ilnicki, out of the University of Victoria Vikes and Castaway Wanderers, and Kyle Baillie are out with injuries.
鈥淲e will field a young team mixed with experience,鈥� head coach Kingsley Jones of Sooke said from Newfoundland.
鈥淲e will miss them [Ilnicki and Baillie], but there is no point in risking further injury against a big, physical American team. It will be a challenge. We will need a lot of [ball] handling in possession.鈥�
The clash is a two-game, total point set, so it鈥檚 essentially a 160-minute game, with the set switching to Infinity Park in Glendale, Colorado, on Sept. 11.
鈥淭he key is to stay in the fight and keep it tight,鈥� said Jones.
sa国际传媒 will hope to ride a hometown crowd at St. John鈥檚 in the opener.
鈥淲e need the crowd to be our 16th man,鈥� said Jones. 鈥淥ur players need to rise to it and immediately get the crowd involved by starting well.鈥�
It will be the first sa国际传媒 Test match in St. John鈥檚 since 2006.
鈥淲hat I鈥檝e missed the most about [his native] Wales are the characters,鈥� said Jones.
There are plenty in Newfoundland. 鈥淭his place is full of characters, from the coach [bus] driver on,鈥� said Jones.
Starting among the forwards for sa国际传媒 will be Djustice Sears-Duru, Andrew Quattrin, Matt Tierney, Corey Thomas, Conor Keys, Lucas Rumball, Matt Heaton and Siaki Vikilani. The starting backs are Ross Braude, Peter Nelson, Kainoa Lloyd, Spencer Jones, Ben LeSage, Brock Webster and Cooper Coats, the latter two from sa国际传媒鈥檚 Tokyo Olympic sevens team.
sa国际传媒 will continue World Cup qualifying Oct. 2 at Starlight Stadium in Langford against either Uruguay or Chile.
The winner of the U.S. versus sa国际传媒 total-points set will meet Uruguay at home Oct. 2 (in sa国际传媒鈥檚 case, at Starlight Stadium) and in Montevideo on Oct. 9 with the winner of that set advancing to the World Cup 2023 France. The loser of the sa国际传媒-U.S. set will face Chile on Oct. 2 at home (in sa国际传媒鈥檚 case, at Starlight Stadium) and Oct. 9 in Santiago with the loser of that eliminated and the winner staying alive and advancing to a repechage round.
sa国际传媒 is attempting to keep alive its streak of having qualified for every World Cup since the event鈥檚 inception in 1987.
