Considering the history, it would be an understatement to call today鈥檚 sa国际传媒-Uruguay rugby Test in Montevideo a grudge match. It kicks off the Americas Championship tournament, which will eventually find its way to Westhills Stadium in Langford.
Uruguay upset sa国际传媒 in the Americas鈥� repechage to qualify for the 2019 World Cup in Japan. The desperate Canadians eventually qualified for the World Cup, through the at-large, last-chance repechage in November in Marseille, France, but feel they still have a point to prove against the Uruguayans.
鈥淯ruguay certainly understands how to win a little bit better than our group,鈥� said Canadian head coach Kingsley Jones of Sooke.
鈥淏ut we are getting there, on the back of a few wins from November. We鈥檙e trying to get that winning habit, which is important, because games are won and lost by fine margins.鈥�
The Langford-based Canadian squad is a combination of veterans and those looking to break into the roster on a more regular basis.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a mixed group, with some veterans released to us from European pro club teams, and some guys who missed out playing in November [in the World Cup repechage] but who have been training well with us,鈥� said Jones.
Lucas Rumball will captain sa国际传媒 today.
鈥淢atches against Uruguay are always exciting, back and forth, with a lot of action,鈥� said Rumball.
After sa国际传媒鈥檚 game Feb. 9 in Sao Paulo against Brazil, the Americas tournament heads north for games at Westhills Stadium against Chile on Feb. 22 and Argentina XV on March 1. Both games will be broadcast live on TSN.
sa国际传媒 closes out against the U.S. on March 8 in Seattle. That鈥檚 also a grudge match in the wake of the U.S. drubbing sa国际传媒 handily in the North American qualifier for the 2019 World Cup in 2017 at San Diego.
