Canada Won't Be A Walkover For USA In World Cup Qualifier

Canada Won't Be A Walkover For USA In World Cup Qualifier

Alex Goff previews USA versus Canada and says it won't be like the last five games, all USA wins.

Jun 23, 2017 by Alex Goff
Canada Won't Be A Walkover For USA In World Cup Qualifier
USA versus Canada is a special time in the rugby world, so one doesn't want to be a pessimist. This cross-border rivalry is possibly the most heated in any sport -- aside from hockey -- between the two nations, and the outcome for either team is anything but guaranteed on Saturday at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario. 

However, history isn't exactly in the Eagles' favor. (Yeah, yeah, the USA has a five-game winning streak; we'll get to that.) In the Rugby World Cup Qualifiers these teams have played, the Eagles have won just one game -- a 12-6 victory back in 2009. The USA went on to lose the return leg 48-11 and the series that year.

Despite a 41-23 win over Canada in Napean, Ontario, in 2015, the Eagles have usually not done supremely well in Canada's most populous province, going 2-7 other than that recent game.

And, in addition, the USA's five-game winning streak against the Canadians, while possible to maintain, has some caveats to it. For example, on August 3, 2015, the Eagles needed a last-second drop goal from AJ McGtinty to win beat Canada 15-13 in Burnaby, British Columbia. In 2016, the USA won 30-22 but mostly thanks to three tries during a yellow card. Now, don't get me wrong, a drop goal still counts as three points, and yellow cards and penalties are part of the game. But the point is, there are additional factors that contributed to the Eagles' wins in those cases.

Even in this past winter's 51-34 victory over Canada, you had to be a little reserved in the celebration. It wasn't a full-strength Canada side by any stretch, and the USA had some worrying lapses on the defensive front.

So now to this game. Canada has some players back from overseas duty, and they fit nicely into addressing some of the team's issues against the Eagles. In short, the addition of Connor Braid, DTH van der Merwe, and Ciaran Hearn to go with a Taylor Paris, who was a one-man scoring machine in February, makes Canada much, much more dangerous with the ball in hand.

The pack, too, with Tyler Ardron and Brett Beukeboom back in the fold, will present a much tougher, more experienced, and more effective challenge in the lineout and the scrum.

The Eagles, for their part, didn't look good in the scrum at all in their last two games and are still missing some big-name pros. In the open field, the USA players seem to be the better group, but Canada wins these sorts of games because the players all have the same mindset -- they identify mistakes and punish them. Many times we've seen one missed tackle or one dropped ball create an 80-meter try for a Canadian team that's supposed to be slower and less creative.

This is what I fear could happen this weekend in Hamilton.

The Eagles will make an error, do something dumb, or think the game is going to be handed to them after an early try. But Canadian players don't capitulate, and they certainly won't start doing so on home soil… in a World Cup Qualifier.

And experience matters. Seven of the Canada players on Saturday's roster have played in a World Cup Qualifier. For the USA? Two. Six Canadians have 40 or more caps. The Eagles? One, Todd Clever. Twelve Canadians have 20 or more caps, while the USA has three. You get the idea.

Despite the consistency of the overall squad, the Eagles are going to be in for some trouble against an experienced and angry Canadian team playing in front its home crowd. Can the USA win? Sure, but to do so means the Eagles have to play boring. They have to think about the less glamorous world of making tackles, ensuring no one gets tied up in a maul, securing set pieces, and making sure that the scrum won't disintegrate. The flashy stuff can come later. Right now, it's time to get to work and realize that the last five victories mean nothing.

Canadian players with 20 or more caps

Djustice Sears-Duru (28), Ray Barkwill (40), Brett Beukeboom 25, Tyler Ardron 23, Phil Mack 40, Taylor Paris 20, Connor Braid 23, DTH van der Merwe 43, Ciaran Hearn 55, Aaron Carpenter 77, Gordon McRorie 28, Nick Blevins 42.

USA players with 20 or more caps

Todd Clever 74, John Quill 21, Cam Dolan 27