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Preview: Churchill Cup

Wednesday 04th June 2008

Churchill spirit: USA's Chris Wyles battles through some Scotland A defence last year

A revamped Churchill Cup gets underway on Saturday in Ottawa, and with champions England Saxons returning to the North American continent after clinching the Cup on home soil last year, there's plenty to play for.

The tournament will be nomadic in nature this time, starting in Ottawa, then moving on to Kingston - also in Ontario - , the third round being played in Toronto, before Finals day takes fans and teams to Toyota Park in Chicago.

The New Zealand Maoris have been replaced by the Argentina Pumas, also an A side like the England Saxons, in a significant step forward for Argentinian rugby's development while the senior squad hosts the incoming Scotland tour.

There are two pools of three teams each, with the third-placed team in each pool playing off on finals day, followed by the second-placed teams, and then the top two teams will play the final. England Saxons, USA, and Ireland A make up one pool, Scotland A, Canada, and the Argentina Pumas the other.

Canada have a new coach, Kiwi Kieran Crowley, and plenty to prove to home fans after a disappointing World Cup that saw them return home without a win.

"Clearly I have seen the World Cup video, and have seen a number of games in the British Columbia league, but the information the staff have provided has been instrumental so hats off to all the guys for their help on this," said Crowley.

"It is an exciting time, and we have worked hard to get the mix right, but it is not an overnight process.

"I have determined that you need about 17 or 18 sessions to really cover over everything and start getting where you want to go.

"But yeah - it is good to get out there and get some real work done."

The USA also have a new coach in Scott Johnson, the former Australia and Wales coach largely credited with instilling the Welsh side with the skills and vision that brought them the 2005 Grand Slam. He was even briefly courted by the Waratahs shortly after taking the USA job but did not even consider it.

The squad features an impressive 18 players who travelled to France for last year's Rugby World Cup, and the opening match against the England Saxons will be a baptism of fire for Johnson, but will be a beneficial experience whether won or lost, according to USA rugby CEO Nigel Melville.

In terms of development, this tournament is very, very important to us as it gives us the opportunity to play against top players from around the world," he said.

"The way to develop teams is to play against the best players in the world and in this tournament the USA play against teams hosting full-time professionals. It is just a great opportunity for our players.

"This first match should be an interesting test for the USA. The Saxons boast a very tough squad with several players possessing a lot of international experience."

England bring the usual strong Saxons team, reflecting the almost terrifying strength in depth within the English club game even if the senior team is struggling at the moment.

Established names within the England framework, including Gloucester's pairing of Ryan Lamb and Anthony Allen and Montpellier's Ollie Smith, are backed up by several of the Guinness Premiership's top performers this season, such as Bath wing Matt Banahan, Northampton Saints tyro Ben Foden and Bath full-back Nick Abendanon.

"We undoubtedly have talent, and if we perform to our collective abilities, then we must be considered a strong side," said coach Steve Bates.

"But then tournaments like this are renowned for upsets, so we've got to make sure our performances are strong, and I think we can be reasonably confident."

Ireland A also features some established names, not least Ulster's Neil Best, but the half-back pairing of Munster's Tomas O'Leary at scrum-half and Leinster's Jonathan Sexton at fly-half is certainly one to watch. Up front, the grizzled Bob Casey, a standout performer for London Irish in the Guinness Premiership, will be a fearsome captain.

"The last time the tournament was here (in the USA and Canada) in 2006, we had some good results where we left with the plate after a really tight contest with the England Saxons, so hopefully we can continue in that same vein.," said coach Allen Clarke.

"This year, playing a national side like the USA will be a test for the squad and equally the next game, which is only three days later against a Saxons squad with plenty of quality in it, will be a challenging experience for the players."

Scotland's A side looks a little weak, after the senior squad was hit by multiple injuries and withdrawals, but that won't bother Heriot's FP player Jim Thompson, who has been thrust into the limelight who only signed his first professional contract a week ago!

Argentina's Pumas are yet to be confimred, but the UAR and the Pumas coaches are determined that the A team be maintained as a feeder to the senior national team, and particularly to compensate when the senior team players are restricted by French club commitments.

"Playing for Argentina A has to be part of the process that ends in Los Pumas," said coach Raúl Pérez a 36-year-old engineer in the off season.

"As coaches we will have our liberties but we have already had training sessions with both (Santiago) Phelan and his assistant Fabián Turnes in which those players based in Argentina trained together.

"The conceptual idea is to have everybody operating under the same umbrella and same general ideas.

"Playing in the Churchill Cup will be a huge test for the players as they will be playing against professional players from England, Ireland and Scotland and for both Canada and the USA, this is their test window so they will be extremely keen to perform."

2008 Churchill Cup fixtures:

June 7 - USA v England Saxons, Scotland A v Canada, both at Twin Elm Rugby Park, Ottawa. Kick-off 14:00 (18:00 GMT)
June 11 - Scotland A v Argentina Pumas, USA v Ireland A, both at Richardson Stadium, Kingston. Kick-off 14:00 (18:00 GMT)
June 14 - England Saxons v Ireland A, Canada v Argentina Pumas, both at Fletcher's Field, Toronto. Kick-off 14:00 (18:00 GMT)

June 21 - Finals day in Chicago. Kick-off 11:30 (16:30 GMT)

Squads:

Canada: Ed Fairhurst, Pat Fleck, Ciaran Hearn, Bryn Keys, Justin Mensah-Coker, Ander Monro, James Pritchard, Mike Pyke, Ryan Smith, David Spicer, Dean Van Camp, DTH van der Merwe, Ollie Atkinson, Stu Ault, Aaron Carpenter, Luke Cudmore, Nanyak Dala, Scott Franklin, Tyler Hotson, Ben Johnson, Adam Kleeberger, Mike Pletch, Pat Riordan, Devin Stubel, Kevin Tkachuk, Doug Wooldridge, Mike Webb, Andrew Wilson.

USA: Mark Aylor, Henry Bloomfield, Todd Clever, Mark Crick, Saimone Laulaupealu, Jason Lett, Mike MacDonald, Matekitonga Moekiola, Alec Parker, Kort Schubert, Chad Slaby, Louis Stanfill, John Van der Giessen, Jon Vitale, Ben Weidemer, Mike Petri, Mike Hercus, Valanese Malifa, Paul Emerick, Salesi Sika, Albert Tuipulotu, Vaha Esikia, Mike Palefau, Takudzwa Ngwenya, Chris Wyles, Gavin DeBartolo.

England Saxons: Steffon Armitage, Richard Blaze, Alex Brown, George Chuter, Alex Clarke, Jordan Crane, Jack Forster, Tom Guest, Chris Jones, Nick Lloyd, Chris Robshaw, Will Skinner, George Skivington, Andy Titterrell, Rob Webber, Dave Wilson, Nick Abendanon, Anthony Allen, Matt Banahan, Lee Dickson, Ben Foden, Paul Hodgson, Adrian Jarvis, Ryan Lamb, Ugo Monye, Ollie Smith.

Ireland A: Neil Best, Ryan Caldwell, Bob Casey, Tom Court, Sean Cronin, Stephen Ferris, Denis Fogarty, Cian Healy, Trevor Hogan, Daragh Hurley, Johnny O'Connor, David Pollock, Michael Ross, Donnacha Ryan, Roger Wilson, Gary Brown, Darren Cave, Keith Earls, Ian Humphreys, Denis Hurley, Kieran Lewis, Keith Matthews, Mark McCrea, Frank Murphy, Johne Murphy, Fergus McFadden, Tomas O'Leary, Johnathan Sexton.

Scotland A: Backs: David Blair, Rob Dewey, Matt Dey, Colin Gregor, Steve Jones, Greig Laidlaw, Calum MacRae, Mark McMillan, Roland Reid, Mark Robertson, Gordon Ross, Jim Thompson, Andrew Turnbull, Stuart Corsar, Jon Dunbar, James Eddie, Ed Kalman, Andrew Kelly, Alan MacDonald, Tommy McGee, Andy Miller, Scott Newlands, Fergus Pringle, Stevie Swindall, Fergus Thomson, Dan Turner, David Young.

Argentina Pumas: tbc