(Sunlight-images.com)
|
The USA goes up against old foes Canada on July 4th in Charleston, SC, in the first of a two-match RWC qualifying series.
At stake is the Americas 1 seed for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
The winner gets automatic passage to the land of the long white cloud, while for the loser it will mean navigating what can sometimes be the treacherous waters of a home and away series against South American champions Uruguay.
The victor in that series clinches the Americas 2 seed and the loser has one last chance to qualify via the final place playoff against the runners-up from Asia.
Whoever emerges victorious from that one then meets the winner of an Africa v Europe playoff in one last home and away series.
Convoluted maybe, but what it really comes down to is that the Eagles will want to win in Charleston to put themselves in the box seat for the return match a week later in Edmonton.
Of course, the same can be said for Canada as neither country relishes the prospect of having to go through the effort, not to mention the expense, of all that with no guarantees.
On paper, it looks to be a fairly even contest. Both teams go into Charleston with 1-4 records from their early summer campaigns. The Americans may have a slight, albeit very slight, psychological edge as they’re on a one-game win streak, while the Canadians are on a two-game skid.
Historically though the Canadians have a few significant stats on their side. Canada is 31-11-1 all-time in head-to-heads against the US.
The Canadians also own the biggest winning score between the two rivals having posted that 56-7 victory over the Eagles in Newfoundland back in August of 2006. On top of that, Canada has won the last four straight.
The last time America beat the Canucks was in June 2005 in a close 20-19 decision in Edmonton.
Canada averages 23.37 points per game against the US, while the Eagles average 14.02 points per match versus the Canadians.
One of the stats that does favor the USA is that all-time point scoring leader Mike Hercus (439) is way ahead of his Canadian counterpart James Pritchard (255) of the current players on each team. By the way, Gareth Rees (487) holds the all-time Canadian record.
Be that as it may, the fact of the matter is that this crucial game is being played on American soil on Independence Day and with a vocal home crowd crammed into Blackbaud Stadium decked out in red, white and blue, the US should have a distinct advantage.
The majority of the Rugbytalk panel thinks so anyway. Bruce McLane and Brian Lowe are tipping an Eagles win, while Ray Viers reckons the Canadians will claim the spoils.
Predictions:
McLane 20-17 USA
Lowe 22-19 USA
Viers 24-18 Canada
The game will be shown ‘live’ on ESPN HD with kickoff set for 4p (ET).
