USA names unchanged side for RWCQ

October 6, 2006

The USA Eagles host the 2nd leg of their Rugby World Cup qualifier against Uruguay in California tomorrow (Saturday). USA coach Peter Thorburn obviously liked what he saw in the other hemisphere last weekend. USA Rugby provides a preview:

10-5-2006 -

THORBURN WILL USE SAME LINEUP FOR SECOND MATCH AGAINST URUGUAY

PALO ALTO, Calif. – USA Rugby’s Interim Head Coach Peter Thorburn announced today that he will use the exact same starting lineup for the USA’s second match against Uruguay as he did for the first match held in Montevideo. The Eagles won 42-13 in their first away match, and now take on Uruguay at home in Stanford University’s Steuber Rugby Stadium on Saturday at 2 p.m.

“This lineup worked well for us in the first match,” Thorburn said. “The team proved they could play well and I think they deserve another start. Obviously Uruguay will be changing their approach a bit, so we will be ready for that, but as long as we continue to keep our scrums and line-outs together, we shouldn’t have any problem.”

Starting for the pack once again will be Mike French (Vista, Calif.), Chris Osentowski (Hermosa Beach, Calif.) and hooker Pat Bell (Marietta, Ga.) in the front row, while Alec Parker (Aspen, Colo.) and Hayden Mexted (St. Louis, Mo.) pair up at lock. Mark Aylor (San Angelo, Texas) and Todd Clever (San Jose, Calif.) join the pack as flankers, as Scott Lawrence (Life University) rounds it out at No. 8.

In the back line there are no surprises as Chad Erskine (Chicago, Ill.) will start the game at scrumhalf, and Captain Mike Hercus (Cordiff, Wales) is in at flyhalf. Paul Emerick (Pella, Iowa) and Jeff Hullinger (Provo, Utah) start on the wings. The inside and outside center positions are filled by Albert Tuipolotu (San Mateo, Calif.) and Phillip Eloff (Chicago, Ill.), while Francois Viljoen (Los Angeles) is in at fullback.

There were a couple changes to the replacements named for this game, however, since Adam Russell suffered an injury in the first match and has since been sent home. Thorburn has named Blake Burdette (Salt Lake City, Utah), Mike MacDonald (El Cerrito, Calif.), Mike Mangan (Crystal Lake, Ill.) and Ron Rosser (Temecula, Calif.) to be the forward replacements, while David Williams (Boulder, Colo.), Vaha Esikia (San Mateo, Calif.) and Scott Jones (Chicago, Ill) look to sub in for the backs.

For more information on the USA’s home match at Stanford, Calif., please call Sara John at 719-310-2606.

USA
1. Mike French
2. Patrick Bell
3. Chris Osentowski
4. Alec Parker
5. Hayden Mexted
6. Mark Aylor
7. Todd Clever
8. Scott Lawrence
9. Chad Erkine
10. Mike Hercus (C)
11. Albert Tuipolutu
12. Philip Eloff
13. Jeff Hullinger
14. Paul Emerick
15. Francois Viljoen
16. Blake Burdette
17. Mike MacDonald
18. Mike Mangan
19. Ron Rosser
20. David Williams
21. Vaha Esikia
22. Scott Jones

Uruguay
1. Rodrigo Sánchez
2. Diego Lemelas
3. Guillermo Storace
4. Juan Miguel Álvarez
5. Juan Alzueta
6. Hernán Ponte
7. Nicolás Grille
8. Rodrigo Cap? (C)
9. Juan Campomar
10. Sebastián Aguirre
11. Juan Labat
12. Diego Aguirre
13. Joaquin Pastore
14. Francisco De Posadas
15. Juan Menchaca
16. Oscar Durán
17. Juan Andrés Pérez
18. Carlos Protasi
19. Rafael Álvarez
20. Ignacio Conti
21. Matías Arocena
22. Juan Llovet