USA

Downtown Chicago played host to representatives from all six contending international rugby teams for the final Barclays Churchill Cup press conference at The Gage Pub on June 18.

The coaches and captains from Argentina A, Canada, England Saxons, Ireland A, Scotland A and the USA were on hand to discuss this Saturday’s tripleheader of final matches at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill., which kicks off at 11:45 a.m. (CDT).

The England Saxons are set to take on Scotland A for the Cup, while Ireland A and Argentina A will battle it out for third place in the Plate final match. The USA will meet cross-border rival Canada in the Bowl Final.

Terry Burwell, Barclays Churchill Cup Tournament Director kicked off the conference with praise for the host city and the Toyota Park venue, where USA Rugby returns for the second year after first playing at the facility against the reigning Heineken Cup champions, Ireland’s Munster Rugby in August 2007.

“We’re delighted to be in Chicago, we’ve had a very successful tour in Ontario to date, three super venues, the volunteers and crowds have been terrific – a real success story, not just on the field, but off the field as well,” Burwell said. “This is the first time that we’ve been into the States for the finals, we had a successful pool matches in San Francisco, San Jose two years ago and USA committed to taking Churchill Cup next year and as such, this is very much a taster for next year, with all of the games scheduled to be in the U.S.

“Chicago is a great venue – they proved that last year with a game against Munster. It’s a fantastic city and obviously hoping for the Olympics in 2016, as well. There’s lots and lots of strong connections that we can build on here and I’m certainly looking forward to a great weekend. Good luck to everybody and it’s great to be here.”

Here is a glimpse of each team’s thoughts looking ahead to Finals Day:

Plate Final: Argentina A vs. Ireland A - 11:45

In their Barclays Churchill Cup debut, Argentina A advances to the Plate final competition against Ireland A. Both teams endured a demanding schedule getting to the final round – Argentina falling to Scotland A before narrowly escaping the grasp of Canada and Ireland besting the USA prior to a tough meeting against the England Saxons.

“I think matches between Argentina and Ireland are always hugely competitive,” said Allen Clarke, Ireland A Coach. “We picked up a couple of minor knocks in the game against England and its very demanding, but I couldn’t have asked for more from the players. Our focus is on the game on Saturday”

“We had a very difficult match against Canada and now we have the opportunity to play Ireland on Saturday – for us it’s a very important match. We know they have a strong team and strong players. We just hope we can play like we did Canada and take full advantage of this great opportunity,” said Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Gauthier.

Scotland A vs. England Saxons - 2:05

After taking home top honors at the 2007 BCC, a very young England Saxons team, looks to defend the Cup in their match versus Scotland.

“Winning the Cup is hugely important to us. We were fortunate enough to win it last year and it’s a great stepping stone and a great chance for our guys to get noticed for the England National Team – but that’s at the back of everybody’s minds. At the moment, our primary focus is on winning this weekend,” said England Saxons Captain Will Skinner.

Standing in the Saxons way, Scotland A head into Saturday’s match after a rigorous schedule en route to the Final - defeating Canada on June 7, before topping Argentina on June 11.

“We obviously had two very tough games in four days, and with two days off,” said Scotland Head Coach Rob Moffat. “But now we’re looking forward to playing England in the final. We’ve played some good rugby in patches and what we’ll try to do is put our best performance together on Saturday and hope for a win.”

Bowl Final/ CanAm trophy match - Canada vs. USA - 4:25 p.m.

With two losses each, cross-border rivals Canada and the U.S. each stand to gain everything on Saturday, the final match of the day at Toyota Park. The two teams also head into the game with a shot at the CanAm trophy and IRB points in the only test match on the weekend’s schedule.

“It’s definitely great to play in the U.S. We’re looking forward to a full test match on home soil and playing against Canada even makes it a bit more exciting,” said Todd Clever, USA Eagles Captain.

Canada has made a few changes to its lineup after losing a handful of players to injuries following the first two rounds, but hopes to build on lessons learned in its past two matches and put up a strong showing against the Eagles.

“Obviously, there is a little bit of a rivalry there for bragging rights or whatever you want to call it, but all of the matches are important,” said Canada Coach Kieran Crowley. “It’s all about stepping stones and improvement and we’ve done that in the first two games. We just want to continue that on in this match and hopefully put out a good performance and see what the result brings.”

For more information on the Barclays Churchill Cup visit www.barclayschurchillcuprugby.com or www.usarugby.org. Tickets for the BCC Finals Day at Toyota Park are still available at www.ticketmaster.com or may be purchased at the stadium on game day. 

Finals day schedule

Saturday June 21

Toyota Park, Bridgeview, Chicago

Plate final

Argentina A v Ireland A (11.45am)

Cup final

Scotland A v England Saxons (2.05pm)

Bowl final
Canada v USA (4.25pm)

Match officials

Argentina A v Ireland A

Referee: Chis Henshall (USA)

Touh judge 1: Rob Debney (England)

Touch judge 2: Fred Thomas (USA)

TMO: Ed Morrison (England)

 
Scotland A v England Saxons

Referee: Simon McDowell (Ireland)

Touh judge 1: Mark Newton (Canada)

Touch judge 2: Paul Bretz (USA)

TMO: Tony Spreadbury (England)

Canada v USA

Referee: Fedrico Cuesta (Argentina)

Touh judge 1: Rob Debney (England)

Touch judge 2: Andy Macpherson (Scotland)

TMO: Ed Morrison (England)

Pool results
Saturday June 7
Twin Elm Stadium, Ottawa
Pool B - England Saxons 64 USA 10
Pool A - Canada 10 Scotland A 26

Wednesday June 11
Richardson Stadium, Kingston
Pool A - Argentina A 24 Scotland 27
Pool B - Ireland A 46 USA 9

Saturday June 14
Fletcher's Field, Markham, Toronto
Pool B - England Saxons 34 Ireland A 12
Pool A - Canada 16 Argentina A 17
 
TOURNAMENT REGULATIONS ON EXTRA TIME & PLACE KICK COMPETITION

5.3.2 Third/Fourth and Fifth/Sixth Playoff

If the two teams are tied after normal time in the third/fourth playoff or fifth/sixth playoff, the result will remain as a tie and the result stand as a draw. There will be no extra time or place-kick competition.       

5.3.3 Final

In the Final of the Cup, if after 40 minutes play each way the scores are level, there shall be an immediate period of extra time.

If the scores are then still equal, the team that has scored more tries in the Final shall be the winner.

If this does not produce a result, the team that has scored more goals from tries shall be the winner.

If this does not produce a winner of the match then it will be determined by a place-kick competition.