International Rugby: Churchill Cup 2009

06.06.2009
Argentina 'A' v England Saxons in Denver (Pool A)
Canada v Georgia in Denver (Pool B)

Preview
The other teams in the competition, United States and Ireland 'A' begin their games on Wednesday 10th June.

Argentina 'A' v England Saxons

The Argentina Jaguars come from a successful CONSUR A campaign where they easily accounted for Chile and Uruguay. Prior they were successfaul against Namibia in a two-test series. So they come into this tournament fit and with match play behind them.

Prediction: Jaguars by 5 points.

Teams

England Saxons
15 Nick Abendanon (Bath Rugby)#
14 Tom Varndell (Leicester Tigers)#
13 Dominic Waldouck (London Wasps)
12 Shane Geraghty (London Irish)#
11 Matt Smith (Leicester Tigers)*
10 Danny Cipriani (London Wasps)#
9 Joe Simpson (London Wasps)*
8 Luke Narraway (Gloucester Rugby)#
7 Ben Woods (Leicester Tigers)
6 Chris Jones (Sale Sharks)
5 Stuart Hooper (Captain, Bath Rugby)
4 Peter Short (Bath Rugby)
3 Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)*
2 Rob Webber (London Wasps)
1 David Flatman (Bath Rugby)#
Replacements
16 Tom Mercey (Saracens)
17 Mark Lambert (Harlequins)*
18 Neil Briggs (Sale Sharks)*
19 Tom Guest (Harlequins)
20 Phil Dowson (Newcastle Falcons)
21 Micky Young (Newcastle Falcons)*
22 Stephen Myler (Northampton Saints)

*Denotes uncapped for England Saxons
# Test player
http://www.rfu.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/RFUHome.England_Detail/StoryID/22814

Argentina team not yet available

Canada v Georgia

Georgia is the new team in this competition. They are fresh from a very successful European season in which they topped the European Nations Cup Division 1 table. They will have one disadvantage against Canada. Georgia last played as a team against Russia in late March. Canada has had a recent outings against Ireland and Wales.

Georgia has left out of this squad a number of experienced players needing a rest after a long winter of test matches and French club committments. The squad is a mix of experienced and new players, with some being recalled to the international scene.

Prediction: Georgia by 7 points

Teams

Canada

15. James Pritchard (Bedford Blues)
14. Dean Van Camp (Velox Valhallians)
13. Ciaran Hearn (Castaway Wanderers)
12. DTH van der Merwe (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland)
11. Sean Duke (University of Victoria, Vancouver, BC)
10. Ander Monro (Colorno, Italy)
9. Ed Fairhurst (Cornish Pirates, England)
8. Aaron Carpenter (Brantford Harlequins)
7. Adam Kleeberger (University of Victoria)
6. Nanyak Dala (Castaway Wanderers)
5. Mike Burak (Unattached)
4. Tyler Hotson (UBC Old Boy Ravens)
3. Andrew Tiedemann (University of Victoria)
2. Pat Riordan, Capt (University of Victoria)
1. Kevin Tkachuk (Glasgow Warriors, Scotland)
Replacements:
16. Mike Pletch (Velox Valhallians)
17. Doug Wooldridge (Cowichan RFC)
18. Stuart Ault (Rotherham Titans, England)
19. John Moonlight (University of Victoria/Pickering, ON)
20. Matt Evans (Hartpury College, England)
21. Bryn Keys (Moseley RFC, England)
22. Phil Mack (James Bay AA)
Head Coach: Kieran Crowley

Georgia team not yet available

For complete lists of all international rugby test matches played by Canada and Georgia go to www.rugbyinternational.net.