The World Rugby U20 Trophy kicks off Saturday with four games on the slate.
The USA, after beating Canada in convincing fashion, is back in this competition and will take on a very tough Uruguay side in the first game of Pool Play.
Head Coach Kyle Sumsion said he would not necessarily be locked into the lineup of players after the Canada qualifiers, and indeed there are changes, especially in the backline.
Notable is Dominic Besag, who returns to the lineup and is now captain of the squad after an excellent showing against Canada. Besage, moves in a spot from outside center to inside center. The USA team has a decidedly Californian flavor, with Besag being one, but wing Iosefa Toia'ivao, prop John Wilson, and wing Sosaia Pongi all also coming from Saint Mary's College of California. Cal sees standout fullback Reed Santos, who got his start in the Philippines, and Case Crist returning at hooker. Two more Bears are on the reserves bench.
Perhaps the most notable changes are Tommy Hannon of Indiana coming in at scrumhalf and Aisake Tukuafu slotting in at outside center.
Notable also is the very powerful Dylan Fortune, now at Lindenwood but a former star for Cathedral Catholic in Southern California. He steps in at lock and should be a huge factor.
Of course Uruguay will be a very difficult matchup for the Americans: Powerful in set piece, strong in contact, excellent kickers, and surprising. As Sumsion said, these three pool games (Uruguay, Zimbabwe, and Scotland) are all winnable, and they are all losable
Saturday World Rugby U20 Trophy games (all in Nairobi, Kenya).
Scotland vs Zimbabwe 3AM ET
Samoa vs Kenya 5AM ET
Uruguay vs USA 7AM ET
Spain vs Hong Kong 9AM ET
All games shown on Kenya Rugby's Youtube Page. Direct link here>>
