Rugby Canada – Canada’s Men’s Head Coach Mark Anscombe names starting roster for round four of the 2017 Americas Rugby Championship as Canada faces Uruguay in Montevideo; Watch LIVE on TSN “GO” on Saturday and delayed on TSN 2 on Sunday

MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY – A returning Conor Trainor and Brett Beukeboom have both been named in Canada’s starting XV for Saturday’s Americas Rugby Championship clash against Uruguay .

In addition to Trainor and Beukeboom, Gordon McRorie returns to the starting lineup while Clay Panga makes his first appearance of the ARC at flanker. There will also be a test debut for Kainoa Lloyd on the wing.

“It’s exciting to be back in the Canadian lineup,” Trainor said. “It’s encouraging to see so many youngsters having a major influence on the field and I’m hoping to bring a bit of a veteran voice and help us get a win against Uruguay.”

It’s an unchanged front row for Canada as Rob Brouwer and Matt Tierney will lineup either side of Niagara Falls native Ray Barkwill at hooker. Beukeboom joins Reegan O’Gorman at lock with Panga and Lucas Rumball on the wings. Admir Cejvanovic, who scored his first test try last weekend against the USA, starts at No. 8.

McRorie, who will captain the side, returns at scrum-half while Robbie Povey gets his second straight start at fly-half. Lloyd in paired with Dan Moor on the wings with Nick Blevins and Trainor at centre. Brock Staller starts at fullback.

Matt Beukeboom, who has just one test cap to his name, is listed as a replacement, meaning he could join cousin Brett, who has 22 test caps, on the field.

“Getting a win Saturday will be a big confidence boost for us,” Trainor said. “Our preparation this week has been good and we’re looking forward to getting out there and executing our plan to get a win.”

Saturday’s game will be Trainor and Beukeboom’s first test appearance for Canada since the November Tour. Trainor has been dominant in France’s Pro D2 with Vannes, scoring eight tries in 17 games while Beukeboom has two tries in 15 games across all competitions for English Championship side Cornish Pirates.

Lloyd represented Canada ‘A’ last year at the Americas Pacific Challenge as well as their UK Tour in August. Provincially, Lloyd has suited up for the Ontario Blues, helping them win the 2016 MacTier Cup, and has also represented the Blues at the U19 and U18 levels as well as playing for the Ontario Emerging Blues.

Canada comes into Saturday’s game on the heels of a 51-34 loss to the USA at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, BC. Canada is 1-2 in the 2017 ARC, having lost their opener 20-6 to Argentina before beating Chile 36-15. Canada is currently ranked 20^th in the world.

Uruguay, ranked 23^rd, lost their tournament opener 29-23 to the USA before losing 57-12 to Argentina. They rebounded last weekend to beat Brazil 23-12. The two sides have met nine times with Canada winning on eight occasions. Last year, Canada beat Uruguay 33-17 in the 2016 ARC tournament opener. Uruguay’s lone win came in 2002.

Saturday’s game kicks off at 6pm ET/3pm PT and can be seen LIVE on TSN GO. The match will also be replayed on TSN 2 on Feb. 26 at 9am ET/6am PT and 7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT.

Canada’s Senior Men’s Team to face Uruguay (Name, club hometown):

1. Rob Brouwer – (Lindsay RFC/Ontario Blues) Lindsay, ON

2. Ray Barkwill – (Castaway Wanderers/Ontario Blues) Niagara Falls, ON

3. Matt Tierney – (Section Paloise/Ontario Blues) Oakville, ON

4. Brett Beukeboom – (Cornish Pirates) Lindsay, ON

5. Reegan O’Gorman – (Marist Albion) Vancouver, BC

6. Clay Panga – (Westshore RFC/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB

7. Lucas Rumball – (Balmy Beach RFC/Ontario Blues) Scarborough, ON

8. Admir Cejvanovic – (Burnaby Lake RFC/BC Bears) Burnaby, BC

9. Gordon McRorie – Captain (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB

10. Robbie Povey – (Bedford Athletic/Prairie Wolf Pack) Northampton, England

11. Kainoa Lloyd – (Queen’s University/Ontario Blues) Mississauga, ON

12. Nick Blevins – (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB

13. Conor Trainor – (RC Vannes/BC Bears) Vancouver, BC

14. Dan Moor – (Balmy Beach RFC/Ontario Blues) Toronto, ON

15. Brock Staller – (UBC Thunderbirds/BC Bears) Vancouver, BC

16. Eric Howard – (Brantford Harlequins/Ontario Blues) Ottawa, ON

17. Djustice Sears -Duru – (Glasgow Warriors/Ontario Blues) Oakville, ON

18. Cole Keith – (James Bay AA/Atlantic Rock) Sussex, NB

19. Liam Chisholm – (UVIC Vikes/BC Bears) Kenora, ON

20. Matt Beukeboom – (Section Paloise) Lindsay, ON

21. Phil Mack – (James Bay AA/BC Bears) Victoria, BC

22. Gradyn Bowd – (UVIC Vikes/Prairie Wolf Pack) Red Deer, AB

23. Guiseppe Du Toit – (UVIC Vikes/BC Bears) Maple Ridge, BC

Canada’s 2017 Americas Rugby Championship Schedule:

Canada 6-20 Argentina — Feb. 4, Westhills Stadium, Langford, BC

Canada 36-15 Chile — Feb. 11, Westhills Stadium, Langford, BC

Canada 34-51 USA — Feb. 18, Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, BC

Uruguay vs. Canada — Feb. 25, Estadio Domingo Burgueno, Uruguay

Brazil vs. Canada — March 3, Pacaembu Stadium, Brazil

About Rugby Canada

Rugby Canada is the national governing body of the sport of rugby union in Canada.  Rugby Union has a long history in Canada dating back to its initial appearance in the 1860s.  Since 1974, Rugby Canada has been a permanent fixture     on the global rugby scene, including trips to each of the eight Men’s Rugby World Cups and seven Women’s Rugby World Cups. As a regular on the Men’s and Women’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, Canada continues to climb the world rankings and challenge the dominant rugby nations in both versions of the game.  Canada’s Women’s Rugby Sevens Team also made history in 2016, capturing the first-ever Bronze Medal at the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Rugby Canada has also put a renewed emphasis on developing its junior programs to support the growth of rugby at the grass-roots level and to ensure there are elite programs for prospering young rugby players to become involved.  Our goal is to develop and train competitive teams for the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup in Ireland, the 2018 Sevens World Cup in San Francisco, the 2019 Men’s Rugby World Cup in Japan and 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.

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Bryan Kelly  I  Manager, Communications and Media Relations  I  Rugby Canada  I  3024 Glen Lake Road  I Langford, British Columbia, Canada V9B 4B4  I  Tel. 250.418.8998 ext. 314  I  Fax 250.386.3810  I Cell. 250.216.5272 | bkelly@rugbycanada.ca I www.rugbycanada.ca