26 MLR Players to Represent the USA, Canada in Saturday's Pacific Nations Cup Kickoff
Published on July 26, 2019 under Major League Rugby (MLR) News Release
When the United States and Canada take the pitch at Infinity Park for each side's first match of the Pacific Nations Cup on Saturday evening, both sides will do so with rosters littered with some of Major League Rugby's top talent.
In all, 26 players from nine teams will represent the MLR on Saturday. Canada will bring along 15 players while the USA will field 11 players in what will be the 62nd meeting between the two sides and the first of two meetings before both sides head off to Japan for the World Cup in September.
Of the 15 players that Canada will bring, three - Eric Howard of the NOLA Gold and Rob Brouwer and Mike Sheppard of the Toronto Arrows - are coming off of seasons in which they earned All-MLR honors. Howard scored the fourth-most tries in the MLR (9) while also dishing nine try assists and making 163 tackles on his way to earning Second XV honors in 2019. Both Brouwer and Sheppard proved to be pivotal pieces on an Arrows team that advanced to the semi-finals in their first season in the MLR and they earned First XV honors as a result. Brouwer finished the 2019 season with two tries and two try assists while making 93 percent of his tackles. Sheppard scored five tries, dished four try assists and made a whopping 203 tackles.
The Eagles' starting lineup features two players, Rugby United New York's Dylan Fawsitt and NOLA's Cam Dolan, that made All-MLR teams in 2019. Fawsitt finished the 2019 season tied for first in tries (13) and second in try assists (11). In addition to his spectacular offensive performance, he also made 170 tackles for a RUNY team that was 90 seconds away from advancing to the MLR Championship game in their first season. Dolan scored three tries, dished five try assists while missing just six tackles to finish the 2019 season with a tackle completion percentage of 95 and earn Second XV honors at No. 8.
Canada has not beaten the USA since defeating them 13-11 back in August 2013. The USA has won nine of the last 10 meetings between the two sides, including the last four meetings, with the lone blemish on their record coming in the form of a 28-28 draw in June 2017. Canada leads the all-time series 38-21 with two matches ending in a draw.
The match is scheduled to kick off at 6 PM MT and will be broadcast on NBC Sports Gold. Tickets are available here. A list of the MLR teams represented in the match is included below.
Glendale Raptors
   Malon Al-Jibooori - USA
   Shaun Davies - USA
Houston SaberCats
   Jamason Fa'anana-Schultz - USA
   Paul Mullen - USA
NOLA Gold
   Kyle Baillie - CAN
   Hubert Buydens - CAN
   Cam Dolan - USA
   Eric Howard - CAN
Rugby ATL
   Chance Wenglewski - USA
Rugby United New York
   Dylan Fawsitt - USA
   John Quill - USA
   Paddy Ryan - USA
San Diego Legion
   Kapeli Pifeleti - USA
Seattle Seawolves
   Jeff Hassler - CAN
   Jake Ilnicki - CAN
   Phil Mack - CAN
   Djustice Sears-Duru - CAN
Toronto Arrows
   Rob Brouwer - CAN
   Luke Campbell - CAN
   Cole Keith - CAN
   Jamie Mackenzie - CAN
   Patrick Parfrey - CAN
   Andrew Quattrin - CAN
   Lucas Rumball - CAN
   Mike Sheppard - CAN
Utah Warriors
   Gannon Moore - USA
Major League Rugby Stories from July 26, 2019
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
