No French holiday for Eagles
Sat, 09 Aug 2008 07:41
United States Eagles coach Scott Johnson says he is not expecting a "holiday" approach from French club Clermont Auvergne when the two sides meet in their Challenge match at the Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina, on Saturday.
"This is their [Clermont's] pre-season and we expect them to take it as such," Johnson said.
"They aren't coming in for a holiday, that's for sure and they are a pretty impressive outfit. Fans can expect some pretty physical play from both sides."
On the US side Johnson has named Mate Moeakiola and Brian Lemay as the starting props, with Mark Crick filling the role as hooker.
Ben Wiedemer and John van der Giessen will start at lock, while Todd Clever will lead the team by example at flank.
Flank Kevin Sheahan, from Dublin, joins Pat Quinn in the back row, while Joe Welch, Ben Barclay, Louis Stanfill and Rikus Pretorius will all round out the forward replacements on the bench.
For the Eagles backs Chad Erskine will start at scrumhalf, with Valenese Malifa in at flyhalf. Justin Boyd and Tyrone Coppedge will both start on the wings, while Albert Tuipulotu and Alipate Tuilevuka see time in the centres. Chris Wyles rounds out the backline at fullback.
Mike Petri, Gary Golding and Colin Hawley are the back reserves.
On the Clermont side scrumhalf Pierre Mignoni will lead the French club as captain, while Benoit Baby, Julien Malzieu, Arnaud Mignardi, Gonzalo Canale, Grant Esterhuizen and Anthony Flock will make up his starting backline.
Laurent Emmanuelli and Vincent Debaty will start at props, with Mirko Lozupone rounding out the first row at hooker. Julien Pierre and Thibaut Privat will start in the second row, while Julien Bonnaire, Emmanuel Etien and Elvis Vermeulen will round out the pack.
Clermont Coach Vern Cotter has named Benoit Cabello, Davit Zirakashvili, Loic Jacquet and Alexandre Lapandry as forward replacements - with John Senio, Brock James and Thomas Combezou as the back reserves.
Teams:
United States Eagles: 15 Chris Wyles (OMBAC), 14 Tyrone Coppedge (South Logan Magpies), 13 Alipate Tuilevuka (Park City Haggis), 12 Albert Tuipulotu (Beziers, France), 11 Justin Boyd (Dallas Harlequins), 10 Valenese Malifa (Belmont Shore), 9 Chad Erskine (Rotherham, England), 8 Pat Quinn (Denver Barbarians), 7 Kevin Sheahan (St Mary's College, Dublin), 6 Todd Clever (OMBAC, captain), 5 John Van der Giessen (Denver Barbarians), 4 Ben Wiedemer (Belmont Shore), 3 Brian Lemay (Boston Irish Wolfhounds), 2 Mark Crick (PAC), 1 Matekitonga Moeakiola (Pukekohe, NZ).
Replacements: 16 Joe Welch (California), 17 Ben Barclay (University College Dublin), 18 Lou Stanfill (California), 19 Rikus Pretorius (California), 20 Mike Petri (NYAC), 21 Gary Golding (California), 22 Colin Hawley (California).
Clermont Auvergne: 15 Anthony
Floch, 14 Grant Esterhuizen, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Arnaud Mignardi, 11 Julien Malzieu, 10 Benoit Baby, 9 Pierre Mignoni (captain), 8 Elvis Vermeulen, 7 Emmanuel Etien, 6 Julien Bonnaire, 5 Thibaut Privat, 4 Julien Pierre, 3 Vincent Debaty, 2 Mirko Lozupone, 1 Laurent Emmanuelli.
Replacements: 16 Benoit Cabello, 17 Davit Zirakashvili, 18 Loic Jacquet, 19 Alexandre Lapandry, 20 John Senio, 21 Brock James, 22 Thomas Combezou.
Date: Saturday, August 9
Venue: Blackbaud Stadium, Charleston, South Carolina
Kick-off: 19.00 (23.00 GMT)
Referee: Paul Bretz (USA)
Touch judges: Chris Henshall (USA), Fred Thomas (USA)
