The Pan-Am Games rugby competition kicks off Friday in Lima, Peru with both the women's and men's events logging one pool game on the first day.

The schedule is as follows:

Game times are local time (same as Central Time)

9:50AM: Colombia vs Argentina Women

10:15AM: USA vs Trinidad & Tobago Women

10:40AM: Brazil vs Peru Women

11:05AM: Canada vs Mexico Women

11:30AM: Brazil vs Chile Men

11:55AM: USA vs Guyana Men

12:20PM: Canada vs Uruguay Men

12:45PM: Argentina vs Jamaica Men

Saturday sees a full slate of games with everyone playing twice to finish out pool play.

On Sunday, the top two teams from each pool face off in the semis and then the medal matches. The bottom two teams from each pool play a semi and final for placement.

Men's Pools:

Pool A: USA, Chile, Brazil, Guyana
Pool B: Argentina, Canada, Uruguay, Jamaica

Women's Pools:

Pool A: USA, Trinidad & Tobago, Argentina, Colombia
Pool B: Brazil, Peru, Canada, Mexico

 

“We have one clear goal and that is to win the Pan American Gold,” said Argentina men's head coach Santiago Gomez Cora. His squad spent a week training in Brazil. “It was really helpful as it allowed us to focus on the task ahead in good weather.”

Uruguay includes two players with Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 experience in Eugenio Plottier and Diego Ardao.

The USA men field a fairly young team. Cal standout Christian Dyer, who was named to the squad eallier, has had to pull out due to injury.

“Our Pan Am squad is excited to continue on the overwhelming success of the sevens program as a whole,” said JD Stephenson, who will coach the team this weekend in place of Mike Friday. “Automatic qualification for both our men’s and women’s programs is a tough act to follow, but the group selected is hungry for an opportunity to impress against some of the world’s best. The selection committee has picked a squad that represents our Tokyo 2020 hopefuls, but also those who could be pivotal in our success working towards 2024.”

Canada won the inaugural women's event in 2015, and the Maple Leafs return with a repeat on their minds.

“We’ve got a great mix of talent on this Pan American Games team,” said head coach and former Canadian captain Morgan Williams. “We have some exciting up-and-coming talent as well as some experienced world series veterans. This will be a great opportunity for exposure and experience on a big stage, especially as we look to build to Tokyo 2020.”

Meanwhile Peru will be up against it but get a chance to play some high-level rugby.

“We fully understand that this tournament is the most important in our sporting career and for this, we’ve been preparing very hard for quite some time,” says captain Rosemary Quesada Guzmán. “As amateurs, we trained twice a day, three times a week in able to be at our best for the Games.”

Previous Pan-Am Games Results:

2011 (Guadalajara, Mexico) Men: Gold Canada, Silver Argentina, Bronze USA

2015 (Toronto, Canada) Men: Gold Canada, Silver Argentina, Bronze USA

Women: Gold Canada, Silver USA, Bronze Brazil

 

This year's even will likely have to same top three for men and women. However, Uruguay is a strong men's team and Pool B promises to be a tough one for both Argentina and Canada. Watch out also for Chile.

Canada's squads are both very experienced, and the USA women also will take what is almost a front-line squad. 

Canada Women Roster	Canada Men Roster
Delaney Aikens (Briercrest, Sask.) University of British Columbia	Phil Berna (Vancouver, B.C.) University of British Columbia
Pam Buisa (Gatineau, Que.) Ottawa Irish	Cooper Coats (Halifax, N.S.) Halifax Tars
Emma Chown (Barrie, Ont.) Aurora Barbarians	AdmirCejvanovic (Burnaby, B.C.) Burnaby Lake RFC
Caroline Crossley (Victoria, B.C.) Castaway Wanderers	Sean Duke (Vancouver, B.C.) Unattached
Olivia De Couvreur (Ottawa, Ont.) Ottawa Irish	Nathan Hirayama (Richmond, B.C.) Unattached
Asia Hogan-Rochester (Toronto, Ont.) York Lions	Harry Jones (West Vancouver, B.C.) CapilanoRFC
Sara Kaljuvee (Ajax, Ont.) Toronto Scottish	Isaac Kaay (Kamloops, B.C.) UVICVikes
TausaniLevale (Abbotsford, B.C.) Abbotsford RFC	Patrick Kay (Duncan, B.C.) Castaway Wanderers
KailiLukan (Barrie, Ont.) Unattached	Luke McCloskey (Cranbrook, B.C.) Castaway Wanderers
Kayla Moleschi (Williams Lake, B.C.) Williams Lake Rustlers	Josiah Morra (Toronto, Ont.) Toronto Saracens
BreanneNicholas (Blenheim, Ont.) London St. Georges RFC	BrennigPrevost (Victoria, B.C.) Castaway Wanderers
TemitiopeOgunjimi (Calgary, Alta.) Calgary Hornets	Adam Zaruba (North Vancouver, B.C.) CapilanoRFC
Morgan Williams (Victoria, B.C.) Head Coach	Henry Paul (Victoria, B.C.) Head Coach

 

  

USA Women Roster				USA Men Roster
Kayla Canett	Scrumhalf / Flyhalf	USA Sevens Residency Program		Joe Schroeder	Prop	USA Sevens Residency Program
Cheta Emba	Prop	USA Sevens Residency Program		Jake Lachina	Prop	Army West Point
Abby Gustaitis	Prop / Hooker	USA Sevens Residency Program		Anthony Welmers	Prop	USA Sevens Residency Program
Emily Henrich	Prop / Center	Dartmouth College		Lorenzo Thomas	Prop	Lindenwood University
Kristi Kirshe	Center / Wing	USA Sevens Residency Program		Ben Broselle	Hooker/Center	USA Sevens Residency Program
Ilona Maher	Prop / Center	USA Sevens Residency Program		Harley Wheeler	Hooker	Life University
Jordan Matyas	Prop	USA Sevens Residency Program		Cody Melphy	Flyhalf	USA Sevens Residency Program
Alena Olsen	Scrumhalf / Flyhalf	USA Sevens Residency Program		Naima Fuala'au	Scrumhalf	USA Sevens Residency Program
Ari Ramsey	Scrumhalf / Wing	Dartmouth College		D'Montae Noble	Scrumhalf	Kutztown University
Stephanie Rovetti	Flyhalf / Center	USA Sevens Residency Program		Marcus Tupuola	Center/Wing	USA Sevens Residency Program
Naya Tapper	Wing / Prop	USA Sevens Residency Program		Maceo Brown	Center	USA Sevens Residency Program
Lauren Thunen	Prop	Santa Barbara Rugby		Travion Clark	Wing	Vale Rugby
Emilie Bydwell	Head Coach			JD Stephenson	Head Coach