North America Breaks its Duck ... Sorta

Last week, Armchair Playmaker commented on the rough ride the North American rugby union sides are having at all levels this summer. This week, it's the old good-news, bad-news, story.

The good news is that Canada's Under-20 side broke the North American losing streak in the Junior World Championship by beating Fiji 17-10.

The bad news is that the win put North American representative sides at 1-7 on the week. In the Churchill Cup, the United States fell to Ireland "A" 46-9 while Canada lost 17-16 to Argentina "A." In the Junior World Championship, the United States was beaten 20-6 by Samoa and 41-14 by Scotland, and Canada's lone win over Fiji was tempered by a 60-18 hiding from England. Meanwhile, England Counties won a rematch over a U.S. Select side 31-16, then put down a Canada select side 31-6.

And then there's the ambiguous news. A North American side is guaranteed to win (or at least not lose in case of an honorable draw) a Churchill Cup match Saturday, as the United States and Canada are set to play for the Churchill Cup's wooden spoon (a.k.a. the "bowl final").

In the Junior World Championship, Canada will take on Scotland while the United States matches up with Fiji. Both of those matches are scheduled for Wednesday.