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Braid said his new coach has made their task simple: “Execute the game plan. Philly and I, just run the show.”

Mack, another longtime sevens player, said he was looking forward to reuniting with Braid, who last started at fly-half last June against Romania.

“It’s great we’ve known each other for a very long time, we’re rooming together,” Mack said. “We’ve been bouncing ideas off each other all week.”

The duo have as good a backline as Canada has seen in a while outside of them. There’s three world-class wingers in DTH van der Merwe, Taylor Paris and Jeff Hassler available, and it seems a safe bet that Jones is looking to find a way to start all three at once.

Photo by Michael P. Hall / THE CANADIAN PRESS

Van der Merwe has been playing at outside centre but his preferred position has always been on the wing. Assuming Hassler goes on the other, Paris could get his first start for Canada at fullback.

“We have a lot of quality in the backline, it’s going to be tough to contain for 80 minutes,” Mack said.

If Jones does go for that starting trio, it’s a clear sign he’s going for a try-scoring focus in Saturday’s game. It’s the first leg, the second leg goes a week later in Montevideo, Uruguay.

You can understand why. Canada lost 17-13 a year ago in Punte del Este, their first loss to Uruguay since 2002.

Cejvanovic said that loss, where he started, was as much about inexperience as anything.

“Rugby teams most often lose because they shoot themselves in the foot. We had a lot of chances there, but we didn’t execute.”

History suggests Canada has the advantage. Recent form, maybe less so. Either way, you can see why the coach may be angling toward a go-big-or-go home opening.

pjohnston@postmedia.com

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