BC wins 20-13. Atlantic were all over them in the 2nd half and finished on attack - but couldn't get the points.
Re: Canada @ Rock Bottom
Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2017 4:10 pm
by rowan
The BC Premier League schedules for the Seattle Saracens men and women are out. Both teams play in the top divisions in British Columbia and both have enjoyed success in the past year. This year the men will play a total of 20 matches against some of the best clubs in North America, like Burnaby Lake, the Castaway Wanderers, and Capilano, UBC, UVic, and UBCOB. They will play home and away against teams in the Lower Mainland as well as Vancouver Island. The women will play 16 matches against many of the same teams. The BC finals are scheduled for May 5th.
Men
September
9th--Capilano
16th--@Burnaby Lake
23rd-@Castaway Wanderers
30th--Meraloma
02:00 Finished
The Rock
19 7 12
Prairie Wolf Pack
41 12 29
04:00 Finished
BC Bears
30 10 20
Ontario Blues
29 14 15
Re: Canada @ Rock Bottom
Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 7:33 am
by rowan
Canada will get its first official glimpse of a new ‘elite’ rugby team on September 9 when the Ontario Arrows take on the Glendale Merlins at Infinity Park in Colorado. Announced publicly in a brief press release on Friday afternoon, the Ontario Arrows Rugby Club are a new and independent team co-founded by the management team of the Ontario Blues to increase the volume of ‘sub-international’ fixtures for high performance players and help bridge the gap between domestic and international rugby.
The team will initially be populated largely from the existing Blues roster, 2017 Canadian Rugby Championship runners-up and winners of the MacTier Cup in five of the last seven years. Bolstering the group will be select individuals from Eastern Canada, with standouts from the Atlantic Rock expected to receive invitations.
As professional rugby prepares to re-launch in the USA next spring in the form of Major League Rugby, Arrows General Manager Mark Winokur has confirmed that while a professional outfit may not be immediate, it is definitely in their sights.
“This will be privately funded with some compensation structures being reviewed; at worst, this would be a short term goal of the program.”
The Arrows will operate independently of the CRC program and Rugby Ontario, but has retained much of the off-field infrastructure. Heading up the coaching staff will be Chris Silverthorn, who has been with the Blues since their inception.
“This is a privately funded operation working closely with Rugby Ontario. Obviously it makes sense to have strong links to the largest rugby population in Canada and to the success of the Blues program. We are fortunate enough to have retained the current Blues staff for the Glendale match. Since Chris Silverthorn was named head coach in 2012 the Blues have gone 35-10 in all matches so it again makes sense to take advantage of the opportunity.”
While becoming a full member of MLR in 2018 is not on the cards, multiple sources have indicated to Americas Rugby News that the team is set to play a series of ‘friendlies’ against MLR sides next year. In addition, matches against potential MLR targets in the east – Chicago and New York have been all but confirmed – are to be added to Ontario’s fixture list in 2018. While Winokur stopped short of confirming details, many of which are likely still in development, he admits that talks are ongoing with multiple teams south of the border.
“For a number of reasons, the Arrows will not be an official MLR team in 2018. There are discussions with many organizations, including MLR teams, about high performance games next year. There are a good number of organizations that are on the same page as we are and there have been very positive discussions with all. It is certainly possible that a Northern/Eastern group of teams will find ways to engage in 2018.”
The team name itself is notable. Most expected the side to be based in Toronto, the largest metropolitan area in Canada, however the team has retained its provincial link. This of course suggests that the team has not yet secured a permanent home venue, but don’t expect there to be a re-branding once it does.
“We are currently evaluating a number of venues in Southern Ontario and would want to have this in place by spring of 2018. We are open to all possibilities at this stage. There are lots of possibilities but we are happy to represent the province and the ‘Ontario’ brand which has built up some capital in rugby. That’s not to say no, but we would need a compelling reason to limit our fan base to one particular city.”
Fans will also note that the Glendale team will be playing under the Merlins banner. The Raptors brand has now been exlusively retained for MLR fixtures. Lineups for the match are expected to be similar to the Blues-Raptors match that took place on May 20 in Burlington.
This appears to be the first and only viewing of the Arrows that we will get this year with no further matches in 2017 scheduled at this time due to a congested international fixture list that includes the upcoming Americas Pacific Challenge and November test series.
Re: Canada @ Rock Bottom
Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 11:05 pm
by Puja
And with Hong Kong's victory over Kenya, it turns out bottom wasn't as rock as it appeared, as they're now down to 24th.
Puja
Re: Canada @ Rock Bottom
Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2017 11:15 pm
by rowan
Behind both Germany and Hong Kong. Now that's just ridiculous!
Incidentally, I do recall Hong Kong beating them once in the Pacific Rim series about two decades ago, but there weren't too many Hong Kong-born players in that side, and the eligibility rules have tightened up a lot since then...
Re: Canada @ Rock Bottom
Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2017 3:46 pm
by rowan
Rugby in BC, Canada
Living working and training in BC for 5 years. A place I call home now.
But I can't play for CW this weekend because I'm a capped player.
There is to many guys who have made it to carding or are capped on CWs team and they only let 4 players play per team for the prems game.
[There is 5 of us on CW so one has to sit.]
So the starting National hooker for Canada can't play prems this weekend because he is the Canadian National hooker. Tell me how stupid does that sounds?
You tell me how that model works in me playing against the next up and coming kid who wants to be a hooker?
Would you rather me play against ya or the guy who is behind me?
That there is one of the biggest problems in BC and Canada. We are to worried about winning club trophies.
My back up plays ahead of me because I'm a capped player. LET IT SINK IN!!
So I can't play rugby for the Prems I have to play Division 2.
So great prep for me leading into playing Maori and Georgia against guys who are pros and go against top players in their countries regardless of there accomplishments.
So when you complain about the Canadian team not doing well, sit back and swallow that info first.
Then you can come back at me and say Are our provinces doing enough ??
Because this one isn't doing shit!
Share this and let's see if the province of BC rugby can start looking at themselves first!
Re: Canada @ Rock Bottom
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 6:36 am
by rowan
In a year where a great many things have gone badly for the Canadian men’s national team, there’s finally a good piece of news.
Francois Ratier is taking over the men’s centralized program in Victoria.
Both Americas Rugby News and BC Rugby News have reported the story already, credit to them for breaking it.
Until the end of August, Ratier had served as coach of the national women’s team. He led the women to great success in the last two Women’s Rugby World Cups.
He also built a strong rapport with his players, who were very sad to hear him announce he was finishing with the team.
Today, Rugby Canada’s General Manager of Rugby Operations and Performance Jim Dixon announced that Kingsley Jones has been appointed Head Coach of Canada’s Men’s Fifteens Program, commencing October.
The 48-year-old Welshman, who boasts an extensive playing and coaching background in international and professional rugby, takes over following the recent June International Summer Series.
“I am pleased to confirm that after an extensive search, interview and screening process we have appointed our new NSM Fifteens Head Coach, Kingsley Jones. Kingsley brings a wealth of experience having coached in the English Premiership and European Championship, Pro12 and internationally with Russia during the 2011 and 2015 cycles. He leaves a senior high performance role with the Wales Rugby Union to join Rugby Canada; I am delighted to have him onboard,” said Dixon.
Canada failed to qualify for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in the Americas 1 position earlier this summer, losing an aggregate two-game series to USA. Canada will now look to book their spot in the third largest sporting event in the world – which yesterday celebrated its two year countdown to kick off – against Uruguay in a home-and-away series in early 2018.
“The Men’s Fifteens team has an important four months ahead of them and Kingsley and the rest of the coaching team’s focus is 100% on achieving RWC qualification. I know Kingsley is very much looking forward to getting out and meeting the community once this critical objective is achieved.
“I’d like to thank all the interview panel members for their valuable input to this process, and also the program players and staff for their patience and hard work during this period of change. I’m excited for the program and Rugby Canada to have such an experienced and well-respected person in Kingsley joining our team.”
Kingsley won 10 caps for Wales as a flanker between 1996-1998 and also played professionally for Worcester Warriors, Glasgow, Gloucester, Pontypridd and the highly esteemed Barbarians.
Following his retirement in 1998, Jones began coaching professionally full time. Over the last 14 years he has amassed international test match experience as Head Coach of Russia, along with the Pro12 and eight years in the English Premiership, attaining silverware in both Premiership and European tournaments.
"I am delighted to accept this role with Rugby Canada and I'm excited to meet the players and staff and begin preparation for an important period for the team. My family and I are very much looking forward to moving to Canada and immersing ourselves in the culture and all the country has to offer,” said Jones.
“Every coach wants to work at the highest level and compete on the world stage, I’m grateful for the opportunity and very much looking forward to working with this group of talented and committed players,” added Jones.
“Our immediate priority is attaining qualification for RWC2019, this is critical. Once again, thank you to Allen and Jim for this opportunity and I look forward to meeting the Canadian rugby community.”
Canada’s Men’s Team is set to face the New Zealand Maori All Blacks in Vancouver on November 3 in a highly-anticipated contest. Less than a thousand tickets currently remain for the lower bowl at BC Place.
Canada will then fly to Europe for their annual November tour, where they’ll face Georgia, Spain and Fiji (details TBD). Along with World Rugby ranking points, these test matches are crucial for helping Canada prepare for a busy 2018, which includes the qualifying series against 18th ranked Uruguay.
The winner of that qualifying series books their spot in Pool D, as the Americas 2 entrant in Japan in 2019 and will face Australia, Wales, Georgia, Fiji while the loser will have one last chance to qualify in the repechage in 2018 to join New Zealand, South Africa, Italy and Africa 1 in Pool B.
“We are grateful to Kingsley for the contribution he has made to Welsh rugby, particularly at the Dragons in challenging circumstances. The opportunities to coach at International level are few and far between and on that basis we very much support the opportunity for Kingsley to coach the Canadian National team,” said Martyn Philipps, CEO of the Welsh Rugby Union.
“He will undoubtedly grow from the experience and bring a wealth of knowledge to Canadian rugby. We are keen for Welsh coaches to better themselves and wish Kingsley and his family well.”
A Canada “A” side, coached by Mike Shelley, will also travel to Uruguay next month to compete in the Americas Pacific Challenge, a key developmental tournament for Canada’s up and coming Men’s Fifteens players.
The dates for the Americas 2 qualification series for Rugby World Cup 2019 have been set. Canada will face off against Uruguay on back-to-back weekends with the first match set for Saturday, January 27 and the second one week later on Saturday, February 3. The winner of the series will be decided on aggregate score and will earn a direct ticket to Japan where they will compete in Pool D against Australia, Wales, Georgia, and Fiji.
As the higher-ranked of the two on the official World Rugby Rankings, Uruguay won the right to choose which match was played at home and they have opted to host the February 3 game at the Estadio Charrúa in Montevideo. This match will also double as the first fixture of the 2018 Americas Rugby Championship. The January 27 match will take place in Vancouver with the covered surface at BC Place reportedly being targeted to avoid the poor weather conditions that hampered Canadian home games in the 2017 Americas Rugby Championship.
It will not be the end of the road for the loser. A seat at the last-chance saloon, the Repechage tournament, is reserved for the disappointed party. That series will take place on unconfirmed dates in late 2018. Four teams will take part in a round-robin structure to be played at a neutral venue. The other participants will come from Africa, Asia, and either Europe or the South Pacific. Namibia is most likely to come from Africa, with Hong Kong and South Korea the top contenders in Asia. One of Spain, Russia, or Germany will play against Samoa to determine the fourth spot.
Canada find themselves fighting for the Americas 2 spot for the first time after falling to the USA in the Americas 1 series earlier this year. Uruguay qualified by virtue of their win over Chile in the 2017 South American Championship. It’s familiar territory for Los Teros, who have never before won the Americas 2 spot but earned a great deal of confidence by defeating Canada this past February. Los Teros qualified for the 2015 World Cup via the Repechage route by defeating Russia in November 2014.
For many years the lament of fans of Canadian rugby when the national team would square off with the likes of England, Australia or New Zealand, was that Canadian players could not compete against nations that have the sport in their collective DNA by having players as young as 5 taking up the sport.
And while the success of the sport at the high school level for both males and females has been encouraging for the past couple of decades, the fact that players don’t touch a rugby ball until they are in their teens has long been a troubling statistic for developers of the sport in Canada.
But now, thanks to support from corporate Canada, and with implementation by Rugby Canada, HSBC “Rookie Rugby” –sponsored by Honda – has begun laying the foundation among the very young athletes in Canada, through school and community-based programs.
The concept sees ‘rugby packages’ delivered to key stakeholders in the primary/middle school stream across Canada. These packages contain basic equipment including balls, cones, pinnies, and instructions for teachers to introduce the basics of the sport. The curriculum includes teaching resources available as downloadable PDFs.
NEWS: Rugby Canada’s Chief Executive Officer, Allen Vansen, announced today that Rugby Canada will be implementing a restructuring within the burgeoning National Sport Federation to drive operational excellence.
The restructuring announced today allows the organization to align and focus its resources with its evolving high performance objectives and expanded National Team operations in Langford, British Columbia with the opening of the Al Charron Rugby Canada National Training Centre in early 2018.
As part of the restructuring, several departments will relocate from the organization’s corporate office in Richmond Hill, ON and will be based in Langford, BC over the next three to six months. Rugby Canada’s Finance, Marketing and Communications, General Operations and Governance departments will relocate to the Federation’s existing Centre of Excellence facility in Langford.
As part today’s restructuring, Rugby Canada announced it is making a change in the leadership of its Rugby Department, effective today. The Rugby Department has been led by Jim Dixon for the past two and a half years.
“On behalf of the Canadian Rugby community and everyone at Rugby Canada, I would like to thank Jim for his commitment to the organization, our National Teams and Development programs. We wish Jim every success in the future,” said Vansen.
With the relocation of several departments to the existing Centre of Excellence in Langford, this will see a change in several of the organization’s existing leadership and staff. Positions being established in Langford are the Chief Operating Officer, Director of Communications and Marketing, Director of Finance, and finance coordinators.
Myles Spencer, current Chief Operating Officer, Linh Nguyen current Chief Financial Officer, and Carlos Ferreira, current Director of Marketing and Communications, along with the existing finance staff, will remain with Rugby Canada for the coming months as these new positions are recruited for and filled by new staff based in Langford, BC.
“I would like to thank Myles, Linh, Carlos, Nina, Audrey and Cindy for their hard work and commitment to Rugby Canada’s growth and success over the preceding years,” noted Vansen. “We wish these excellent individuals the very best in their future endeavors and greatly appreciate their understanding of this important restructuring for the organization.”
Today’s restructuring comes after an extensive review of the entire organization, which has grown rapidly over the past 5+ years. This review was completed with the assistance of an external party with relevant expertise in the Canadian sport system. Rugby Canada’s Board of Directors has reviewed and fully endorsed this restructuring.
“Our board fully supports and endorses this new organizational change. It is absolutely necessary," said Tim Powers, Chair of the Rugby Canada Board of Directors. "We would also like to thank Jim, Myles, Linh, Carlos, Nina, Audrey and Cindy for their unwavering commitment to our sport."
These significant shifts allow increased synergies in the daily operations of the staff and permit a downsizing of Rugby Canada’s office requirements in Richmond Hill, creating further efficiencies.
“This marks the beginning of a new era for Rugby Canada, as one of Canada’s fastest growing sports,” added Vansen. “While always difficult to reach these tough decisions, this is the best path forward to reach our organization’s performance and growth objectives. These changes will help Rugby Canada build a world class organizational culture and enhance the performance of our Sport development and National Team programs, today and into the future.”
Re: Canada @ Rock Bottom
Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 8:04 pm
by rowan
Canada roped in 3 Canadian Football players for this weekend's Punta del Este 7s, CFL defensive back Tevaughn Campbell, Toronto Argonauts draft pick Ryan Nieuwesteeg and former Hamilton Tiger-Cats wide receiver Mitchell Baines. None have played rugby before - of any variety. So this will be a baptism of fire for the trio. Canada is in the same group as Argentina, Ireland and Colombia. The squad will continue on to the Vina del Mar 7s in Chile the following weekend:
CANADA MAPLE LEAFS 7s
Mitchell Baines (unattached), Luke Bradley (Port Alberni / UVic Vikes), Tevaughn Campbell (unattached), Alex Colborne (Toronto Scottish), Ethan Hager (UVic Vikes), James Hammond (Toronto Nomads), Elias Hancock (Bytown Blues), Josiah Morra (Toronto Saracens), Ryan Nieuwesteeg (unattached), David Richard (Mississauga Blues), Jake Thiel (Abbotsford), Kevin Vertkas (Toronto Nomads / UVic Vikes), Marcello Wainwright (Toronto Saracens)
Head Coach – Lee Douglas
Assistant Coach – Andrew Hall
Athletic Therapist – Jason White
Re: Canada @ Rock Bottom
Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2018 6:59 am
by rowan
Not a good start for the boys as they lost all 3 games, including to Colombia, to finish dead last in group C. They will meet the US in today's Bowl semis.
Re: Canada @ Rock Bottom
Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2018 8:59 pm
by rowan
Wow, sad story! But shouldn't they be focusing the blame on the friend who pushed this kid into the lake, rather than the coach who was taking photos? I mean, you'd expect 17-year-olds to be able to take care of themselves.
The rugby coach of a 17-year-old boy who drowned on tour in Canada after being pushed in a lake was 'taking photos' instead of keeping an eye on him, an inquest heard today.
House captain Abdul Jamal Ottun, who had just finished his AS levels, died while swimming in Shawnigan Lake, Vancouver Island, on July 12 2015.
Abdul, known as Jamal, a Year 12 pupil at Wallington County Grammar School in Surrey, had been on a two-week rugby tour.
After two morning training sessions he had joined a group of 25 school friends for an afternoon swimming trip to the lake, where he was pushed off the jetty.
At an inquest today his rugby coach Dus Sotoriou was slammed by the coroner for 'taking photos' when he should have been supervising the boys.
The court heard the organiser of the trip David Johnson, director of sport, did not know Mr Sotoriou wasn't giving the teenagers his full attention.
Any reason they'd fly all the way to London for a training camp?
The 2018 ARC will once again see Canada, USA, Uruguay, Chile, Brazil and Argentina “A” face off in a round-robin style format across multiple locations in North and South America starting on January 27th and will crown the tournament champion on March 3rd.
Amongst the ARC competition, Canada will face Uruguay in an additional test match on February 3rd in Montevideo to decide who will represent Americas 2 in Pool D at next year’s 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. This two-game series has been dubbed “the most important of a generation”.
After a recent five-day training camp in Langford, Canada departs for London tomorrow for a Regulation 9 Training Camp with 35 of Canada’s top players. Along with weights, video analysis, two-a-day on-field team practices and one-on-one skill development sessions, the camp includes a joint training schedule with the Harlequins, along with a controlled game against Oxford.
“I am really pleased with the past week’s training here in Langford. It was great to see a mix of experienced players like Tyler Ardron, Phil Mack and Ray Barkwill and less experienced internationals getting some rugby in a controlled training session ahead of the upcoming tests against Uruguay,” said Jones.
“It was also a good opportunity for the coaches to get to see a wider younger group of Talent ID at camp and mixing it with current internationals. It’s been a very productive week and gives us some much needed close-to-game practice following the holiday break. It’s been a good start to the new year for all the players and staff.”
Canada’s roster includes nearly all of its top overseas professionals: DTH van der Merwe, Taylor Paris, Jeff Hassler, Tyler Ardron, Matt Heaton, Shane O’Leary, Djustice Sears-Duru, Matt Tierney, Benoit Piffero, Evan Olmstead, Kyle Baillie and Brett Beukeboom. Ciaran Hearn and Andrew Coe, who were both injured in Canada’s final November test match against Fiji, along with Conor Trainor and Matt Evans are unavailable for selection due to injury.
Canada’s roster has also been boosted by the return of dual-code internationals Connor Braid and Admir Cejvanovic, who recently helped Canada finish 2017 with an exciting 4th place finish in Cape Town on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
“The squad has a good balance of experience and youth. Some players are being rewarded for a very good week’s training in addition to impressing at club level over the last few months. I’m really pleased to welcome back into the 15s program Admir Cejvanovic and Connor Braid after doing so well with the Sevens,” added Jones.
Canada and Brazil have met twice in international men’s rugby, with Canada winning 52-25 at the same venue in Langford, BC in 2016. However, the following contest in 2017 would favour the South Americans, as Brazil stole a famous victory last March 24-23 in part to a last-minute try from Lucas Tranquez.
“We are excited to return home to Westhills Stadium to face Brazil on February 17th. We train here day-in, day-out and know that the local crowd will get behind us as they have done over the past few years,” added Jones.
“Brazil has knocked off both USA & Canada over the last two years and have come a long way in their development, so the game in Langford will be important for us for not only ARC points, but also redemption from last year’s loss,” said Jones.
Canada will gather in Vancouver on January 21st to prepare for facing Uruguay on the following Saturday.
Tickets for the home games on January 27 at BC Place in Vancouver and February 17 – which start at just $10 and will be available to the public on Monday, January 10th at 10am PT – at Westhills Stadium in Langford can be purchased by clicking here
Canada’s Men’s Team Training Camp Roster:
Tyler Ardron – (Chiefs/Ontario Blues) Lakefield, ON
Kyle Baillie – (London Scottish/Atlantic Rock) Summerside, PEI
Ray Barkwill – (Seattle Seawolves/Ontario Blues) Niagara Falls, ON
Brett Beukeboom – (Cornish Pirates/Ontario Blues) Lindsay, ON
Nick Blevins – (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
Connor Braid – (James Bay AA/BC Bears) Victoria, BC
Hubert Buydens – (New Orleans Gold/Prairie Wolf Pack) Saskatoon, SK
Luke Campbell – (James Bay AA/BC Bears) Victoria, BC
Admir Cejvanovic – (Burnaby Lake RFC/BC Bears) Burnaby, BC
Dustin Dobravsky – (Castaway Wanderers/BC Bears) Hanover, Germany
Guiseppe du Toit – (UVIC Vikes/BC Bears) Maple Ridge, BC
Andrew Ferguson – (Oakville Crusaders/Ontario Blues) Mississauga, ON
Doug Fraser – (Castaway Wanderers/BC Bears) Ladysmith, BC
Jeff Hassler – (Ospreys/Prairie Wolf Pack) Okotoks, AB
Matt Heaton – (Darlington Mowden Park/Atlantic Rock) Godmanchester, QC
Jake Ilnicki – (Newcastle Falcons/BC Bears) Williams Lake, BC
Cole Keith – (James Bay AA/Atlantic Rock) Sussex, NB
Martial Lagain – (Sherbrooke Abenakis/Atlantic Rock) Saint-Jean-de-Marsacq, France
Josh Larsen – (Northland) Parksville, BC
Ben LeSage – (UBC Thunderbirds/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
Kainoa Lloyd – (Mississauga Blues/Ontario Blues) Mississauga, ON
Anthony Luca – (Burnaby Lake RFC/BC Bears) Burnaby, BC
Phil Mack – (James Bay AA/BC Bears) Victoria, BC
Gordon McRorie – (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
Dan Moor – (Balmy Beach/Ontario Blues) Toronto, ON
Shane O’Leary – (Ealing Trailfinders) Cork, Ireland
Evan Olmstead – (Newcastle Falcons/Prairie Wolf Pack) Vancouver, BC
Patrick Parfrey – (Swilers RFC/Atlantic Rock) St. John’s, NL
Taylor Paris – (Castres/Ontario Blues) Barrie, ON
Benoit Piffero – (Blagnac Sporting Club/Atlantic Rock) Montreal, QC
Lucas Rumball – (Balmy Beach RFC/Ontario Blues) Mississauga, ON
Djustice Sears-Duru – (Ealing Trailfinders/Ontario Blues) Oakville, ON
Brock Staller – (Meralomas RFC/BC Bears) Surrey, BC
Matt Tierney – (Section Paloise/Ontario Blues) Oakville, ON
DTH van der Merwe – (Newcastle Falcons) Victoria, BC
Not many England-based players in the squad either. I wonder where Canadian rugby gets its money from. They play in the smallest stadiums in the ARC, their clubs have to travel further than most European nations teams during competition, and their national team has to make long-haul flights for every fixture they play that's not against the United States. & yet they hire foreign coaches and send the squad across the Atlantic Ocean for a training camp in upmarket London. They must have some kind of huge sponsorship deal going on.
Re: Canada @ Rock Bottom
Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2018 12:02 pm
by rowan
So just to break that squad down into backs and forwards and current clubs:
FORWARDS
Hubert Buydens (New Orleans Gold, US), Anthony Luca (Burnaby Lake), Djustice Sears-Duru (Ealing Trailfinders, UK), Ray Barkwill (Seattle Seawolves, US), Martial Lagain (Westshore), Benoît Pifféro (Blagnac, FR), Jake Ilnicki (Newcastle Falcons, UK), Cole Keith (James Bay), Matt Tierney (Pau, FR), Brett Beukeboom (Cornish Pirates, UK), Josh Larsen (Northland, NZ), Evan Olmstead (Newcastle Falcons, UK), Kyle Baillie (London Scottish, UK), Luke Campbell (James Bay), Dustin Dobravsky (Castaway Wanderers), Matt Heaton (Darlington Mowden Park, UK), Lucas Rumball (James Bay), Tyler Ardron (Chiefs, NZ), Admir Cejvanovic (Burnaby Lake)
BACKS
Andrew Ferguson (Westshore), Phil Mack (capt., Seattle Seawolves, US), Gordon McRorie (Calgary Hornets), Connor Braid (James Bay), Shane O’Leary (Ealing Trailfinders, UK), Patrick Parfrey (James Bay), Nick Blevins (Calgary Hornets), Guiseppe du Toit (UVic Vikes), Doug Fraser (Castaway Wanderers), Ben LeSage (UBC Thunderbirds), DTH van der Merwe (Newcastle Falcons, UK), Jeff Hassler (Ospreys, UK), Kainoa Lloyd (Mississauga Blues), Dan Moor (Oxford University, UK), Taylor Paris (Castres, FR), Brock Staller (Seattle Seawolves, US)
Re: Canada @ Rock Bottom
Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2018 10:04 pm
by rowan
Canada have been dealt a significant blow ahead their Americas 2 World Cup Qualifying series against Uruguay. First choice professionals Kyle Baillie and Shane O’Leary have been ruled out of the first test to be played at BC Place in Vancouver next Saturday. Baillie is still recovering from injury sustained while playing for London Scottish on December 28 and O’Leary’s return from ankle injury has been delayed. It’s uncertain whether either will be fit to play for the second leg in Montevideo.
Also left out of the 30-man roster named for the first leg are Oxford University winger Dan Moor and two uncapped players – loose forward Dustin Dobravsky and midfielder Doug Fraser. Moor is a surprise absentee with no clear indication of injury. There are two uncapped players named in Atlantic Rock hooker Martial Lagain and BC Bears flanker Luke Campbell.
The crucial flyhalf position now falls to either Patrick Parfrey or Connor Braid. Parfrey deputised for O’Leary, starting all four games in November including the match at BC Place against the New Zealand Māori. Braid missed the November series with injury and has since been playing on the HSBC Sevens Series. He last played for a test for Canada in the Americas 1 World Cup Qualifiers against the USA as an inside centre, starting at flyhalf in the match against Romania on June 17.
Options for Baillie’s blindside flank role appear to be Evan Olmstead, Lucas Rumball, or Admir Cejvanovic. Olmstead is a first choice second row but started on the flank against Samoa in November 2016. Rumball is comfortable on either side of the scrum and started on the blindside against Georgia on November 11. Cejvanovic is another who has been training with the Sevens side recently. He started both matches of the Americas 1 Qualiifers against the USA.
The question of who will play fullback in the injury-enforced absence of Ciaran Hearn, Matt Evans, and Andrew Coe, is another yet to be answered. Brock Staller appears the most likely having played the position during the 2017 Americas Rugby Championship. Alternatives include Parfrey or possibly Taylor Paris, though the latter has been used exclusively as a winger in his professional career.
Canada trained with both Harlequins and Oxford University during their week-long stay in the UK, returning to Victoria on Friday to begin preparations for the two-leg series. Uruguay meanwhile have landed in Houston and will play against the SaberCats of Major League Rugby this evening before departing for Vancouver tomorrow.
FORWARDS
Hubert Buydens (New Orleans Gold, US), Anthony Luca (Burnaby Lake), Djustice Sears-Duru (Ealing Trailfinders, UK), Ray Barkwill (Seattle Seawolves, US), Martial Lagain (Westshore), Benoît Pifféro (Blagnac, FR), Jake Ilnicki (Newcastle Falcons, UK), Cole Keith (James Bay), Matt Tierney (Pau, FR), Brett Beukeboom (Cornish Pirates, UK), Josh Larsen (Northland, NZ), Evan Olmstead (Newcastle Falcons, UK), Luke Campbell (James Bay), Matt Heaton (Darlington Mowden Park, UK), Lucas Rumball (James Bay), Tyler Ardron (Chiefs, NZ), Admir Cejvanovic (Burnaby Lake)
BACKS
Andrew Ferguson (Westshore), Phil Mack (capt., Seattle Seawolves, US), Gordon McRorie (Calgary Hornets), Connor Braid (James Bay), Patrick Parfrey (James Bay), Nick Blevins (Calgary Hornets), Guiseppe du Toit (UVic Vikes), Ben LeSage (UBC Thunderbirds), DTH van der Merwe (Newcastle Falcons, UK), Jeff Hassler (Ospreys, UK), Kainoa Lloyd (Mississauga Blues), Taylor Paris (Castres, FR), Brock Staller (Seattle Seawolves, US)
