Canada rout Brazil in Langford

Canada got their Americas Rugby Championship back on a winning foot as they routed an overwhelmed Brazilian side by a score of 52-25 at Westhills Stadium in Langford. A 31-point haul including four tries in the first half proved insurmountable as the home side coasted to victory in the second stanza.

Hard work from the forwards, on the front foot virtually all game, landed Lucas Rumball over the line barely four minutes after kickoff. Moisés Duque slotted a penalty to put Brazil on the board five minutes later, but Canada was in a try-scoring mood and replied quickly as man-of-the-match Clay Panga went over in the corner. Andrew Ferguson converted both to open a healthy 11-point lead.

Discipline hurt Canada at the 20 minute mark when Duncan Maguire was sent to the bin for a dangerous tackle. Duque took the points but Ferguson erased them moments later. With the man advantage Brazil fought their way back into Canadian territory and though their scrum was under pressure, the ball came back and Beukes Cremer fended two defenders as he tip-toed down the sideline to close the gap to only four after the conversion.

That would be as close as the Tupis would get, as they struggled with the pace and power of the Canadian attack. Skipper for the day Ray Barkwill did his best Chris Ashton impression as he dove in on the half hour mark, and with front row mates Djustice Sears-Duru and Jake Ilnicki doing a job in the scrum, their Brazilian counterparts were replaced en masse two minutes before the half. The pressure continued and as Nick Smith was binned for team transgressions on the goal line, Rumball barged over from close range for his second on the stroke of halftime.

The break seemed to help Brazil more than Canada, and as the home side seemed to lose concentration a line break from Duque put Daniel Sancery away for his third try in as many games. It would be another 20 minutes before another score, when at last the men in red pulled up their socks and it was Panga who joined Rumball on a double. João Luiz da Ros got one back for the Tupis but late tries from Paul Ciulini and test debutante Mike Hamson stretched the score over the half-century.

Canada move into third place on the ARC log with the win, a welcome result before they head south to Argentina during the week, and on to Chile the next. Brazil head home for the rest of their tournament with only the top two teams, USA and Argentina, yet to play and a win looking unlikely.

 

SCORING

CANADA 52
Tries – L. Rumball 2 (4′, 40′), C. Panga 2 (12′, 65′), R. Barkwill (30′), P. Ciulini (76′), M. Hamson (80′)
Cons – A. Ferguson 5/5 (4′, 13′, 31′, 40′, 66′), B. Staller 2/2 (77′, 80′)
Pens – A. Ferguson 1/2 (24′)
Yellow cards – D. Maguire (20′)

BRAZIL 25
Tries – B. Cremer (26′), D. Sancery (47′), J. da Ros (71′)
Cons – M. Duque 2/3 (27′, 72′)
Pens – M. Duque 2/2 (9′, 21′)
Yellow cards – N. Smith (40′)

 

TEAMS

CANADA
1 Djustice Sears-Duru (17 Hubert Buydens 73′), 2 Ray Barkwill (capt.) (16 Eric Howard 67′), 3 Jake Ilnicki (18 Rob Brouwer 73′), 4 Paul Ciulini, 5 Liam Chisholm (19 Kyle Baillie 73′), 6 Lucas Rumball, 7 Alistair Clark, 8 Clay Panga (20 Mike Hamson 67′), 9 Andrew Ferguson (21 Jake Robinson 73′), 10 Gradyn Bowd, 11 Duncan Maguire, 12 Nick Blevins, 13 Brock Staller (23 Brett Johnson 57′-69′), 14 Dan Moor (22 Joe Dolesau HT), 15 Patrick Parfrey (23 Brett Johnson 69′)

BRAZIL
1 Jonatas Paulo (18 Lucas Abud 38′), 2 Daniel Danielewicz (capt.) (16 Yan Rosetti 38′), 3 Vitor Ancina (17 Wilton Rebolo 38′), 4 Lucas Piero (19 Matheus Wolf 63′), 5 Luiz Vieira, 6 Mark Jackson (20 João Luiz da Ros HT), 7 Cléber Dias, 8 Nick Smith, 9 Beukes Cremer (21 Laurent Bourda-Couhet HT), 10 Lucas Duque, 11 Lucas Muller (22 Guilherme Coghetto 39′), 12 Moisés Duque, 13 Felipe Sancery, 14 Stefano Giantorno, 15 Daniel Sancery

Not used: 23 Mateus Estrela

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Joaquín Montes (Uruguay)
Assistants: Harry Mason (Canada) & Doug Hamre (Canada)

 

Attendance: 1,865