Canada call for Sauder and du Toit as midfield pair drop out

Canada have been forced to make two changes to their Rugby World Cup squad after their starting midfield against Italy were both ruled out for the remainder of the tournament. Nick Blevins broke his jaw in the opening minutes of the game, while Ben LeSage has a broken hand that will require surgical repair.

Heading to Japan are a pair of Toronto Arrows. Inside centre Guiseppe du Toit is a direct replacement for Blevins while fullback Theo Sauder takes the roster spot of LeSage. It leaves Canada’s midfield options slim with Ciaran Hearn and Conor Trainor likely to start against New Zealand, though DTH van der Merwe and Patrick Parfrey can also provide cover.

Both du Toit and Sauder were part of the extended training squad after playing in the Major League Rugby season. Neither have played test rugby since the Americas Rugby Championship, with du Toit left out of the Pacific Nations Cup squad and Sauder only recently recovering from a shoulder injury.

There were also concerns for flanker Lucas Rumball after he fractured a finger but he will stay with the squad for now. Kyle Baillie, Evan Olmstead, and Taylor Paris missed the Italy game due to injury with Jake Ilnicki pulling out just before kickoff. Of those Baillie is not expected to be fit to play the All Blacks.