The Straight Feed – Last Chance Saloon

It’s a cliché and a well-worn one at that but this is really it. Canada will announce their final World Cup team on Sunday – to the players at least, hopefully to the public as well – meaning tomorrow’s game has added significance. For those on the edge, this is all that’s left to throw a last minute wrench in the plans.

In all probability, and let’s hope it’s the case by now, Kieran Crowley already knows his 31 that will head to Halifax and then on to England. Maybe there’s one spot where it’s a coin toss and tomorrow will decide that, but even that seems unlikely.

So who are the four that won’t make it? We can deduce a few things from tomorrow’s lineup, mainly that those who aren’t playing are odds-on to be on the list on Sunday, with few exceptions. Of course injury might play a role in those choices, but those who are banged up will likely be named and given every opportunity to prove their fitness before departure.

Tyler Ardron damaged his knee early against Samoa and has been walking around in a brace, but will be good to go for the tournament. Jebb Sinclair has returned to training this week, reportedly lining up at both lock and in the back row. Jamie Cudmore is also back and proving his monkey bar skills have not declined in his old age. Tom Dolezel has been with the squad all week and looks about ready to go after breaking a wing in training, but Jason Marshall has yet to appear with a back problem still an issue.

Which prop gets culled is a tough call, and perhaps there is an option to take all six. Andrew Tiedemann has played hooker at test level before and if Aaron Carpenter is now back to being primarily a back row after struggling at the set piece, there could be an extra spot available up front. Djustice Sears-Duru also has some CDI Premier League experience there with Castaway Wanderers, but the most likely scenario is that one of the props stays home.

Given that we know Sinclair and Cudmore will go as locks, that leaves two spots open. One would think that Evan Olmstead will take one of those, leaving room for only one of Tyler Hotson, Jon Phelan, and Brett Beukeboom. The latter’s absence from the lineup could be a clue in that regard, but could also be precaution after he came off concussed against Samoa. It could be that a strong performance from either Hotson or Phelan puts them on the plane.

Another alternative is that one of the back row gets left behind. Sinclair and Olmstead can both cover the back row, and again if Carpenter is there the group is a bit crowded. Ardron and Richard Thorpe are guarantees, leaving John Moonlight, Nanyak Dala, and Kyle Gilmour to fight for their spots. Of course after seeing James Pritchard left out, it might be presumptuous to assume that Carpenter’s spot is assured. Pritchard, after all, captained the side for the majority of the match against Samoa when Ardron went off.

Four players appear to be at risk in the backs, with at least one and possibly two set to stay at home. Assuming Taylor Paris comes through the match unscathed he is a certainty to travel, which means Phil Mackenzie could be deemed surplus to requirements. The elder Mackenzie has been in good form this season, and his ability to cover centre as well is desirable, but if Crowley is determined to play DTH van der Merwe on the wing, he could be the odd man out.

Brother Jamie has been loaned to the Ontario Blues for the day to get game time, and might also be under the gun if it’s felt that two specialist halfbacks are enough, with Paris or Nathan Hirayama possibly eyeballed as makeshift third string scrumhalves.

A better bet is that one of Nick Blevins or Conor Trainor is bumped off the list. Blevins has enjoyed a resurgence in his test fortunes this season and offers a different style to the other midfield options. Trainor, on the other hand, has struggled out of position on the wing, though he does possess that alluring ability to create something out of nothing in his preferred outside centre slot.

While none of these decisions will have much if any impact on the first choice side, they are massively important to the players and Canadian fans who have already been shaken up with the post-PNC cuts will be sympathetic to the disappointment felt by the unlucky four. After months of speculation the day of reckoning is upon us, and in 48 hours our questions will finally be answered. An oh, there’s a game tomorrow too. About that…

EAGLES SHARPEN THEIR TALONS

Mike Tolkin has taken a very different view to the test match, choosing to field what is essentially his first string side, absent Hayden Smith, Scott LaValla, and The Mighty Manoa. This bunch of Americans seem to have our number, and looking at the two lineups you’d be hard pressed to find a punter putting his lunch money on the home team getting the win. It’s not strictly a B-side getting rolled out, but a new halfback combination, an inexperienced fullback, and half the team fighting for their plane tickets creates an awful lot of uncertainty.

WHAT’S WITH NUMBER TWO?

Argentina named their World Cup side a few days ago and Australia have followed suit in the wee hours of this morning, but there was something very odd about both, with each choosing to bring only two specialist hookers. While in both cases their starting hooker is also their captain, it seems a big gamble to travel with only two in a position that is required by the tournament regulations to be adequately covered on game day.

If Stephen Moore or Agustín Creevy take a knock in the first game and need a week to recover, they will be in a very bad spot as a player must drop out of the squad to make room for a replacement, and the new player must be named a minimum of 48 hours before kickoff. The confusing thing is that both sides opted to instead take a number of backs, despite having more than enough cover and a significantly lower level of attrition.

In a similar vein, Samoa have called Faifili Levave into their squad after Fa’atiga Lemalu was forced to withdraw through injury, leaving them with only three specialist locks, and seven loose forwards. Either logic is wildly overrated, or some of the world’s leading rugby minds are trading their boots for slippers as they tiptoe across the finest of lines between genius and complete lunacy.

TONGA BEEF UP FOR CUP

The last thoughts of the day are of the Tongan team, which has received little fanfare. After fielding a severely weakened side in the PNC and emerging with some respectable results, the Ikale Tahi have majorly upgraded their side for the World Cup. Virtually all their big Premiership stars – including Gloucester’s Sione Kalamafoni and new Leicester signing Opeti Fonua – are present, and most interestingly they have left one spot open to add another player next week.

Speculation is rampant that it will be controversial rugby league international Andrew Fifita added, reportedly eyeing up a spot in the midfield. If he opts not to take up the opportunity, one of Hemani Paea or Alipate Fatafehi, equally broad bruising centres, look most likely. Tonga will enter the tournament as major underdogs to make the quarter finals, but they will cause problems for everyone outside of the All Blacks, and at the very least leave some battered bodies in their wake.

Just four weeks from today until kickoff. The excitement just builds and builds…