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Canada’s best domestic players will face Doncaster Knights, Ulster Ravens, and Glasgow Warriors on a three-match tour in August of this year. Originally proposed as an all-Ireland trip, the two-week tour will start in England and end in Scotland on August 30.
The team will be comprised of 28 players selected from the Canadian Rugby Championship – the country’s flagship domestic regional competition. It’s expected that Canada’s senior coaching staff will be leading the way. Of Canada’s current squad for the June internationals, 14 play their club rugby domestically and should be expected to tour in August. It’s unclear at this point whether Canada’s PRO Rugby representatives will be considered.
Canada will arrive in the UK during the week ahead of their opening match against Doncaster on August 20. The Knights were Greene King IPA Championship finalists this season, missing out on promotion to the Aviva Premiership after being defeated by Bristol. Canadian locks Jon Phelan and Tyler Hotson both play for Doncaster, and former Canada senior men’s defense coach Clive Griffiths is the Director of Rugby.
Ulster’s ‘A’ side, the Ravens, are next up on August 26. New Canadian coach Mark Anscombe’s last professional post was as head coach of the Irish province’s senior side. Ulster finished 4th in this year’s Guinness Pro 12, falling to Leinster in the semi-finals.
Glasgow welcome Canada after traveling to Halifax last August as part of Canada’s World Cup preparations. The Warriors finished in 3rd place in the Guinness Pro 12, losing to eventual champions Connacht in the semi-finals. Canadian prop Djustice Sears-Duru is on their roster, and they have previously been a home for former skipper Kevin Tkachuk, current internationals Taylor Paris, Connor Braid, and DTH van der Merwe.
The tour is also set to kick off Canada’s proposed centralized athlete program, with up to 20 players set to join the existing 20 carded sevens athletes at the High Performance Centre in Langford year-round. Specifics are still emerging but it appears the proposal has been given the green light.
CANADA ‘A’ FIXTURES
Sat, August 20 – vs Doncaster Knights
Fri, August 26 – vs Ulster Ravens
Tue, August 30 – vs Glasgow Warriors
