Post-game Reactions from Toronto

Canada coach Mark Anscombe, captain Jamie Cudmore, and Italy coach Conor O’Shea spoke with the media following Italy’s 20-18 victory over Canada at BMO Field on Sunday. The trio discussed the performance, the fans, and what lies ahead looking towards the November test window. O’Shea even spoke a bit of Italian – albeit in a distinct Irish accent. See below for some quotes and video.

MARK ANSCOMBE – Head Coach, Canada

“There’s about 20-odd guys not here, so that’s something to be very optimistic about. What we have to smart about is how we come into these programs and the state of how much rugby these guys have had and the condition of them. I think how hard the conditions and the heat were out there today, it took its toll and we had guys starting to close down a bit with 20 minutes to go. The character and the resilience of them was excellent. They stayed in the fight right to the end.”

“We didn’t have enough ball. Particularly in the first half, we defended most of it. The first 20 we played some good rugby and tested them a few times and then the possession supply dried up. We didn’t want to play in our half and our kick chase was good, but we didn’t have enough ball at the right ends of the park to put them under pressure. In saying that, we did enough to earn ourselves six penalties.”

“The game was stop-start at times. That heat was quite fierce out there and it was hard for the guys to have free-flowing rugby, which is what I’m sure a lot of the supporters would have liked. I’m sure that the support out there today managed to drag the guys through 80 minutes of pretty intense heat. Great crowd, and a great day.”

JAMIE CUDMORE – Captain, Canada

“Ten minutes before the end we were ahead by one. It’s too bad. We just made some fundamental mistakes towards the end of the game. We put pressure on them in their end but we didn’t do the job in the scrum, and then took a penalty, and things started snowballing after that. That’s where a bit of experience and composure comes in and unfortunately we didn’t show that today.”

“Obviously there’s work to be done, but our median age is about 22 or 23 if you don’t include myself. There’s some great young talent coming through. We ran Japan really close, we put a big hurt on the Russians, and we got a bit of confidence from that. Today it was a fully professsional side and we came within two points. We know that’s not good enough but at least we’re starting to get experience for a really young and exciting group so that going into the November test series we can continue with that confidence and start winning some of these games.”

“All three stops were amazing. We had great support in Vancouver, and again in Calgary with a full stadium there, and this final week in Toronto. I don’t know how many people were there but it looked like the stands were pretty full. It was outstanding. It shows that rugby is alive and well in Canada.”

CONOR O’SHEA – Head Coach, Italy

“Our execution was poor, but when you don’t win many games your confidence isn’t very high. The Canadian team were physical and direct and we knew how hard this was going to be. The easy thing for me to do is look at all the mistakes and errors but I want to get these guys enjoying being in an Italian jersey, and that’s what they look like they’re doing.”

“We should have been out of sight. There was a period of maybe six minutes when Canada were on our line but other than that we were the dominant side. We just didn’t execute properly.”

“We could easily hide behind excuses like the travel, the long season, the players not here. We said at the start we wouldn’t. We lost by six points to Argentina. If you win close games you learn more about the players, how they react under pressure.”

“It’s been a privilege to be here with his group of players. They’ve been better in everything. With the ability we have, the work we have to do, and the young players coming through, we’re not going to go from zero to hero over night. We know it’s a hard, hard job ahead, but it’s a great start.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PND_ReauHQ8