Paris treble leads Canada past Chile

A hat-trick from star winger Taylor Paris helped Canada to a 36-15 win over Chile at Westhills Stadium in Langford on Saturday evening. Played in frosty but decent conditions – compared to a week ago at least – the match had a very sloppy start, with both sides committing numerous errors in an opening quarter that saw only once score. A penalty goal to Condores winger Tomas Ianiszewski gave the visitors a surprise lead, and it would take nearly 20 minutes before a second score was recorded.

Canada were again struggling in the lineout while neither side could get a grip on the ball. A break from the clouds came at last came when Francisco Cruz was sent to the bin after several Chilean penalties. From an attacking scrum the ball was spun wide and with the man advantage Paris had plenty of space to finish in the corner. Gordon McRorie nailed the sideline conversion, and added a penalty almost immediately from the restart to put his team into double-digits in a matter of moments.

Paris found the line a second time before the half, with a combination of luck and skill. A raking kick ahead took an awful bounce that eluded the grasp of Ianiszewski, and Paris was there to regather and run in for another seven-pointer. Chile’s frustration mounted when their captain Benjamín Soto was shown yellow after the referee’s patience ran out at the breakdown. Paris looked to have his third score moments later as he scythed through on a set move, but this time the referee ruled it obstruction, and the half ended with Canada up 17-3.

There would be no denying the Agen flyer in the second half. Dan Moor drifted onto the left side of the pitch from his right wing position and a classy offload found Nick Blevins, whose quick hands found Paris on the left touchline. A fend on a covering Jan Hasenlechner and a burst of speed took the Barrie native in for this third try of the match and 12th of his test career. In doing so he moves into sixth on the all-time Canadian try-scoring list, one behind former scrumhalf Morgan Williams.

Chile brought on some fresh legs and it paid dividends with replacement flanker Eduardo Orpis going over after Simón Pardakhty was stopped inches short. Canada followed suit, and the introduction of Phil Mack proved particularly savvy, with the sneaky halfback immediately challenging the Chilean fringe defense. From a breakdown just short of the Chilean line Mack popped to a hard charging George Barton and the 19-year-old blasted over for a memorable try on debut.

Los Condores were out but determined to score again, and it was Ianiszewski that inspired their second score, tearing through the midfield only to be hauled down with the line within arms reach. Rodrigo Fernandez was on hand to pick and dive over the line, however, and Chile would have their score. Not to be outdone, Moor himself had the final say as he trampled over the defense en route to a try in the left hand corner, with Robbie Povey’s conversion signalling full time.

The Canadians reached a unique milestone in their history with their 100th test victory. Celebrations will be muted, however, with much work to be done before their pivotal match against the US Eagles in Burnaby next weekend. Chile meanwhile return to the warmth of Talcahuano, but will have to face the undefeated Argentina XV, a sobering challenge indeed.

 

SCORING

CANADA 36
Tries – T. Paris 3 (26’, 36’, 52’), G. Barton (66’), D. Moor (80’)
Cons – G. McRorie 2 (27’, 37’), R. Povey 2 (67’, 80′)
Pens – G. McRorie (29’)

CHILE 15
Tries – E. Orpis (60’), R. Fernández (75’)
Cons – T. Ianiszewski (61’)
Pens – T. Ianiszewski (7’)
Yellow cards – F. Cruz (25’), B. Soto (39’), J.I. Larenas (78’)

 

TEAMS

CANADA
1 Djustice Sears-Duru (17 Rob Brouwer 62’), 2 Benoît Pifféro (16 Eric Howard 62’), 3 Matt Tierney (18 Cole Keith 62’), 4 Conor Keys, 5 Liam Chisholm (19 Reegan O’Gorman 57’), 6 Lucas Rumball, 7 Ollie Nott (20 Matt Beukeboom 53’-77’), 8 Admir Cejvanovic, 9 Gordon McRorie (capt.) (21 Phil Mack 62’), 10 Gradyn Bowd (22 Robbie Povey 51’), 11 Taylor Paris, 12 Guiseppe du Toit (23 George Barton 65’), 13 Nick Blevins, 14 Dan Moor, 15 Brock Staller

CHILE
1 Vittorio Lastra (17 Claudio Zamorano 48’), 2 Rodrigo Moya (16 Martín Mendoza 69’), 3 José Tomás Munita (18 Gonzalo Martínez 69’), 4 Nikola Bursic (19 Manuel Dagnino HT), 5 Mario Mayol, 6 Arturo Seeman (20 Eduardo Orpis 57’), 7 Anton Petrowitsch, 8 Benjamín Soto (capt.), 9 Jan Hasenlechner (21 Juan Pablo Larenas 55’), 10 Francisco Cruz (22 Jorge Castillo 51’), 11 Tomás Ianiszewski, 12 Simón Pardakhty (23 Rodrigo Fernández 69’), 13 José Ignacio Larenas, 14 Franco Velarde, 15 Pedro Verschae

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Derek Summers (USAR)
Assistants: Doug Hamre (RC) & Robin Kaluzniak (RC)

 

Attendance: 1,509