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Once again we’ve drifted far too long between entries. With so much going on behind the scenes it’s hard to keep track of what’s most important in Canadian rugby right now but in this column we’ll try to focus on the immediate concerns – the Women’s World Cup, the CRC, and the Americas 2 qualifiers.
STEACY HANGS UP THE BOOTS
Amidst the madness we were remiss and didn’t cover the announcement of Ashley Steacy’s retirement. There are few players in Canadian rugby who are as decorated as the Lethbridge, Alberta, native. Three CIS national championships, two CIS Player of the Year awards, World Cup appearances for both 7s and XVs teams, 2014 Canadian women’s 7s Player of the Year, 2014-15 HSBC Dream Team selection, and of course 2016 Olympian. A remarkable and inspiring athlete who returned twice from long-term serious injury, the second just in time to make the plane to Rio.
Thankfully she won’t be lost to rugby. Steacy will team up with former Canada Senior Women’s coach Neil Langevin to take over the highly regarded University of Lethbridge program. The spot was of course left vacant after the desperately sad passing of Ric Suggitt, but he can rest easy knowing the Pronghorns are in great hands. All the best to the team and perhaps one day Ashley Steacy will be wearing the Maple Leaf again in a different capacity.
Many of Steacy’s former teammates will have now arrived in Dublin to prepare for the Women’s World Cup. Canada made a splash at the last event reaching the Final while playing some exhilarating rugby. This year they enter as one of the top three teams at the tournament and have a very real chance of winning. New Zealand and England are probably an inch ahead at the moment but at their best Canada can match either of them.
It’s just a couple weeks away now and while the opening fixtures against Hong Kong and Wales might not be best sellers mark down August 17 on your calendars. Canada’s battle against New Zealand is the most anticipated match on the pool stages by some distance. All Canada’s games will be broadcast live on TSN so there’s no excuses to miss out.
CANADIAN RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIPS IN TRURO
Full credit to Truro Saints RFC who put on a great tournament as hosts of this year’s u19 Men and Senior Women’s Canadian Rugby Championships. Teams from across the country came to compete at one of the best rugby facilities in Eastern Canada. Three pitches in good nick, a great clubhouse, and terrific work from both the club and Rugby Nova Scotia to put on a memorable week of rugby for all involved.
On the rugby side of things there was another u19 Men’s title for BC, who played expansive rugby under the colorful dictatorship of Curry Hitchborn. The Senior Women’s title went to Ontario, superbly coached by Sonia Sennik. With an astounding 136 points scored and only 14 conceded over four games there was no debate who the best team at the tournament was. Game of the weekend, however, had to go to the thrilling Senior Women’s scrap that saw Nova Scotia held up over the line on full-time to settle for a draw against British Columbia.
A wild and scatterbrained contest saw Nova Scotia edge New Brunswick in a Men’s u23 friendly. While ambition came in patches, the nature of the derby was in full display with both sides bent on setting a new record for penalties at the breakdown.
The main event was a CRC Senior Men’s tilt between the Atlantic Rock and the Ontario Blues. It was a miserable opening for the home side who conceded 24 points in the first half hour and looked to be on Route 1 to a colossal train wreck. Thankfully the Rock pulled up their socks and made a game of it, ending only one score down in what turned into a compelling match.
Both senior men’s national head coaches were in attendance during the week. Mark Anscombe cast his watchful eye over the whole event while Damian McGrath arrived later in the week. They would not have seen many giants roaming but a couple speedsters may have been scribbled into McGrath’s notebook. To have both coaches at the grounds was a big positive for the players.
Disappointment all around in this one. The video feed wasn’t great, questionable commentary, and a Wolf Pack team that just didn’t show up. Yes, the Bears have clearly improved and are immediate contenders for the MacTier Cup if not favorites, but that was very far from an acceptable performance from the Prairie selects. Hopefully the injection of a couple key players and a few weeks on the training paddock will bring them back up to speed in time for the Calgary tourney.
Look for a full CRC preview in the days before the competition resumes on August 13. In the meantime fixtures and detailed rosters can be found here.
Say it ain’t so! Adam Zaruba has signed a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles to play a little gridiron. Congratulations to the Capilano man and everyone sincerely hopes he succeeds. Sadly if Zaruba does make the cut in September it means Canada has lost an irreplaceable figure on the HSBC Sevens Series just when he was starting to hit his peak. Even the shortened code needs a few big men, and there are none bigger on the world circuit.
It’s probably best we forget this ever happened.
THE ROAD TO AMERICAS 2
As we speculated many months ago, the Eagles are in and Canada must get past Uruguay to seal Americas 2. There is precious little time between now and January to get things on back on track but there are no easy fixtures to build up a winning streak. First up will be the Americas Pacific Challenge for the domestic side and then the November test series.
Look for a ‘friendly’ against a team from New Zealand in Vancouver on November 4 before the three-match trip to Europe. The original plan was Georgia, Russia, and Tonga but the latter appears now to have been switched to Fiji. Unconfirmed dates look likely to be November 11, November 18, and November 25 respectively with the Fiji match to be played at a neutral venue.
