Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
Canada’s list of overseas-based players is looking a bit slim at the moment. As we enter the new season there are less than 20 players on fully professional contracts, a worrying number given the current state of domestic rugby.
In the wake of PRO’s demise the landscape is barren in North America at the moment but hope could be on the way in the form of Major League Rugby. The freshly-revealed Ontario Arrows are set to provide some decent fixtures in 2018.
The below list is not exhaustive but should account for those who have represented Canada at age-grade level or better, and a few who remain eligible and could join the cause in the future.
AVIVA PREMIERSHIP
With the promotion of London Irish the Canadian contingent is now at four for the coming Premiership season, one more than last year though only Evan Olmstead was in regular rotation all season. The big lock has one year remaining on his current deal with Newcastle.
Connor Braid has returned to Canadian shores from Worcester with his immediate future unclear though there are suggestions he could make a return to the HSBC Sevens Series this season.
Ciaran Hearn is back in the big-time with the return of Irish but sadly Jebb Sinclair will not be after running into some contractual issues with the club. Sinclair is now back in Canada and will take his first steps into a coaching career with Meraloma in Vancouver.
With DTH van der Merwe and most recently Jake Ilnicki now joining Olmstead at Newcastle it’s the Falcons who have become Canada’s adopted Premiership team, and indeed a popular choice for the Americas with three Argentines and US Eagles lock Nick Civetta also on the roster.
GREENE KING IPA CHAMPIONSHIP
One again it’s the English second division that will house the most significant number of Canadians this season. Hearn and Sinclair have gone with Irish but there are two new signings stepping in to replace them. Kyle Baillie has settled at London Scottish after missing out on a short-term deal at the end of last season due to an untimely injury. Djustice Sears-Duru spent last year on contract with Glasgow Warriors but saw little playing time and should see considerably more with new club Ealing Trailfinders.
Brett Beukeboom and Matt Evans will again team up at Cornish Pirates, having signed new two-year deals in the off-season. Evans is nearing a return from a serious knee injury that knocked him out of the June tests. Aaron Carpenter picked up a one-year extension with Doncaster after joining them part-way through the year following the financial collapse of London Welsh.
Rugby World Cup 2011 veteran Tyler Hotson was a part-time player for Richmond last season and should do the same this year while working for Goldman Sachs in London. Former national u20 hooker Richard Townsend saw a decent amount of game time in the second half of last year.
Uncapped Montreal native Justin Blanchet is now entering his fourth season with Bedford Blues where he is first choice blindside flanker. Meanwhile brother Sam has traded in his boots to take up the bobsleigh with Team Great Britain.
GUINNESS PRO 14
At the beginning of last season Olmstead was a lonely figure in the Premiership. This year it’s Jeff Hassler who is the one and only Canadian international left in the expanded Pro 14. van der Merwe has left Scarlets for Newcastle, Sears-Duru is at Ealing, Tyler Ardron has gone to New Zealand, and Shane O’Leary is no longer on contract at Connacht. Hassler has one year left on his Ospreys deal and could be tempted to test himself in a warmer climate.
There are two other Canadian-born players in the Pro 14 though both have achieved international honors with other nations. Robert Barbieri is still on Benetton Treviso’s books and continues to be an influential player when not injured. He won his most recent cap against Scotland in June. The other is Leinster scrumhalf Luke McGrath, who interestingly made his Ireland debut against Canada last November.
TOP 14
Jamie Cudmore‘s full-time move into coaching and a sabbatical for Cameron Pierce to recover from a serious concussion leaves Taylor Paris as the only player on a senior contract in the French first division. Two others remain on academy deals at Pau, tighthead prop Matt Tierney and second row Matt Beukeboom. Current Canada u20 captain George Barton spent the last two seasons at Clermont Auvergne but will not be returning this year.
PRO D2
It’s just as quiet in the second division now that Cudmore and Paris have moved up. The sole remaining Canadian is midfielder Conor Trainor, who enjoyed a fine season with Vannes last year but moved to ambitious USO Nevers this season. Unfortunately a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered against Romania in June means he won’t be suiting up until some time in the new year.
MITRE 10 CUP / SUPER RUGBY
Down in the South Pacific there are two players on contract in New Zealand’s provincial competition, the Mitre 10 Cup. Former Canada u20 lock Josh Larsen is in his second season with the Northland Taniwha while older brother Travis is coming off a good showing with the BC Bears in the Canadian Rugby Championship. Tyler Ardron is getting his initiation to New Zealand rugby with the Bay of Plenty Steamers before joining the Chiefs for Super Rugby on a two-year deal.
Leslie Leulua’iali’i-Makin (aka Les Makin), Canadian-eligible through his father, is back with the Canberra Vikings in the NRC and will suit up for the Brumbies with Super Rugby fires back up again. The Australian-born prop is also eligible for Samoa so he has options if the Wallabies are not in his future.
OTHERS
Also in New Zealand is new second row cap Reegan O’Gorman who is with Marist Albion in the Canterbury region but has struggled with injury since debuting in the Americas Rugby Championship. Bryce Worden has bid adieu to College Rifles and Auckland and is now back in BC with Burnaby Lake. Another New Brunswick prop, Cole Keith, was one of four Canadians who spent a few weeks in New Zealand during the spring. The others were Conor Keys, Kyle Baillie, and Patrick Parfrey.
Canada ‘A’ select Sam Hayward enjoyed a fine season with Parramatta in the Shute Shield this year. Though the team struggled, the 1.96m (6’5″) utility back started 16 of 18 games for the Two Blues playing at flyhalf, inside centre, and fullback.
Two of Canada’s top talents from the national u18 side recently trained with the Crusaders High Performance Unit. Team captain and tighthead prop Tyler Rowland traveled down along with scrumhalf Will McDougall-Percillier for a few weeks of rugby immersion. Another promising scrumhalf in New Brunswick and Atlantic Rock standout Cameron Pope could be headed to Cape Town in January after being accepted into the Western Province Academy.
Back in France hooker Benoît Pifféro is gearing up for another season with Blagnac in Fédérale 1. On the other side of the channel is flanker Matt Heaton, ready for his second National One campaign with Darlington Mowden Park. Still kicking around in player-coach roles are Richard Thorpe at Chinnor and James Pritchard at Ampthill. Former u20 winger Mark Kohler has left Rosslyn Park and is now pursuing other options after several seasons as a semi-pro.
Over in the All-Ireland ranks are Dan Joyce and Paddy Finlay, though it’s not immediately clear if they will be playing for Trinity College this season. Joyce, a scrumhalf, was part of the Canada ‘A’ tour to the UK in August while former u20 hooker Finlay was selected to the Ireland Clubs squad to face England Counties and also appeared for Leinster ‘A’ in a match against Ulster in March.
Canadian-eligible flyhalf Charlie McMickan is with Lansdowne, while newly-capped Robbie Povey has been playing for Castaway Wanderers and the Wolf Pack after leaving Bedford Athletic. Another young Canadian-born talent, Jack Evans, continues with Llandovery in the Welsh Premiership, and over at Bishop Burton College in Yorkshire is midfielder Josh Thiel, currently playing in the World Rugby u20 Trophy in Montevideo.
On the academic front Ontario Blues winger Dan Moor has accepted an opportunity to study at Oxford University, where he will hope to win a Blue in the Varsity Match this December.
TABLE
| NAME | POS | 2016/17 CLUB | DIV | 2017/18 CLUB | DIV |
| Ilnicki, Jake | PR | Northampton Saints | AP | Newcastle Falcons | AP |
| Leulua’iali’i-Makin, Les* | PR | Brumbies | SR | Brumbies | SR |
| Sears-Duru, Djustice | PR | Glasgow Warriors | P12 | Ealing Trailfinders | RFU |
| Tierney, Matt | PR | Pau (Academy) | T14 | Pau (Academy) | T14 |
| Worden, Bryce (u20) | PR | College Rifles | NZC | Burnaby Lake | CDI |
| Finlay, Paddy (u20) | HO | Trinity College | AIL | Trinity College (tbc) | AIL |
| Pifféro, Benoît | HO | Blagnac | F1 | Blagnac | F1 |
| Townsend, Richard (u20) | HO | Richmond | RFU | Richmond | RFU |
| Baillie, Kyle | LO | Westshore | CDI | London Scottish | RFU |
| Beukeboom, Brett | LO | Cornish Pirates | RFU | Cornish Pirates | RFU |
| Beukeboom, Matt | LO | Pau (Academy) | T14 | Pau (Academy) | T14 |
| Cudmore, Jamie | LO | Oyonnax | PD2 | — | — |
| Hotson, Tyler | LO | Richmond | RFU | Richmond | RFU |
| Larsen, Josh (u20) | LO | Northland | M10 | Northland | M10 |
| O’Gorman, Reegan | LO | Marist Albion | NZC | Marist Albion | NZC |
| Olmstead, Evan | LO | Newcastle Falcons | AP | Newcastle Falcons | AP |
| Pierce, Cameron | LO | Pau | T14 | — | — |
| Sinclair, Jebb | LO | London Irish | RFU | — | — |
| Blanchet, Justin (u17) | FL | Bedford Blues | RFU | Bedford Blues | RFU |
| Heaton, Matt | FL | Darlington Mowden Park | N1 | Darlington Mowden Park | N1 |
| Thorpe, Richard | FL | Chinnor | N2 | Chinnor | N2 |
| Ardron, Tyler | N8 | Ospreys | P12 | Chiefs | SR |
| Carpenter, Aaron | N8 | Doncaster Knights | RFU | Doncaster Knights | RFU |
| Joyce, Dan (A) | SH | Trinity College | AIL | Trinity College (tbc) | AIL |
| McMickan, Charlie* | FH | Lansdowne | AIL | Lansdowne | AIL |
| O’Leary, Shane | FH | Connacht | P12 | Young Munster | AIL |
| Povey, Robbie | FH | Bedford Athletic | N3 | Castaway Wanderers | CDI |
| Barton, George | CE | Clermont (Academy) | T14 | — | — |
| Braid, Connor | CE | Worcester Warriors | AP | — | — |
| Hayward, Sam (A) | CE | Parramatta | SS | Parramatta | SS |
| Hearn, Ciaran | CE | London Irish | RFU | London Irish | AP |
| Thiel, Josh | CE | Bishop Burton College | BUC | Bishop Burton College | BUC |
| Trainor, Conor | CE | Vannes | PD2 | Nevers | PD2 |
| Hassler, Jeff | WI | Ospreys | P12 | Ospreys | P14 |
| Kohler, Mark (u20) | WI | Rosslyn Park | N1 | — | — |
| Moor, Dan | WI | Castaway Wanderers | CDI | Oxford University | BUC |
| Paris, Taylor | WI | Agen | PD2 | Castres | T14 |
| van der Merwe, DTH | WI | Scarlets | P12 | Newcastle Falcons | AP |
| Evans, Jack* | FB | Llandovery | WP | Llandovery | WP |
| Evans, Matt | FB | Cornish Pirates | RFU | Cornish Pirates | RFU |
| Pritchard, James | FB | Old Albanians | N1 | Ampthill | N1 |
* – Canadian eligible, AIL – All-Ireland League, AP – Aviva Premiership, BUC – British Universities & Colleges, CDI – CDI Premier League, CNE – Campionato Nazionale Eccellenza, F1 – Fédérale 1, F2 – Fédérale 2, M10 – Mitre 10 Cup, N1 – National 1, N2 – National 2, N3 – National 3, NZC – New Zealand Club, P12/14 – Guinness Pro 12/14, PD2 – Pro D2, PRO – PRO Rugby, RFU – Greene King IPA Championship, SR – Super Rugby, SS – Shute Shield, T14 – Top 14, WP – Welsh Principality Premiership
Have we missed anyone? Got an update? Let us know!
