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Now that the fundraising party with the help of a few New Zealanders is over, it’s time to get back to the nitty gritty. Off-field success is nice but it’s on the field where Canadian rugby could use a bit of a pick-me-up, and the HSBC Sevens Series doesn’t start until next month. To achieve that in November the team will have to perform against three challenging opponents away from home.
They’ll have to do so with a new Head Coach in Kingsley Jones and without some key players. Shane O’Leary and Connor Braid are both out leaving the side paper-thin at flyhalf. Conor Trainor is a long-term casualty and Matt Evans is only just back to club rugby after knee surgery. Jeff Hassler is concussed, and Tyler Ardron will leave the team following the Georgia match. Not exactly the kind of news Canadian fans were hoping for.
Jones now needs to piece together a team not only for the next three weeks, but also for the all-important World Cup Qualifiers against Los Teros in January. His biggest problem is at No 10 where Canada had precious few options heading in and even less now.
2017 FORM
Be like water, said the great Bruce Lee. Shapeless. Formless. Canada ought not to have taken him so literally! One win – over Chile – and an out-of-character draw with the USA in Hamilton are the only matches this year where the team might be given a passing grade. Otherwise it’s been a tumultuous year to say the least.
Embarrassing defeats to both Uruguay and Brazil in the Americas Rugby Championship were followed with a shambolic performance in San Diego that saw Canada miss out on Americas 1 qualification and Mark Anscombe dumped. The match in Vancouver – the first under Jones – wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great either.
HOW THEY MATCH UP
Canada have never been lower than their current spot of 24 on the World Rugby Rankings. Georgia are a dozen spots ahead and while they haven’t been in sparkling form this year, they still have a record of 6-2 heading in and a bus full of angry forwards who play professionally in France.
Spain are ranked 19th which is a more reasonable challenge but should not be taken lightly. They will have close to their strongest team available with the majority full-time professionals. Fiji are last and the highest-ranked of the three at 9th in the world. On paper this is a significant mismatch.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
At 25 years old Jake Ilnicki is likely still a couple years away from his best but now in his second season in the Aviva Premiership, he should be getting close. The tighthead prop from Williams Lake has been earmarked for the job since captaining the national u20s. Times have changed, however, and now he has top prospects in Matt Tierney and Cole Keith hot on his trail. Ilnicki will face his toughest test yet on Saturday against the vaunted Georgian scrum.
Matt Heaton plays his club rugby for Darlington Mowden Park in England’s third division, but that could change should the openside flanker impress on tour. Heaton is a fitness fanatic and what he lacks in bulk he makes up for in work rate, though at 1.90m (6’3″) he is not exactly small either. A strong performance against the Māori reiterated his standing as Canada’s top No 7, a couple more like that could make him one of the first names on the team sheet.
If anyone’s star is on the rise it’s UBC’s Andrew Coe. The 21-year-old is one of three players on a centralized contract split between 7s and XVs – the others Braid and Admir Cejvanovic – and his natural talent has been on the senior side’s radar since he was 17. He can cover a few positions but it’s fullback where he is most effective, where he combines attacking vision with complete commitment under the high ball. A contract in Europe might soon be on offer though the youngster appears focused on finishing his studies first.
WHO THEY ARE MISSING
The loss of O’Leary and Braid at the same time is a hammer blow but perhaps most perplexing under the circumstances is the absence of an uncapped domestic standout. Shawn Windsor has been a key player for the Ontario Blues for several seasons and was the best flyhalf by a distance in this year’s Canadian Rugby Championship. For his efforts he wasn’t even rewarded with a spot on the plane to Montevideo with the ‘A’ side. At 30 years of age perhaps he might seem old for a rookie but then Ray Barkwill might have a thing or two to say about that.
While Coe looks a blue chip prospect for the future, Canada’s best fullback right now is undoubtedly Matt Evans. The 38-cap veteran was sorely missed in the Qualifiers earlier this year both for his playing abilities and leadership. After several months on the sidelines his return to the field is imminent and though he won’t feature at all on this tour, he’ll be a key figure in the lineup come the next round of Qualifiers in January.
VERDICT
If Canada had all guns blazing things might look a little more rosy but undermanned and out of form is no way to fly into Georgia. A win over Spain is far more likely but again would be against the run of play. Fiji is virtually a fait accompli. Canada must look away from results and focus entirely on performance. If they can start to build cohesion and structure in a new system, even a worst case scenario of three losses might have a silver lining.
