2018 ARC Preview – Canada

Canada’s 2018 Americas Rugby Championship campaign begins a week earlier than expected with the first of their home-and-away Americas 2 World Cup Qualifying series against Uruguay doubling as an ARC fixture. Vancouver will host the opener on Saturday but the return match in Montevideo next weekend will not count towards the ARC, a slightly confusing scenario but one deemed necessary to maintain the appropriate home-and-away ratio for the Americas tournament.

 

2017 FORM

Last year was largely forgettable from a Canadian perspective. Just two wins from 13 matches – 11 of them tests – saw their official World Rugby Ranking drop to an all-time low of 24. A victory over Spain in November broke a nine-game winless streak and pushed their ranking back up to 21, a more palatable number but still four below historic rivals USA and three spots under Uruguay.

A solitary win over Chile was the only bright spot in an otherwise merciless Americas Rugby Championship that saw them lose to both Uruguay and Brazil in successive matches. The crushing defeat to the USA mid-way was cause for panic for supporters ahead of the all-important Americas 1 Qualifiers against the Eagles in June.

Their concerns proved to be well-founded. Two listless performances against Georgia and Romania were mitigated by an unlikely draw against the USA in Hamilton. It turned out to be an aberration. The second leg of the series was an abysmal display that meant Canada were into the Americas 2 bracket for the first time and saw coach Mark Anscombe shown the door.

New supremo Kingsley Jones was hired ahead of the November tour but was given precious little time to make his mark before the Māori arrived in Vancouver. Two more lopsided results surrounded a relieving win over Spain in Madrid. With a few weeks of preparation behind him, Jones now faces the ARC with mixed expectations.

 

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Canada’s list of available players is likely to change as the tournament progresses with some of the overseas professionals returning to club duty. Tyler Ardron, for example, will almost certainly return to the Chiefs to prepare for Super Rugby duty following the Uruguay series.

It goes without saying that Canada’s biggest problem position in recent years has been the flyhalf position. Shane O’Leary‘s injury could hardly have come at a worse time but there is hope that he could be ready to play a part if his ankle is deemed sufficiently recovered from surgery in early November.

In his stead the No 10 shirt looks likely to go to Connor Braid, who steps back into contention having spent the last few months training with the national sevens squad. Equally comfortable in the midfield, Braid is a capable goal kicker and is strong in the contact area. His mandate will be to get the ball wide to Canada’s impressive stable of outside backs.

Tasked with maintaining continuity on offense and chopping down trees in defense, Matt Heaton saw his game reach new heights 2017 and has not established himself as first choice openside flanker. He is an anomaly in that despite making his debut in 2016 he has never played an ARC match. That will change on Saturday, and the team will be hoping to have him in the lineup for the duration of the tournament.

Setting the platform up front is a trio of young tighthead props gunning for a starting role. Jake Ilnicki, Matt Tierney, and Cole Keith give Canada impressive depth at a key position with all capable of holding the scrum. Ilnicki is the senior of the trio a month shy of his 26th birthday and also the incumbent. Having Tierney and Keith just behind him should keep him on his toes.

 

VERDICT

Overcoming the psychological affect of a bad year will be the most pressing obstacle for the team, but there are positive signs from the Canadian camp that the change in coaching is at least a step in the right direction. Of course there is a not insignificant challenge in the form of Uruguay up first. Achieving victory over Los Teros will be vital. A loss would be devastating to the team and could have a very detrimental affect on the rest of the tournament.

Last year’s tournament saw Canada finish in 5th spot, below even Brazil. Expect Canada to be significantly improved this season but contending for a top-two finish appears a step beyond them especially given away matches against both the USA and Argentina. The opening match will likely decide whether they finish in 3rd or 4th this season.

 

FIXTURES

DATE	OPPONENT	VENUE	KICKOFF
Jan 27	Uruguay	BC Place, Vancouver	5pm local, 10pm Uruguay
Feb 10	USA	Papa Murphy’s Park, Sacramento	3pm local, 6pm Eastern
Feb 17	Brazil	Westhills Stadium, Langford	6:30pm local, 9:30pm Eastern
Feb 24	Argentina XV	Gimnasia y Esgrima, Jujuy	8pm local, 6pm Eastern
Mar 3	Chile	Estadio de la Pintana, Santiago	4pm local, 2pm Eastern

 

SQUAD

NAME	POS	HGT	WGT	DOB	CAPS	CLUB
Buydens, Hubert	LH	1.91 6-3	125 275	Jan 4 1982	45	New Orleans Gold (US)
Luca, Anthony	LH	1.83 6-0	112 245	Feb 26 1985	5	Burnaby Lake
Sears-Duru, Djustice	LH	1.85 6-1	120 265	May 24 1994	33	Ealing Trailfinders (UK)

Barkwill, Ray	HO	1.74 5-9	103 225	Aug 26 1980	45	Seattle Seawolves (US)
Lagain, Martial	HO	1.78 5-10	100 220	Jan 6 1987	–	Westshore
Pifféro, Benoît	HO	1.83 6-0	104 230	May 21 1987	18	Blagnac (FR)

Ilnicki, Jake	TH	1.85 6-1	120 265	Feb 24 1992	23	Newcastle Falcons (UK)
Keith, Cole	TH	1.83 6-0	115 255	May 7 1997	4	James Bay
Tierney, Matt	TH	1.90 6-3	131 190	Jul 4 1996	12	Pau (FR)

Beukeboom, Brett	LO	1.96 6-5	113 250	Aug 13 1990	30	Cornish Pirates (UK)
Larsen, Josh	LO	1.97 6-5	110 240	Apr 4 1994	3	Northland (NZ)
Olmstead, Josh	LO	1.98 6-6	114 250	Feb 21 1991	19	Newcastle Falcons (UK)

Baillie, Kyle	FL/LO	1.97 6-5	111 245	Apr 7 1991	14	London Scottish (UK)
Campbell, Luke	FL	1.91 6-3	106 235	Feb 10 1992	–	James Bay
Dobravsky, Dustin	FL	1.93 6-4	103 225	Nov 21 1991	–	Castaway Wanderers
Heaton, Matt	FL	1.90 6-3	101 220	Feb 9 1993	12	Darlington Mowden Park (UK)
Rumball, Lucas	FL	1.89 6-2	106 235	Aug 2 1995	14	James Bay

Ardron, Tyler	N8	1.97 6-5	112 245	Jun 16 1991	26	Chiefs (NZ)
Cejvanovic, Admir	N8	1.91 6-3	110 240	Jun 26 1990	10	Burnaby Lake

Ferguson, Andrew	SH	1.78 5-10	92 200	May 1 1992	6	Westshore
Mack, Phil	SH	1.70 5-7	83 180	Sep 18 1985	44	Seattle Seawolves (US)
McRorie, Gordon	SH	1.76 5-9	80 175	May 12 1988	30	Calgary Hornets

Braid, Connor	FH/CE	1.85 6-1	98 215	May 31 1990	25	James Bay
O’Leary, Shane	FH	1.78 5-10	92 200	Dec 3 1993	4	Ealing Trailfinders (UK)
Parfrey, Patrick	FH	1.88 6-2	93 205	Nov 1 1991	18	James Bay

Blevins, Nick	CE	1.88 6-2	103 225	Sep 11 1988	44	Calgary Hornets
du Toit, Guiseppe	CE	1.83 6-0	93 205	Jul 29 1995	8	UVic Vikes
Fraser, Doug	CE	1.72 5-8	93 205	Aug 5 1992	–	Castaway Wanderers
LeSage, Ben	CE	1.82 6-0	95 210	Nov 24 1995	2	UBC Thunderbirds
van der Merwe, DTH	CE	1.83 6-0	98 215	Apr 28 1986	47	Newcastle Falcons (UK)

Hassler, Jeff	WI	1.80 5-11	96 210	Aug 21 1991	17	Ospreys (UK)
Lloyd, Kainoa	WI	1.80 5-11	93 205	May 21 1994	3	Mississauga Blues
Moor, Dan	WI	1.83 6-0	100 220	Jul 24 1990	14	Oxford University (UK)
Paris, Taylor	WI	1.85 6-1	90 200	Oct 6 1992	18	Castres (FR)

Staller, Brock

FB

1.88 6-2

95 210

Mar 24 1992

9

Seattle Seawolves (US)