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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) |
