CRC Preview – Prairie Wolf Pack vs BC Bears

The senior men’s edition of the 2018 Canadian Rugby Championship kicks off this evening as the Prairie Wolf Pack host the defending MacTier Cup champion BC Bears at Calgary Rugby Park. With the World Cup Repechage fast approaching this year’s competition will feature a number of international representatives not only in need of game time but also keen to press their claims for a potential starting role.

Case in point the midfield, where four of Canada’s June test squad will go head-to-head. The Wolf Pack’s Nick Blevins and Ben LeSage are the incumbent test combination while BC’s Guiseppe du Toit and Doug Fraser the main domestic challengers. There is also strength in depth with Mozac Samson settling for a bench role with the Pack and Canada ‘A’ cap Mike Nieuwenhuysen squeezed out to the wing for the Bears.

In the front row it’s grizzled veteran Hubert Buydens up against South African bulwark Clint Lemkus, and on the other side of the scrum Bears loosehead Noah Barker takes on fellow Canada cap Ryan Kotlewski. The Wolf Pack will be driven by a the considerable engine room duo of Conor Turner and Riley Fahlman.

Meanwhile the Bears will lean heavily on their all-international back row trio led by No8 Luke Campbell. His opposite Grant Crowell is eyeing a cap of his own while openside James O’Neill is the national u20 skipper. St. Albert’s Jordan Roberts is a newcomer on the blindside.

A point of difference for BC will be the lightning-quick halfback duo of Jorden Sandover-Best and Theo Sauder, reunited after finding much success with the UBC Thunderbirds. Their counterparts are no slouches in Mark Discombe and Gradyn Bowd. The latter’s last test cap is nearing 18 months in the rear view mirror though his selection ahead of a more recent international – Robbie Povey – is a vote of confidence in itself.

Two new caps are found in the outside backs, one on each side of the pitch. Imposing Calgary winger Cole Davis has turned heads in a Canadian jersey this year and will now make his senior CRC debut after a couple years in Australia. Returning from England is Josh Thiel, another who prefers the midfield but will instead play fullback where he made his test debut against Chile earlier this year.

This looks like a contrast of styles with BC preferring a high-tempo game to take advantage of a mobile loose forward trio and strong-running backline. The Wolf Pack is a team built to win collisions with O’Neill set loose to win turnovers at the breakdown. It’s a tough match to call and in the absence of injured Gordon McRorie the goal kicking may lean slightly towards the big boot of du Toit. The defending champions retain their favorite status but not by much.

Kickoff is set for 7pm local time, 6pm Pacific, 9pm Eastern. A live stream will be available on Facebook.

PRAIRIE WOLF PACK
1 Hubert Buydens, 2 Gabriel Kajdy, 3 Ryan Kotlewski, 4 Conor Turner, 5 Riley Fahlman, 6 Jordan Roberts, 7 James O’Neill, 8 Grant Crowell, 9 Mark Discombe, 10 Gradyn Bowd, 11 Cole Davis, 12 Nick Blevins (capt.), 13 Ben LeSage, 14 Jake Bentley, 15 Cam Hall

Replacements: 16 Tyler Rockwell, 17 Gareth Brown, 18 Logan Jones, 19 Joshua Pritchett, 20 FJ Bronkhorst, 21 Robbie Povey, 22 Evan Thomas, 23 Mozac Samson

BC BEARS
1 Noah Barker, 2 Steven Ng, 3 Clint Lemkus, 4 Craig McLaughlin, 5 Shea Wakefield, 6 Dustin Dobravsky, 7 Ollie Nott, 8 Luke Campbell (capt.), 9 Jorden Sandover-Best, 10 Theo Sauder, 11 Fraser Hurst, 12 Guiseppe du Toit, 13 Doug Fraser, 14 Mike Nieuwenhuysen, 15 Josh Thiel

Replacements: 16 Paul Ahn, 17 John Braddock, 18 Liam Murray, 19 Nathan Stewart, 20 Connor McCann, 21 James Pitblado, 22 Clayton Meeres, 23 Jared Douglas

Date: Friday, July 27
Venue: Calgary Rugby Park
Kickoff: 19:00 local (18:00 Pacific, 21:00 Eastern)
Referee: Chris Assmus (RC)
Broadcasts: Facebook