Canada Selects Fall to Clermont

Canada’s preparations for RWC 2019’s Repechage Tournament continued today. The national ‘A’ side, the Canada Selects played their second of two tour matches against Top 14 clubs, facing 2017 champions Clermont.

While the visitors had moments of quality rugby ultimately the Canada Selects Fell to Clermont, losing 54-15. It was the second of two matches in France, the first being last Saturday against Castres with the 2018 Top 14 champions winning 47-17.

Against Clermont the Canada Selects opened the scoring. Doing so was the returning Kyle Baillie. The impressive score saw the flanker stealing a lineout and then barging his way over to score. Inside center Guiseppe du Toit was unable to convert.

Du Toit would land a simple penalty in the 27th minute. Before doing so Clermont had crossed for three tries. They came with Fijians running riot as fullback Setareki Tuicuvu, winger Alivereti Raka, and flanker Peceli Yato all scored.

A second Raka try in the 33rd minute took Clermont out to a 33-8 lead. In doing so the French club had scored one point for every minute of rugby played. This would remain true at half time as Spainish player Samuel Ezeala scored making it 40-8.

The Canadians would have the better of play for much of the second half. A try would come with Cole Davis creating the opportunity. His break culminated in another replacement, flanker Lucas Rumball touching down.

Clermont went over for tries both before and after that of Rumball. They were scored by Wallaby Peter Betham and Puma Patricio Fernández. The latter of the two remains a player who could yet be playing for his country this year.

Canada’s men’s team will now return to Calgary for the third and fourth rounds of the 2018 Senior Men’s Canadian Rugby Championships August 23-26.

With all eyes on November’s Rugby World Cup 2019 repechage tournament in France, these games are crucial for giving Canada’s top domestic-based athletes high quality game time

SCORING

CLERMONT
Try: Raka (2), Yato, Tuicuvu, Naqalevu, Ezeala, Betham, Fernández
Conversion: Lopez (7)

CANADA SELECTS
Try: Baillie, Rumball
Conversion: Du Toit
Penalty: Du Toit

TEAMS

CLERMONT AUVERGNE
1 Etienne Falgoux, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 3 Davit Zirakashvili, 4 Sitaleki Timani, 5 Sébastien Vaha’amahina, 6 Arthur Iturria, 7 Peceli Yato, 8 Fritz Lee (capt.), 9 Greig Laidlaw, 10 Camille Lopez, 11 Alivereti Raka, 12 Apisai Naqalevu, 13 Isaia Toeava, 14 Samuel Ezeala, 15 Setareki Tuicuvu

Replacements: 16 John Ulugia, 17 Loni Uhila, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Damien Chouly, 20 Charlie Cassang, 21 Patricio Fernández, 22 Wesley Fofana, 23 Sipili Falatea, 24 Beka Kakabadze, 25 Alexandre Fischer, 26 Julien Ruaud, 27 William Hutteau, 28 Jacobus van Tonder, 29 Peter Betham, 30 Yohan Beheregaray

CANADA
1 Hubert Buydens, 2 Ray Barkwill, 3 Cole Keith, 4 Mike Sheppard, 5 Paul Ciulini, 6 Kyle Baillie, 7 Matt Heaton, 8 Luke Campbell, 9 Phil Mack (capt.), 10 Patrick Parfrey, 11 Ben LeSage, 12 Guiseppe du Toit, 13 Doug Fraser, 14 Kainoa Lloyd, 15 Robbie Povey

Replacements: 16 Benoît Pifféro, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Ryan Kotlewski, 19 Adrian Wadden, 20 Lucas Rumball, 21 Jorden Sandover-Best, 22 Mike Nieuwenhuysen, 23 Theo Sauder, 24 Noah Barker, 25 Eric Howard, 26 Dustin Dobravsky, 27 Grant Crowell, 28 Aidan McMullan, 29 Josh Thiel, 30 Andrew Ferguson, 31 Cole Davis