Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
Kingsley Jones is under no illusions that Canada are the underdogs in Japan but remains adamant that his charges can cause an upset. The team’s opening match at the World Cup is against Italy on September 26 in Fukuoka. It’s a must-win game if they are to achieve automatic qualification for RWC 2023.
Jones spoke to the media at Otansi Sanso Hotel after his team settled in.
“It’s an extra incentive for any team – the probability if you win two pool games, you qualify for the next one automatically. Any team wants to be in that position. To have four years to prepare for a World Cup is what you need really. We’ve been in a position where we had 11 months. That’s not ideal.”
It’s been a long time since the Maple Leafs have toppled the Azzurri – nearly 20 years. Their last victory came at Rovigo in November 2000, some 17 years after splitting a two-game series in 1983, the first game a win at Burnaby Lake and the second a loss in Toronto. Since then Italy have won the last six meets but the gap was a mere two points at BMO Field in 2016, while Canada came agonizingly close to an upset at RWC 2015 with a controversial forward pass call denying Phil Mackenzie a try just after halftime.
“With the pool we have, we have to be real. Italy will fancy their chances of upsetting the apple cart. They’ll be targeting one of those big teams. They’ll be targeting ourselves and Namibia, for sure. They want to qualify for the quarter-finals.”
Though their draw in Pool B throws them up against the virtually insurmountable challenges of New Zealand and South Africa, the late start works in Canada’s favor as the Azzurri will have to play on just three days rest after facing Namibia on Sunday. Canada’s match against the Africa 1 representatives will be their last, in Kamaishi on October 13. Jones says he is more than happy with the schedule.
“I don’t think it could be set up better if I asked for those fixtures myself. We’re building into our first game against a Six Nations team. They’ve done so well. For us to be in a position where we’ve got everything to gain and nothing to lose, we look forward to that game. It’s a real good build-up for us.
“We got two teams in the middle that have won the World Cup five times between them. Every player dreams of playing against the All Blacks and the Springboks growing up so it’s something really exciting for the players in every game.
“Namibia are a team at the end who we really respect and I think they’re around a similar level to us. They will be looking to get wins and they’ll be looking at us as well so we’ve got to be realistic within that. If we play to the best of our ability, who knows? It is a realistic scenario where we win two games at least.”
Canada have never lost to Namibia, having played them twice. The first meeting was a blowout win during RWC 1999 in Toulouse. The second came at the neutral venue of Colwyn Bay in North Wales, where Canada took a narrow 17-13 result. Namibia might have been a more daunting challenge had they not inexplicably left out a handful of seasoned veterans from their tourist squad, among them Harlequins No8 and RWC 2015 captain Renaldo Bothma.
For the moment the team is based in Nagato, on the south west coast of Japan’s main island of Honshu. The players have been officially welcomed and have been visiting school kids and the local hot springs. They have also taken to wearing a traditional yukata in their leisure time and during meals.
“They’re big guys, they eat a lot of food, and there’s often challenges when we arrive in new cities, but Nagato has been world class in every department, from the food to the facilities. From the performance side, from the coaching side, and the management, it’s been absolutely fantastic and we’d like to come back one day.”
