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Canada will face an uncommon opponent in their penultimate match at Rugby World Cup 2019. It’s been nearly 20 years since they faced South Africa, this being just the third test between the two nations. The Springboks have won both, the most recent a 51-18 result at East London in June 2000.
Of much higher standing in rugby history is their contest at RWC 1995. On that day in Port Elizabeth the score read 20-0 to the home side – the eventual champions – but the match is best remembered for an all-in brawl that saw Canadian pair Rod Snow and Gareth Rees sent off along with Springbok hooker James Dalton. Winger Pieter Hendriks was later suspended, leading to the recall of the late Chester Williams.
Tuesday’s match is unlikely to be so memorable. The game turned professional the following year and while South Africa remain among the best teams in the world, Canada have slipped into ‘minnow’ status. Similar to the match against New Zealand, the Canadians are 57-point underdogs.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has unsurprisingly opted for a second-string side that shows 13 changes to that which faced Italy in Shizuoka. Only captain Siya Kolisi and midfielder Damian de Allende are retained. Thomas du Toit and Kwagga Smith are given starts in the forwards with new arrival Damian Willemse at fullback.
Kingsley Jones meanwhile has opted for a near full-strength Canadian side. It’s a surprising move given their most winnable match against Namibia is only five days later in Kamaishi, and with several nursing bumps and bruises this might have been an ideal opportunity to rest ahead of such an important fixture.
The front row is all-changed with Hubert Buydens, Andrew Quattrin, and Jake Ilnicki in the run-on side. It’s a first test start for Toronto Arrows rake Quattrin. In the second row there is a welcome return for Kyle Baillie from a knee injury, with Evan Olmstead only just back from a foot problem himself.
Phil Mack gets his first start of the tournament at scrumhalf in a backline that shows just two changes. The other sees Andrew Coe at fullback with Patrick Parfrey left battered and bruised in the match against the All Blacks. Shane O’Leary settles for a spot on the bench along with new call-up Guiseppe du Toit.
There is no reason to question the odds-makers here. Canada may be able to mitigate the point spread with most of their top players suiting up, but a decisive victory for South Africa is well and truly on the cards. Canadian fans will quietly be hoping that injuries do not mount up with Namibia looking a fair challenge on Sunday.
Kickoff is set for 7:15pm local time, 3:15am Pacific, 6:15am Eastern, 7:15am in Rio de la Plata. Live broadcasts will be available on ESPN 3 in Latin and South America, NBC Sports Gold in the USA, and on TSN channels 1 and 4 in Canada.
SOUTH AFRICA
1 Thomas du Toit, 2 Schalk Brits, 3 Vincent Koch, 4 RG Snyman, 5 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi (capt.), 7 Kwagga Smith, 8 Francois Louw, 9 Cobus Reinach, 10 Elton Jantjies, 11 S’bu Nkosi, 12 Frans Steyn, 13 Damian de Allende, 14 Warrick Gelant, 15 Damian Willemse
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Handré Pollard, 23 Willie le Roux
CANADA
1 Hubert Buydens, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 3 Jake Ilnicki, 4 Evan Olmstead, 5 Kyle Baillie, 6 Lucas Rumball, 7 Matt Heaton, 8 Tyler Ardron (capt.), 9 Phil Mack, 10 Peter Nelson, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 12 Ciaran Hearn, 13 Conor Trainor, 14 Jeff Hassler, 15 Andrew Coe
Replacements: 16 Benoît Pifféro, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Matt Tierney, 19 Josh Larsen, 20 Mike Sheppard, 21 Jamie Mackenzie, 22 Shane O’Leary, 23 Guiseppe du Toit
Date: Tuesday, October 8
Kick-Off: 19:15 local (03:15 Pacific, 06:15 Eastern, 07:15 Rio de la Plata)
Venue: Misaki Stadium, Kobe
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistants: Angus Gardner (Australia) & Andrew Brace (England)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)
Broadcasts: ESPN 3 (Latin/South America), NBC Sports Gold (USA), TSN 1/4 (Canada)
