Canada grinds out win over Netherlands in Amsterdam

Canada opened their two-match tour of Amsterdam with a 37-25 win over the Netherlands. It was a competitive match that was tied at halftime, but the cohesion of the Canadian pack proved the difference as they wore down their opposites in the second half.

There were worrying signs early for Canada as the Netherlands dominated the opening scrum. Peter Lydon uncharacteristically sliced his attempt at the posts and the flags stayed down. Instead the Canadians moved into Dutch territory and an offside gave Cooper Coats a routine kick and he obliged to open the scoring.

Lydon redeemed himself with a three-pointer of his own from just inside halfway to draw the scores level. He would nudge his team ahead with another smooth strike just shy of the 20-minute mark, this time from 35 meters after the Canadians were too slow to roll away at the breakdown.

The first try would go to the visitors. Coats cut back across the grain to break through the line. Ross Braude was in support on his inside to take the scoring pass in under the posts. The conversion was no trouble for Coats to make it a full seven.

A penalty goal from Coats stretched Canada’s lead but the Netherlands had an immediate response. Wolf van Dijk cut clean through the line to send the defense scrambling. The ball was recycled quickly and Leroy van Dam’s offload back inside to Daily Limmen put the midfielder into the corner. Lydon’s radar was spot on to leave the scores level at halftime.

The Netherlands ran into trouble with their discipline early in the second half. A collapsed maul unusually earned winger Daan van der Avoird a yellow card. Canada took the attacking lineout and drove over the line with Lindsey Stevens getting the credit for the try.

Lucas Rumball crashed over for another Canadian try at the hour mark, and then came an opportunity for the Netherlands. Despite seemingly getting the shove on at a 5-meter scrum, the referee penalised the Dutch and Canada escaped without conceding any points.

Outside of the scrum the Canadian pack was becoming increasingly dominant. A fourth try would come through Josh Larsen to put the result beyond doubt. The Netherlands did not wave the white flag, however, and scored two tries with the benches emptied.

Replacement hooker Jessy Wagemaker would get the first, touching down on debut through their own driving maul. Lydon converted from the sideline, and Coats replied with a penalty goal for Canada. With time expired a wide attacking move ended with a try to flanker Dirk Wierenga.

The Netherlands do not have any more tests scheduled this fall, and now turn their eye towards the Rugby Europe Championship that begins in February. Canada will stay in Amsterdam for a neutral venue match against Namibia next weekend.

 

SCORING

NETHERLANDS 25
Tries – D. Limmen (35′), J. Wagemaker (75′), D. Wierenga (80′)
Cons – P. Lydon 2/3 (36′, 76′)
Pens – P. Lydon 2/3 (14′, 19′)
YC – D. van der Avoird (49′)

CANADA 37
Tries – R. Braude (22′), L. Stevens (50′), L. Rumball (60′), J. Larsen (67′)
Cons – C. Coats 4/4 (23′, 51′, 61′, 68′)
Pens – C. Coats 3/3 (10′, 33′, 78′)

 

TEAMS

NETHERLANDS
1 Hugo Langelaan (capt.) (17 Lodi Buijs 68′), 2 Ross Bennie-Coulson (16 Jessy Wagemaker 67′), 3 Andy Darlington (18 Delano Jansen van der Sligte HT), 4 Louis Bruinsma (19 Jim Boelrijk 57′), 5 Koen Bloemen, 6 Spike Salman, 7 Wolf van Dijk, 8 Stijn Albers (20 Dirk Wierenga 54′), 9 Rik van Balkom (21 Mark Coebergh 51′), 10 Willie du Plessis (22 Kevin Lenssen 69′), 11 Siem Noorman, 12 Daily Limmen (23 Té Campbell 69′), 13 Leroy van Dam, 14 Daan van der Avoird, 15 Peter Lydon

CANADA
1 Liam Murray (17 Djustice Sears-Duru 27′), 2 Lindsey Stevens (16 Andrew Quattrin 56′), 3 Tyler Rowland (18 Conor Young 56′), 4 Corey Thomas, 5 Josh Larsen, 6 Kyle Baillie (19 Callum Botchar 64′), 7 Lucas Rumball (capt.) (20 Matt Klimchuk 71′), 8 Siaki Vikilani, 9 Ross Braude (21 Jason Higgins 62′), 10 Robbie Povey, 11 Josiah Morra (23 Brock Webster 62′-79′), 12 Josh Thiel, 13 Ben LeSage (22 David Richard 67′), 14 Andrew Coe, 15 Cooper Coats

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Benoît Rousselet (France)
Assistants: Vivien Praderie (France) & Jérémy Rozier (France)
TMO: n/a