Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
The World Cup is upon us and for the first time, there will be no Canadian side in the competition. Two qualification spots were available for the Americas but both were claimed by South American teams, and the last-gasp repechage spot slipped through the grasp of the USA against Portugal leaving no North American representation at all in France.
As other nations have been whittling down their list of contenders to make the final 33-man squads for the tournament, fans in Canada have been left to wonder ‘what if’? We thought the same, and decided to select a hypothetical squad. If Canada had qualified, who would make up the squad?
Our rules were simple. Any player who has represented or committed to Canada was considered available. Several leading players have not made test appearances since RWC 2019 but this list is not a reflection of the current Head Coach’s preferences, but rather one selected entirely by us.
Players currently injured were not considered – that leaves the likes of Tyler Rowland, Josh Larsen, and Reegan O’Gorman unavailable. We also omitted players who have opted to retire, Doug Fraser most notably, and chosen not to presume they would delay their decision until after the tournament.
FORWARDS
| POS | NAME | CLUB | AGE | CAPS |
| LH | Liam Murray | Dallas Jackals | 25 | 6 |
| LH | Djustice Sears-Duru | San Diego Legion | 29 | 66 |
| LH/HO | Foster DeWitt | New England Free Jacks | 27 | 3 |
| HO | Dewald Kotze | Dallas Jackals | 26 | – |
| HO | Andrew Quattrin | New England Free Jacks | 27 | 18 |
| TH/LH | Cole Keith | New England Free Jacks | 26 | 27 |
| TH | Kyle Steeves | Dallas Jackals | 23 | 1 |
| TH | Matt Tierney | Castres (FR) | 27 | 25 |
| LO | Tyler Duguid | Montpellier (FR) | 22 | – |
| LO | Conor Keys | New England Free Jacks | 27 | 31 |
| LO | Adrian Wadden | Toronto Arrows | 26 | – |
| LO/FL | Kyle Baillie | Old Glory DC | 32 | 35 |
| LO/FL | Evan Olmstead | Agen (FR) | 32 | 33 |
| FL | Matt Heaton | Rugby ATL | 30 | 31 |
| FL | Lucas Rumball | Toronto Arrows | 28 | 49 |
| FL | Michael Smith | San Diego Legion | 25 | 7 |
| FL/N8 | Travis Larsen | Toronto Arrows | 32 | 2 |
| N8 | Tyler Ardron | Castres (FR) | 32 | 38 |
The main question in the front row was whether to carry 8 or 9 players. We’ve taken Uruguay’s lead by opting for the former, thanks to Foster DeWitt’s proficiency at both loosehead prop and hooker. It means uncapped Old Glory prop Cali Martinez, who can play both sides of the scrum, is the odd man out.
At lock the aforementioned Larsen and O’Gorman aren’t in the picture, while Corey Thomas has been forced into retirement due to concussion. Also absent is France-based Matt Beukeboom due to injury. With Logan Weidner yet to fully commit to either Canada or the USA, we’ve chosen uncapped Adrian Wadden ahead of his clubmate Mason Flesch. Wadden is the bigger man and is in our view underrated, and also gets in ahead of the developing Izzak Kelly.
Spearheading the back row is our captain Tyler Ardron, who is the only out-and-out No8 in the squad. Travis Larsen showed better form than Siaki Vikilani this year and offers greater versatility. It was tempting to find a place for Seattle flanker Nakai Penny while Toronto’s James O’Neill is another unlucky to miss out.
Two other uncapped inclusions are Dallas hooker Dewald Kotze and Montpellier lock Tyler Duguid. The latter was one of the first names on the list, while the former has not been rewarded for his strong form in Major League Rugby by the current national selectors.
A real ‘what if’ scenario is that former England World Cup lock and Lions tourist George Kruis is eligible through his Canadian father. With his last cap for England in the 2020 Six Nations, the 33-year-old could have theoretically come out of retirement to play for the Maple Leafs at RWC 2023.
BACKS
| POS | NAME | CLUB | AGE | CAPS |
| SH | Ross Braude | Toronto Arrows | 23 | 12 |
| SH | Jack Carson | Canada Sevens | 21 | – |
| SH | Jason Higgins | San Diego Legion | 28 | 11 |
| FH | Gradyn Bowd | Old Glory DC | 31 | 10 |
| FH | Shane O’Leary | Toronto Arrows | 29 | 14 |
| FH/FB | Robbie Povey | Houston SaberCats | 26 | 15 |
| CE | Gabe Casey | Sumner (NZ) | 24 | 1 |
| CE | Lockie Kratz | Canada Sevens | 23 | 2 |
| CE | Ben LeSage | New England Free Jacks | 27 | 28 |
| CE/WI | Quinn Ngawati | New York Ironworkers | 24 | 6 |
| WI | Andrew Coe | New York Ironworkers | 27 | 16 |
| WI | Isaac Olson | New England Free Jacks | 23 | 3 |
| WI | Brock Webster | Canada Sevens | 23 | 9 |
| FB | Cooper Coats | Canada Sevens | 26 | 9 |
| FB/CE | Spencer Jones | New England Free Jacks | 26 | 8 |
At scrumhalf the bolter is former UBC star Jack Carson, who offers a blend of size and skill at the position. He benefits from Will Percillier’s decision to step away from rugby for the time being to focus on his education. We hope to see Percillier back in the mix some day in the future.
The most notable absentee is Peter Nelson. Simply put, we believe the trio selected at flyhalf are better attacking options at this time and prefer a more dynamic player at fullback. Cooper Coats suffered a lower leg injury recently with the Canada Sevens side so he is a provisional inclusion. Should he be ruled out a decision would have to be made between Nelson, veteran winger Kainoa Lloyd, or Arrows prospect Ciaran Breen. Andrew Coe’s ability to play fullback allows for Lloyd’s consideration.
Spencer Jones is named primarily as a fullback, where he played with the Free Jacks, though he is also an option in the midfield. With no established No12 we would look at New York’s Quinn Ngawati and another bolter in Gabe Casey, the latter impressing recently in New Zealand club rugby. Former NOLA standout Lockie Kratz brings some x-factor to the midfield with a handful of others also in the mix including Arrows duo Liam Bowman and Mitch Richardson.
Nic Benn was ruled out due to injury, while Gloucester’s Jack Reeves has yet to commit to Canadian rugby. Newcastle scrumhalf Cameron Nordli-Kelemeti has played for England u18s and is Canadian-eligible, but as with Reeves was not considered.
CONCLUSION
On paper the squad above would have been a respectable inclusion in the tournament, certainly no less so than any other of the lower-ranked teams who qualified. It’s a shame that a truly full-strength squad did not take part in the qualification series against Chile. Sadly the page has yet to be turned on the underperforming men’s side but we can only hope that new life is breathed into the side ahead of the RWC 2027 qualification process.
