Ontario to play Quebec on Saturday

An Emerging Blues development side will represent Ontario against Quebec on Saturday in a friendly at Thompson Rugby Park in Oshawa. The game features a number of young players on both sides who have come to the attention of senior selectors.

The Ontario side is composed entirely of players under the age of 23 with Andrew Wilson the only exception. The Oakville flanker played three times for Canada in 2008, winning one full cap against the US Eagles. Also included are five recent graduates of Canada’s u20 program – hooker Sawyer Herron; locks Paul Ciulini, Dillon Goos, and Max van Dijk; and wing Jake Webster, also a member of the national senior sevens squad.

Ciulini and Webster were part of this year’s senior CRC squad that traveled to Calgary, and hooker Eric Howard started in the first senior match of the year against the Atlantic Rock in Halifax. Outside backs Dan Mathie and Kainoa Lloyd also have previous senior Blues experience.

Other notables include rugby league international Graham Dobbs, and highly rated u19 trio Mitch Richardson, Trent Cooper, and Matt Beukeboom. Beukeboom is the younger brother of current international second row Brett.

Quebec’s side is largely unknown, but does feature a handful of players who achieved further recognition. Scrumhalf Weston Hill, centre Charles DeBove, and outside back Daniel Pelletier were all part of the senior Atlantic Rock side that took part in the CRC.

Ottawa Irish prop Jake Chahwan has previously represented Ontario at u19 level. Chahwan, Hill, and Pelletier were all national u20 triallists, while DeBove is a two-time member of the Canadian u20 side, travelling with the team in 2013 and 2014.

The game is the fifth on the Ontario senior schedule this season, with the sixth and final match against an American Rugby Premiership select side to take place on August 22 in Ottawa, following Canada’s World Cup warm-up match against the US Eagles.

 

EMERGING BLUES

FORWARDS
Ryan Cochrane (Markham Irish), Tyler Doran (London St. George’s), Dylan Parson (Oshawa Vikings), Zach Pilson (Oakville Crusaders), Eric Howard (Brantford Harlequins), Sawyer Herron (Oakville Crusaders), Paul Ciulini (Aurora Barbarians), Dillon Goos (London St. George’s), Max van Dijk (Oakville Crusaders), Matt Beukeboom (Lindsay), Brandon Black (Markham Irish), Peter Milazzo (Toronto Saracens), Andrew Wilson (Oakville Crusaders)

BACKS
Riley Di Nardo (Toronto Saracens), Graham Dobbs (Oakville Crusaders), Mitch Richardson (Stoney Creek Camels), Alex Russell (Markham Irish), Michael Appiah-Kubi (Toronto Saracens), Trent Cooper (Oshawa Vikings), Kainoa Lloyd (Mississauga Blues), John Sheridan (Markham Irish), Jake Webster (Lindsay), Dan Mathie (Oakville Crusaders)

 

QUEBEC

FORWARDS
Jake Chahwan (Ottawa Irish), Mitchell Cuillerier (Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue), James Hamilton (Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue), Abdul Mansour (Town of Mount Royal), Alfredo Cosentino (Montreal Irish), Nick Smith (Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue), Lee Hudson (Brome Lake), Nico Krawczyk (Beaconsfield), Alexandre Veillette (Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue), Nicolas Dubé-Mercier (Montreal Irish), Lucas Hotton (Town of Mount Royal), David MacLeod (Town of Mount Royal), Jonathan Vatcher-Alaei (Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue)

BACKS
Weston Hill (Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue), Robert McGovern (Brome Lake), Nicolas Charlton (Sherbrooke), Scott Fennell (Town of Mount Royal), Charles DeBove (Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue), Xavier Lindley (Montreal Irish), Keven Belouin (St. Lambert), Daniel Pelletier (Montreal Irish), Caleb Jordan (Montreal Wanderers)