Canada Names Fresh Squad for ARC

National u20 standouts Paul Ciulini and Lucas Rumball are among 28 players named by Canada in their squad to participate in the Americas Rugby Championship, of which only nine traveled to the World Cup and one further having won senior caps. The hugely inexperienced group include only two players based outside of Canada – Sydney, Australia, resident Evan Olmstead and the only European professional in the group Phil Mackenzie of Sale Sharks.

Veteran loosehead prop Hubert Buydens will captain the team and is the most-capped player in the side with 39, followed by wing Mackenzie (29), centre Nick Blevins (28), and hooker Ray Barkwill (26). Second row Callum Morrison is the only capped player in the group that did not travel to the World Cup, though Patrick Parfrey, a flyhalf or centre, was a late call-up to replace the injured Connor Braid.

Of the 18 uncapped players, six have previous experience with the senior ‘A’ side in the old version of the ARC with another, Ryan Kotlewski, a member of the Pacific Challenge team. Five are recent graduates of the national u20 program.

The rest have been plucked from Canadian Rugby Championship sides with two exceptions – UBC hooker Alex Mascott, who missed last year’s tournament with injury, and University of Victoria lock Liam Chisholm, at 6’7” the tallest player in the team, who last appeared at CRC level as a 21-year-old in 2012. The rest were standout players either in the full season of 2014 or the abbreviated two-game tourney in Calgary last summer.

Of note is a record number of Alberta players in the squad, with eight hailing from Calgary or St. Albert, while three currently play in Nova Scotia, though Kyle Baillie is originally a native of Summerside, Prince Edward Island. Both CRC finalists – the Ontario Blues and Prairie Wolf Pack – contribute 10 players each, the Atlantic Rock four, and the BC Bears four, though only one from last year.

The new Americas Rugby Championship runs for five consecutive weekends starting on February 6. Canada will play both of their home games at Westhills Stadium in Langford, BC, the home of the Rugby Canada High Performance Centre.

FORWARDS
Rob Brouwer (Lindsay / Blues), Hubert Buydens (capt., Castaway Wanderers / Wolf Pack), Jake Ilnicki (Castaway Wanderers / Bears), Ryan Kotlewski (Calgary Saints / Wolf Pack), Djustice Sears-Duru (Oakville Crusaders / Blues), Ray Barkwill (Castaway Wanderers / Blues), Eric Howard (Brantford Harlequins / Blues), Alex Mascott (UBC Thunderbirds / Bears), Liam Chisholm (UVic Vikes / Bears), Paul Ciulini (Aurora Barbarians / Blues), Evan Olmstead (Parramatta, AU / Wolf Pack), Kyle Baillie (Halifax Tars / Rock), Callum Morrison (UBCOB Ravens / Bears), Lucas Rumball (Balmy Beach / Blues), Alistair Clark (Bay Street / Blues), Mike Hamson (Halifax Tars / Rock), Clay Panga (Calgary Hornets / Wolf Pack)

BACKS
Andrew Ferguson (Oakville Crusaders / Blues), Gordon McRorie (Calgary Hornets / Wolf Pack), Jake Robinson (St. Albert / Wolf Pack), Gradyn Bowd (UVic Vikes / Wolf Pack), Patrick Parfrey (Swilers / Rock), Nick Blevins (Calgary Hornets / Wolf Pack), Mozac Samson (Calgary Saints / Wolf Pack), Phil Mackenzie (Sale Sharks, UK / Blues), Duncan Maguire (St. Albert / Wolf Pack), Dan Moor (Balmy Beach / Blues), Brett Johnson (Truro Saints / Rock)

FIXTURES

Feb 6 – vs Uruguay – Westhills Stadium, Langford
Feb 13 – vs USA – Dell Diamond, Austin
Feb 20 – vs Brazil – Westhills Stadium, Langford
Feb 26 – vs Argentina – Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario
Mar 6 – vs Chile – Estadio La Pintana, Santiago