UNITED STATES 52
CANADA 16
U.S. wins 80-44 on aggregate
That it happened on Canada Day was just an added, cruel irony.
The Langford-based Canadian men’s rugby team has spiralled from being the lumberjack-like, bearded darlings of the 2011 World Cup into the lowly third tier of the international game.
The fall was made complete by Saturday’s crushing 52-16 loss to the U.S. Eagles at Torero Stadium, on the University of San Diego campus. The win gave the U.S., who ran in eight tries, an 80-44 aggregate victory in the two-leg North American qualifier and a berth into the 2019 World Cup in Japan. The first game was tied 28-28 last week at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ont.
There is still a back-door route for Canada into the next World Cup, but it involves having to win a home-and-away, two-game, total-points set against Uruguay next February for a wildcard berth.
It represents a demarcation point for Canadian rugby, and not a good one. Canada, which has qualified for every World Cup through the front door, has never before had to go through the consolation door. There is no guarantee that it will. Canada lost 17-13 to Uruguay in February, although Canada fielded a younger developmental side.
Canada has slipped precipitously from being ranked No. 12 in the world in 2011, with a reputation as a leading light among the second-tier nations, to No. 23.
In a longer historical view, Canada was quarter-finalist in the 1991 World Cup before bowing out only after a hard-fought match against the New Zealand All Blacks.
But all that seems like it happened on another planet.
Rugby Canada, whose national headquarters are at the Westhills Stadium complex, issued a statement following Saturday’s humbling loss to the Eagles.
It read: “A full comprehensive review of our men’s team’s June tour, as part of our standard protocol, will be conducted following today’s result.”
The tour also included Test losses to Georgia in Calgary and Romania in Edmonton.
“This is not the result we have been working towards, but we are confident we will qualify in the second round,” Jim Dixon, Rugby Canada’s general manager of rugby operations and performance, said in a statement.
“We started centralization in Langford 10 months ago and have seen benefits. However, the players need higher-quality competition on a regular basis so that they come into the international competition windows fully prepared for Test match rugby.
“The margins of competition are growing every year and we have to keep evolving and improving domestically and finding more opportunities for our players to go overseas full time.”
It didn’t help Canada’s cause Saturday that South African-born DTH van der Merwe of Victoria’s JBAA, the Canadian career Test try scoring leader, did not play due to injury, or that veteran JBAA scrum-half Phil Mack of Victoria also did not play because of a family matter.
Connor Braid of Victoria, another JBAA product, started at inside centre for Canada. Former University of Victoria Vikes star and now Cornish Pirates pro, Brett Beukeboom, captained Canada.
The Castaway Wanderers of Oak Bay were represented through current and former players Ray Barkwill, Jake Ilnicki and Ciaran Hearn starting for Canada, as did former Cowichan and JBAA star Aaron Carpenter.
