The last chance for Canadian junior rugby hopefuls to make an impression on national team selectors comes today at 3 p.m. at Westhills Stadium in Langford.
Canada will name its 26-player travelling roster to this month’s Junior World Rugby Trophy in Bucharest, Romania, following today’s game against the B.C. Under-23 team. There is no admission charge to the fixture.
The 35 Canadian U-20 players, who have been training at Shawnigan Lake School, will each get to play a half today against or with the older B.C. team players.
Canada advanced to the Junior World Trophy tournament by defeating the United States in North American qualifying in Texas, reversing a trend at the senior national team level in which the Americans have had the clear upper hand on Canada.
“It shows our depth that players are still fighting for spots,” said Canadian U-20 head coach Jeff Williams.
“We will select two rosters to play a half each, while the remaining players will get a half with the B.C. side. Some players will be staying, some will be going home. It’s important for selectors to see every player in camp and crucial for our athletes to play high-level rugby before opening the [Junior World Trophy] tournament against Portugal later this month.”
The Thunderbirds’ recent run of success in the B.C. Premiership is reflected by eight University of British Columbia players in Canadian colours today. Not that the University of Victoria is lacking.
The Vikes will be well represented with Gavin Kratz, Mostyn Findley, Jackson Matthews, James O’Neill and Brennig Prevost. Islanders playing today from other university teams include Will Percillier of Victoria with UBC and Seth Purdey of Shawnigan Lake with Cal-Berkeley.
Old-firm Island rivals are also in the mix to be Canadian U-20 teammates in Romania with Brock Gallagher and Tyler Rockwell of James Bay, along with Lachlan Kratz and Brandan Schellenberg of Castaway Wanderers.
The breadth of the emerging talent, which is essentially the future of the senior Canadian national team, runs from the likes of Campbell Clarke and Ben Newhook from the Swilers and Vandals, respectively, in St. John’s to James Hammond of Toronto Nomads and Tyler Duguid of Edmonton. “We have some really good players who are understanding better how to play rugby,” Williams said.
That foundational knowledge is irreplaceable in a country were football is the biggest tackle sport. There are more than nuanced differences between the two sports.
“That has been our Achilles heel when we go up against countries that have strong rugby fundamentals,” Williams said. “We want to build up a good knowledge base among our young players and good game knowledge.”
With the skill level to go with it.
“In the past, we have relied on big, tough, abrasive Canadian-style play,” Williams said.
But the forward packs of nations such as Romania, Georgia, Italy and Uruguay have become a lot bigger and harder to move. Canada’s forwards seem to be getting smaller. But there’s another way to approach the modern game.
“We want to play a fast game with lots of movement that keeps the ball alive through micro skills,” Williams said.
“That’s what we need to move forward as Canadians in rugby.”
The B.C. U-23 team, coached by Tony LaCarte and Clay Panga, consists of top Island and Lower Mainland players who will be looking to give the U-20 national team players a good run.
Canada opens at the Junior World Trophy on Aug. 28 against Portugal with the other group games on Sept. 1 versus Uruguay and Sept. 5 against Fiji. The playoffs or relegations begin Sept. 9.
The champion of the tournament will be elevated to the top world tier to play in the 2019 World Junior Championship.
