The player nicknamed The Alphabet — DTH van der Merwe of Victoria — hit on all keystrokes from A to Z on Sunday for the Langford-based Canadian men’s rugby team.
The native of South Africa scored three tries as Canada steamrollered Kenya 65-19 in Marseilles, France, to open the last-chance qualifier for the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
“[Van der Merwe] is the man,” said Canadian captain Phil Mack of Victoria, in his official post-match interview.
“He does so much for us that is good.”
It was the first Test match hat-trick for van der Merwe, who is the all-time career tries scoring leader for Canada.
Kenya was within reach at 50 minutes as Canada’s lead was 27-19, but the Canadian after-burners ignited into the home stretch.
“It feels great to get the win,” said Mack, who is out of Oak Bay High, the University of Victoria Vikes and James Bay Athletic Association.
“We know we need two more. So for us, this is just the beginning.”
The winner of the four-team, last-chance tournament in Marseille will earn the 20th and final berth into the World Cup and will join New Zealand, South Africa, Italy and Namibia in Pool B next year in venues all over Japan.
Canada plays next Saturday against Germany (7 a.m. PT on TSN) and Nov. 23 against Hong Kong.
The Germans, the lowest seed in the tournament, stunned Hong Kong 26-9 Saturday.
“We will reflect on this [Kenya] game and see what we need to fix,” said Mack.
“[Germany] will be a different story. They have a big and physical pack and we know we have to front up in that department.”
Canada ran across 10 tries against Kenya, including a long sprint down the right side by Matt Evans of Duncan, after receiving a pass from Oak Bay Castaway Wanderers alumnus Ciaran Hearn. It was the first Canadian try for Shawnigan Lake School graduate Evans in more than a year after missing a large chunk of time due to injury. Tyler Ardron from Peterborough, Ont., Theo Sauder from the UBC Thunderbirds and former UVic Vikes star Brett Beukeboom scored two tries each for Canada.
Canadian head coach Kingsley Jones knew it was fairly tight early in the second half.
“Our team held its nerve at critical times. It’s good for our confidence. It was a pleasing day and we need to build on that momentum,” he said.
“But it’s one game, one win. We have another two games that are critical.”
Twenty-two Canadian players trained at Westhills Stadium in Langford in the months leading up the last-chance qualifier. They have been joined in Marseilles by Canada’s 12 European-based pro players, including van der Merwe, Evans, Beukeboom and Hearn.
