The following is a press release from our friends at Rugby Canada.
Canada ‘A’ Roster Announced Ahead of Clash With USA Selects
Head Coach Kieran Crowley has made two changes to his starting roster for Canada ‘A’ to face USA Selects on Wednesday night in the second game of the 2014 IRB Americas Rugby Championship (ARC) in Langford.
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan native Nanyak Dala moves to blindside flanker while St. John’s, Newfoundland product Pat Parfrey slots in to the number 12 position in the back line to replace Derek Daypuck.
Lead by tries from hooker Ray Barkwill and Captain Kyle Gilmour, along with 10 points off the boot of Gord McRorie, Canada ‘A’ opened the tournament with a 20-6 victory over Uruguay last Saturday at Westhills Stadium.
In the other game of the tournament’s day one, the Argentina Jaguars easily handled USA Selects 41-14 with three tries from Dan Izaak and singles from Captain Rodrigo Baez, Matias Diaz and Patricio Fernandez.
In last year’s edition of the ARC, the USA Selects defeated Canada ‘A’ 30-10 in the same mid-week fixture.
“Against USA we’re looking to be more direct, keep the ball in hand and play a lot more rugby than we did against Uruguay,” said number 8, Seb Pearson.
“USA have a big, solid roster and I think it’s important for us to match them physically and not give them time or space in their attack and keep playing our game like we did against Uruguay,” said the London, Ontario native.
“Against Uruguay it was an awesome atmosphere and we could feel the hometown support from when we ran out of the tunntel to the end of the game. Playing against USA on home soil – it doesn’t get any better than that for a Canadian rugby player,” added Pearson.
Wednesday’s double-header features the biggest rivalries of the tournament, with an all South-American contest up first between Uruguay and Argentina before the North-American clash of Canada ‘A’ against USA Selects.
Kick off for the opening game is 6pm local time (9pm ET) followed by 8pm local (11pm ET) for the second fixture.
Canada ‘A’ Starting Team to face USA Selects:
1 – Tom Dolezel, (London St. George’s/Ontario Blues) London, ON
2 – Ray Barkwill, (Niagara Wasps RFC/Ontario Blues) Niagara Falls, ON
3 – Doug Wooldridge, (Lindsay RFC/Ontario Blues) Lindsay, ON
4 – Aaron Flagg, (Abbotsford RFC/BC Bears) Abbotsford, BC
5 – Evan Olmstead, (Parametta Two Blues/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
6 – Nanyak Dala (Castaway Wanderers/Prairie Wolf Pack) Saskatoon, SK
7 – Kyle Gilmour, Captain (St. Albert RFC/Prairie Wolf Pack) St. Albert, AB
8 – Seb Pearson, (London St. George’s/Ontario Blues) London, ON
9 – Jamie Mackenzie, (UVIC Vikes/Ontario Blues) Oakville, ON
10 – Gordon McRorie, (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
11 – Dan Moor, (Balmy Beach RFC/Ontario Blues) Toronto, ON
12 – Patrick Parfrey, (Swilers RFC/Atlantic Rock) St. Johns, NL
13 – Nick Blevins, (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
14 – Sean Ferguson, (UBC Thunderbirds/BC Bears) Vancouver, BC
15 – Pat Kay, (UVIC Vikes/BC Bears) Duncan, BC
16 – Ryan Hamilton, (Capilano RFC/BC Bears) Vancouver, BC
17 – Pete Houlihan, (Edmonton Druids/Prairie Wolf Pack) Edmonton, AB
18 – James Smith, (Shoalhaven RFC/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
19 – Callum Morrison, (UBCOB Ravens/BC Bears) Victoria, BC
20 – Admir Cejvanovic, (Burnaby Lake RFC/BC Bears) Vancouver, BC
21 – Jordan Wilson-Ross, (James Bay AA/Ontario Blues) Alliston, ON
22 – Derek Daypuck, (London St. George’s/Ontario Blues) London, ON
23 – Andrew Coe, (Markham Irish/Ontario Blues) Markham, ON
Jeff Hull is a contributor to Rugby Canada. Follow him on Twitter: @HullatHome
All games from the 2014 IRB Americas Rugby Championship will be streamed LIVE on www.rugbycanada.tv
Main Photo: Lorne Collicutt/Rugby Canada
