Rugby Canada Head Coach Kieran Crowley has finally announced his preliminary 35-man roster, which he will cut down to 31 before taking pre-World Cup preparations to the UK at the end of this month.
The squad was announced late yesterday before being given the week off prior to regrouping in Ottawa where they will face the Eagles once more on August 22nd. They will then play the Glasgow Warriors on August 29th in Halifax before making their way to their England camp.
Crowley used the recent Pacific Nations Cup as a ground for testing out his various combinations of players and playmakers and certainly got a chance to see certain players shine. There have definitely been players stepping up to show they are ready for the challenge that World Cup offers, such as Nick Blevins, Evan Olmstead, and D’justice Sears-Duru.
Canada’s Preliminary World Cup Squad
There were also some veteran players who put their hands up to say they are still very much in this game, such as Aaron Carpenter, Doug Wooldridge, and Brett Beukeboom.
Futher to that are players we couldn’t do without, such as DTH van der Merwe, Phil Mackenzie, Jeff Hassler and Phil Mack, who has been playing every bit the professional for the past several months.
Despite Canada not picking up a win at PNC, Crowley maintains that the team improved with each phase of the tournament and in fact narrowly lost to both Samoa and the USA, showing that they are capable of putting in a solid 80 minutes, which they will need to continue to do if they are to make an impact on the world stage in September/October.
It is great to see four powerhouses return to the side after recovering from injury. Jebb Sinclair, Jamie Cudmore, Taylor Paris and Jason Marshall have all been included in Crowley’s preliminary squad, and all of them bring massive experience, World Cup experience, Professional experience, and a generous amount of wisdom.
It is also a great relief to see Captain Tyler Ardron in the roster, and really hoping that his injury will be a distant memory by the time the team faces the Warriors.
After Canada plays the USA and Glasgow Warriors in August, they come up against Georgia on September 2nd and Fiji on September 6th in England just prior to World Cup kick off on the 19th against 3rd ranked Ireland.
A win in one of these four upcoming games is needed for these boys. They can’t keep being the bridesmaid. A win is key for their confidence going into World Cup. It IS possible for them to commit a massive upset in England this Fall, but they’ve got to start taking those 80 minute skills to the very last second. Get leads and hold them, get their discipline in check and hold it there, not panic at the last second. Be sure of those final-minute plays.
That’s what Crowley will be working on in the next few – tense – weeks before he cuts four more prior to boarding that plane for England.
Don’t ask me who should be cut from this 35 man preliminary squad. I am having a hard enough time with the fact that I am not seeing two of my favourites. This unfortunately doesn’t make me the best tactical critic; I’m emotionally invested. I DO know that a couple of these guys have to fix a few small handling issues they have if they want to go across the pond to the Big Show.
Tickets for the games in Ottawa and Halifax can be found at: http://events.rugbycanada.ca
Canada’s Preliminary Rugby World Cup 35-man Roster:
Tyler Ardron – Captain (Ospreys) Lakefield, ON
Ray Barkwill – (Castaway Wanderers/Ontario Blues) Niagara Falls, ON
Brett Beukeboom – (Cornish Pirates) Lindsay, ON
Nick Blevins – (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
Connor Braid – (Unattached/BC Bears) Victoria, BC
Hubert Buydens – (Castaway Wanderers/Prairie Wolf Pack) Saskatoon, SK
Aaron Carpenter – (Cornish Pirates/Ontario Blues) Brantford, ON
Jamie Cudmore – (Clermont Auvergne) Squamish, BC
Nanyak Dala – (Castaway Wanderers/Prairie Wolf Pack) Saskatoon, SK
Tom Dolezel – (London St. George’s/Ontario Blues) London, ON
Matt Evans – (Cornish Pirates) Maple Bay, BC
Kyle Gilmour – (Rotherham Titans/Prairie Wolf Pack) St. Albert, AB
Jeff Hassler – (Ospreys) Okotoks, AB
Ciaran Hearn – (Castaway Wanderers/Atlantic Rock) Conception Bay, NL
Nathan Hirayama – (UVIC Vikes/BC Bears) Vancouver, BC
Tyler Hotson – (Doncaster Knights) Vancouver, BC
Harry Jones – (Capilano RFC/BC Bears) North Vancouver, BC
Phil Mack – (James Bay AA/BC Bears) Victoria, BC
Jamie Mackenzie – (UBCOB Ravens/Ontario Blues) Oakville, ON
Phil Mackenzie – (Sale Sharks/Ontario Blues), Oakville, ON
Jason Marshall – (Agen/BC Bears) North Vancouver, BC
Gordon McRorie – (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
John Moonlight – (James Bay AA/Ontario Blues) Pickering, ON
Evan Olmstead – (Parramatta Two Blues/Prairie Wolf Pack) North Vancouver, BC
Taylor Paris – (Agen) Barrie, ON
Jon Phelan – (Doncaster Knights/Atlantic Rock) Montreal, QB
Benoit Piffero – (Unattached/Atlantic Rock) Montreal QB
Djustice Sears-Duru – (Oakville Crusaders/Ontario Blues) Oakville, ON
Jebb Sinclair – (London Irish/Atlantic Rock) Fredericton, NB
Richard Thorpe – (London Welsh) Beckenham, England
Andrew Tiedemann – (Plymouth Albion/Prairie Wolf Pack) St. Albert, AB
Conor Trainor – (UBCOB Ravens/BC Bears) Vancouver, BC
Liam Underwood – (Balmy Beach RFC/Ontario Blues) Toronto, ON
DTH van der Merwe – (Scarlets) Regina, SK
Doug Wooldridge – (Lindsay RFC/Ontario Blues) Lindsay, ON
Senior Men’s Coaching Staff:
Head Coach: Kieran Crowley
Forwards Coach: Neil Barnes
Assistant Coach: Leo Crowley
Scrum Coach: Mike Shelley
Manager: Gareth Rees
Canada Senior Men’s Schedule:
Road to the Rugby World Cup:
August 22 – Canada vs. USA (Twin Elm Rugby Park, Ottawa)
August 29 – Canada vs. Glasgow Warriors (Wanderers Grounds, Halifax)
September 2 – Canada vs. Georgia (Esher, England)
September 6 – Canada vs. Fiji (The Stoop, England)
Rugby World Cup:
September 19 – Canada vs. Ireland (Cardiff, Wales)
September 26 – Canada vs. Italy (Leeds, England)
October 1 – Canada vs. France (Milton Keynes, England)
October 6 – Canada vs. Romania (Leicester, England)
