Wednesday saw BMO Field in Toronto host the show of shows, an incredible and action-packed triple header with six teams trying to gain points in the Pacific Nations Cup standings.
All six teams made appearances.
And no team played the way Canada did.
Rugby Canada the Better Team Despite Defeat
It’s a long time since supporters of Canada can be absolutely proud of our boys, despite the narrow defeat by Samoa.
Canada lost 21-20 in what has become the heartbreak game. They fought their hearts out in that match. They played all 80 minutes, and left it all on the field. Of the six teams that played, they arguably played the best, and the Canada/Samoa game was the most entertaining, the most exciting, and the loudest. It also doesn’t hurt that more supporters arrived to take the game in and cheer for our boys.
Twitter also blew up with pride and passion as the #RedNation watching at home stood behind our boys.
The match began with the mysterious last minute replacement of Richard Thorpe, after what appeared to be Thorpe hurting himself in warm up. It was Aaron Carpenter coming in, and despite the last minute inclusion, Carpenter had a heck of a game, almost scoring his third try in this series.
Within three minutes of the match, James Pritchard was already preparing the tee for THE kick that would bring his all-time international points score to 600, an honour that only 19 other international players have ever accomplished for their country. Many in the crowd knew this and were anticipating it. When it happened the crowd, and our twitter feed, went wild! It was also Pritchard’s 60th cap, so Canada was sharing our pride in our adopted Fullback.
A few minutes after Pritch’s successful penalty kick, Nick Blevins scored a great try for Canada, conversion by Pritchard, bringing the score to 10-0. Canada was soaring. It had been a long time since we had seen the kind of grit we were seeing in this match, and against a stronger team. We were just praying it wasn’t going to fizzle out by the half.
The next on-field event was the unfortunate injury sustained by courageous Captain Tyler Ardron. LWOS Boss Mike Kovacs heard “ACL” being bandied about, but we will certainly hope that isn’t the case, as Ardron is a definite force on the field and would be grievously missed if he were to be scratched for World Cup, a mere 6 weeks away. He was replaced by Thyssen de Goede, who has proven his mettle thus far for Canada, and Pritchard stood in as Captain.
John Moonlight took a big hit which sparked a team warning by Australian referee Angus Gardner to Samoa. There would be three such discussions throughout the match, and an eventual yellow card which Canada capitalized on the best they could, with Pritchard getting another great kick in to bring the score 13-0. And again, Moonlight’s response to the hit was to tackle back with as much vigour as he was hit with. The crowd loved it.
Near the half Samoa got 3 back with a penalty kick by Stanley, who wasn’t missing. A missed kick or two could have made the difference in the scoreline but he wasn’t having any of it.
For Canada, Nathan Hirayama’s kicking boots were performing great as Fly Half, one kick in particular landed with text-book perfection in the corner.
Phil Mackenzie’s opposite in the match was Alesana Tuilagi, who is a truck in comparison to Mackenzie, who is by no means small. Tuilagi offered a couple of massive hits to Mackenzie, who shied away from nothing and even hit back a couple of his own just to send the message he wouldn’t be a pushover. Right before the halftime whistle, a bit of handbags near the sidelines between Tuilagi and Mackenzie ensued, resulting in a talk with Pritchard and Tuilagi by Gardner, who warned again that there would be none of that. Mackenzie stood tall at his post, knowing that he hadn’t done anything to warrant a sin bin. The effect of it all was to get the crowd cheering even louder for the home team.
Very shortly thereafter Ray Barkwill was sent off for a blood replacement. We learned later that he had 13 staples put into the top of his head. He was to come back on in the second half. Social Media has seen a mixed reaction to this level of commitment and bravery, with some feeling it was a gutsy move, and others feeling that it wasn’t in the best interest of the player to return to the field with such an injury. Personally, I am going to go with gutsy. It added to the no-nonsense brand of play that Canada was displaying in this match, and it worked. It was a different team. So this act of bravery was a sacrifice made that contributed to the “take one for the team” chivalry. The guys got behind each other, and #RedNation got behind the players.
The combination of Hirayama with Phil Mack as Scrum Half was a good one. They gelled really well and had great communication. The ball was controlled much better than we’ve been seeing as different combinations get used to each other’s brand of play. Mack has been on fire for the last several months in 7s and 15s action, and was so great in this particular match that it garnered him a Man of the Match award. I’ll also happily stand up and say that I called it, as I am sure many of the supporters will claim!
At the half Canada was in the lead 13-3, and had played the strongest 40 minutes in recent memory. Again, people were really just hoping they would carry that energy and drive into the second half. One particular follower on twitter, @84Rugby, said it best during halftime: “Some inspired performances out there tonight. People stepping out and grabbing those RWC jerseys.” Other people were weighing in on who was having fantastic performances. Evan Olmstead was named as doing his job fantastically well, as was Djustice Sears-Duru. These newer players are illustrating that Canada’s future is looking bright. More talent is needing to be tapped, but it’s here at home. We just have to find it.
When Samoa brought the score to 13-10, the crowd didn’t give up on our boys. With 23 minutes left to play, we were applauding the effort and the fact that the boys were shying away from nothing. When Carpenter almost scored the try that wasn’t, the crowd celebrated the fact that he’s playing really well at the moment, another success to hold onto leading into World Cup.
The score started turning away at the point that Pritchard missed a penalty and short minutes later Stanley got one of his own, then another in quick succession. The score stayed at 16-13, and Canada still fought. Then within the dying minutes of the game, the crowd got on their feet as the grit and determination showed by Phil Mackenzie got him over the line for another try. 20-16 for Canada. The crowd went wild. It was great to see Mackenzie have a great outing. It has to have bouyed him up tremendously. #FastBootsPhister was in the house.
Alas, that last play was the deciding factor, an unfortunate loss of ball after Canada won the lineout sent Samoa over the line for a try and to gain that one point they needed over Canada. Stanley couldn’t convert but it didn’t matter. The match was theirs. But in numbers only. 21-20, and Samoa undefeated in the PNC.
Canada was the better team. Canada showed what we’ve wanted and needed them to show – that they’re a good team and great players and know their jobs. That they have good hands, can hold a ball, can pass it and run with it, and score tries. They didn’t win but they played 80 minutes. The PNC hasn’t been theirs this year but it’s been excellent training ground for World Cup, and we’ve seen as supporters that Canada is going to give us something great to watch for the remainder of this year.
We still need more time together. But this week we’ve seen what magic happens when we get that time!
Next up – Canada plays the USA on Monday for the 5th and 6th place spots in the PNC. Then they play the USA again on August 22nd in Ottawa. I can’t wait for that one!
Main Photo via Kevin Gamble, Last Word On Sports Inc., All Rights Reserved.
