Rugby Canada hosts España Rugby at TD Place Stadium

Rugby Canada hosts Belgium They won game against Belgium in Halifax, Nova Scotia

PREVIEW – Rugby Canada hosts España Rugby and it will be Canada’s second game this month. This will most likely be their last friendly this month as they face España Rugby (Spain Rugby) in Canada’s capital.

Rugby Canada hosts Spain in the nation’s capital

Rugby Canada

Rugby Canada is coming off an impressive performance against Belgium. This is what Rugby Canada head coach, Kingsley Jones, said about the match according to Rugby Canada:

“I felt we were the better team, for sure, but in the first half particularly we just made errors, unforced errors,” said Canada Head Coach Jones following the match. “So, the boys will be a little bit disappointed with some of the execution but certainly you’ve got to respect Belgium. We came out in the second half; it took a little longer than we thought but we cracked them, and we’ve got some good points on the scoreboard and also able to get guys on the field to win their first cap so that’s really a good day.”

The Canadians won 45-0 in Nova Scotia’s provincial capital of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The turning point of the game was probably Lucas Rumball, scoring a try. Also, former Arrows player, Ben LeSage also scored a try in the game.

It will be an exciting time for Dawson Fatoric (according to Rugby Canada), who was just called up to the international team for the first time this month. To also be part of such a historic occasion in the nation’s capital, his hometown, will be a moment he will never forget.

España Rugby

España Rugby played in the 2022 Rugby Europe Championship. In that tournament, they had three wins and one loss. This included winning 33-28 over Portugal in their last game 33-18.

A player to watch out for is Manuel Ordas. Ordas had the most points of any player in the Rugby Europe Championship this year. He currently plays for Bayonne as a fly-half. They also have veteran head coach, Santiago Santos Muñoz. He has been the head coach of the team since 2013.

Then there is España Rugby, which failed to qualify for the Rugby World Cup for the first time since 1999 (Edward Anderson goes into detail on why Spain did not qualify for the Rugby World Cup). This was because of a South African playing two games, in which Spain won by more than 40 points, according to Luis Javier Gonzalez of El País. As a result, they have been deducted 10 points, and it allowed Romania to qualify for the Rugby World Cup instead.

However, unlike Canada, Spain has been trending upward and this might be one of the best teams in the national team’s history.

Game Overview as Rugby Canada hosts España Rugby

First, Rugby Canada is experiencing an all-time low, for the first time ever, they failed to make the Rugby World Cup. On the bright side, this is the first-ever time TD Place Stadium will host a Rugby Canada game. Something, the city of Ottawa deserves after losing their pro rugby league team, the Ottawa Aces XIII, as they relocated to Cornwall without playing a single game in Ottawa.

This game will be a good challenge for Rugby Canada. They are currently ranked 21 as they face the 15-ranked España Rugby team according to World Rugby. A win against Spain will go a long way in building off the program. They have already made some high-level changes, like with the new CEO, Nathan Bombrys.

A win for Canada would mean things are going in the right direction, while a win for Spain would mean their first-ever victory against Rugby Canada. Even though this is friendly, there is a lot of pride on the line for both teams and programs.

These two teams have met twice, including once before in 2017, where Rugby Canada won 37-27 on November 18, 2017, over España Rugby. Canada has won both games against Spain. The game will take place at 4:00 p.m. ET, which is 10:00 p.m. in Madrid, Spain.

As seen above, Rugby Canada fans can watch this game nationally on TSN 1 live at 4:00 p.m. ET. Fans can also watch the game live on TSN.ca and TSN App.

 

Photo Credit: Rugby Canada on July 4, 2022, via Twitter.