By SK88
September 1 2011

  O Canada, our home and native land, true patriot love, then I forget the words. Canada was the first team to book its tickets to New Zealand through the qualification process, beating USA over two legs, rather than by their previous World Cup performance.  

This continues their fine record of qualifying for every Rugby World Cup, admittedly the qualifying process is designed to almost guarantee that both USA and Canada make appearances but that shouldn’t take away from this magnificent achievement something Tonga with a similarly designed qualifying process have failed to achieve. 


Traditionally Canada has produced fine players but never enough of them to manage a fine team, Gareth Rees, Jaime Cudmore and the Tigers pair Winston Stanley and Dave Lougheed are all truly brilliant players but their careers had very little overlap, meaning Canada have only managed to progress to the knock out stages once; way back in 1991 when they made it through a pool containing France, Fiji and Romania to meet the All Blacks in the quarter finals. They lost that by a respectable 16 points.


Canada are a previewers delight having already announced their squad and having been in the Churchill Cup to give us some idea of their quality. Names to look out for are Bedford’s Jaime Pritchard a full back/wing with a deadly boot who has been good enough to have a spells at Perpignan and Northampton in the past, the already mentioned Jaime Cudmore who Tigers fans will be seeing a lot more of when we entertain his ASM Clermont-Auverigne providing his temper has been kept in check. Aaron Carpenter is a solid number 8 making a name for himself in the Championship with Plymouth Albion and London Irish have just signed Jebb Sinclair who is a solid and hard working flanker. Chauncey O’Toole has a name worthy of the Tigers academy and has impressed in Canada’s colours, a slightly mysterious spell at Glasgow consisting of 40 minutes means I have my doubts about his consistency but expect him to make a break or two to embellish his burgeoning reputation. Also keep an eye out for young Taylor Paris, only 19, with three caps to his name since his November debut against Belgium.


Canada have been drawn into pool A alongside the hosts, New Zealand, mighty France as well as rising power Japan and always dangerous Tonga. They have faced all before in Rugby World Cups beating the Tongans in both 1987 and 2003, drawing with Japan in 2007 and losing to France in 1991 and 1999. Their schedule is completed in a positively relaxing 18 days, the gaps between games have been remarked upon by myself and others before so I won’t bang on again about it. They start their World Cup adventure as the second to last nation with Tonga the opposition in Whangarei, the very north of the north isle of New Zealand, on Wednesday the 14th of September. Tonga and Canada are very closely ranked and this should be a good game, well worth the early morning (6AM) start. From there Canada have the French four days later in Napier, with the short turn around this will be a pride and damage limitation exercise. I would expect them to start a pretty similar team to the first game as they have a long rest after this and with Pritchard they can keep a score board ticking over if allowed to. The Japanese are next up for the Canucks after a 9 day gap, again in Napier, this should be another tightly fought occasion which I’m very much looking forward to, the Japanese are making great strides forward and will be looking to secure third place in this pool. Finally they will face the might of the All Blacks on Sunday October the 2nd, the chances of them getting within 16 points as they did 20 years ago is slim as the All Blacks will be looking for a hit out before their, presumed, quarter final.


Canada have never been whitewashed in a world cup, the nearest being 2007 when they conceded a last minute try to draw with the Japanese and they will be targeting at least one win again with two and automatic qualification for England 2015 a realistic if ambitious target. Whilst the schedule is not their friend having Tonga first up and Japan after 9 days gives them good lead ins to what one would think are going to be the closer matches. This Canada team is perhaps not their greatest and the Japanese are on the crest of a wave, so if anyone were to spring a surprise on the French and make the last 8 I doubt it will be the Canucks.


Canada’s 30 man Squad:

Forwards: Ryan Hamilton, Pat Riordan (captain), Hubert Buydens, Scott Franklin, Jason Marshall, Andrew Tiedemann, Frank Walsh, Jamie Cudmore, Brian Erichsen, Tyler Hotson, Aaron Carpenter, Nanyak Dala, Adam Kleeberger, Jeremy Kyne, Chauncey O'Toole, Jebb Sinclair.

Backs: Ed Fairhurst, Jamie Mackenzie, Sean White, Nathan Hirayama, Ander Monro, Ryan Smith, Conor Trainor, Phil Mackenzie, Mike Scholz, DTH van der Merwe, Ciaran Hearn, Taylor Paris, Matt Evans, James Pritchard.

Canada RWC Preview

Discussion started by TheLeicesterTigers.co.uk , 01/09/2011 22:03

TheLeicesterTigers.co.uk
01/09/2011 22:03

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:09:06:22:27:39 by Stephen Bath.

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SK 88
01/09/2011 23:03

Since I wrote this Chauncey O'Toole has signed for the Ospreys, so I his reputation is even more buergioning than before!

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Tiggs
02/09/2011 12:32

Many thanks SK88, very good read as usual !

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ChrisC
03/09/2011 08:52

Chauncey O'Toole? - Surely a James Bond character?

Thanks SK88.

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Rich W
03/09/2011 13:28

Thanks SK, good stuff again. You work too hard! You're making the rest of us look bad!

...

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Tiggs
06/09/2011 22:27

Super work again SK88 Thanks !!!!

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