|
Canada End UK Tour with 36-3 Loss to France U16
posted April 13 2012
France proved they were the best team at the Wellington College Festival with a comprehensive win over Canada. The festival included teams representing Canada, USA, England South, England North, Wales Schools and Scotland. A full strength Wales Schools U16 and England U16 also took part in a full international at the festival, England won that game 39-34.
Canada U17 managed only one win against Belgium U17 on their UK tour but the players now have a better idea of the competition level outside of domestic age-grade rugby.
During the same week and at a slightly higher age level Westlake School from Auckland, New Zealand were touring Victoria and the Lower Mainland. They dispatched UVic (combined Jutes & Norsemen) rather easily and won the open division of the Fraser Valley HS 7s tournament "going away". A photo slideshow of the UVic v Westlake game from Judy Teasdale can be viewed here.
Combine that with recent losses at home of the Canada U20 team to Romania U20 and it indicates there's a lot of work to be done at the elite "junior" level in BC and in Canada.
One bright spot is the work of Shane Thompson and the BC Youth 7s program and shows how private money, focused on a specific program that operates outside the traditional governing bodies, can have a huge impact.
Canada U17 Edged by England South U16 14-10 at Wellington College Festival
posted April 11 2012
[ed. comments below]
Canada played a physical game as they narrowly lost to England South in the UK based tournament. Head coach Jim Delaney rued not getting the victory, "We were so close to getting the result, but in the end it came down to not making better choices in pressure situations.", but was satisfied with the effort of his players, "It was very pleasing to see the breakdown work, an area we've focused on, it was outstanding." Canada now play the France U16 team on Friday.
Rugby Canada report
It was a similar story for the Americans as they lost to England North U16 by a score of 12-6. The RFU report quotes the England North Manager John Cooper, "they [USA] were physical and strong and we spent a lot of time defending”
RFU report
It sounds as if both North American programs are similar in playing level and playing style, a physical presence but perhaps lacking the finer points of decision making and attacking skills. The "home nation" players likely get an earlier start in their advanced rugby education and the North American players are on a steep learning curve from this age on, in order to catch up.
A respectable result for Canada and maybe they can surprise France on Friday. It would take a huge effort though as France defeated Wales Schools U16 24-10 and defeated Scotland 35-5 today. It appears Wales Schools U16 have two teams here, one participating in the festival and a stronger side which will be playing a full international against England U16.
Canada U17 Thump Belgium U17 34-10 at Wellington College Festival
[ed. comments below]
posted April 8 2012
Canada scored 6 tries to open their account at the Wellington College Festival, they play England South U16 and France U16 in their remaining games. Last year Canada defeated Belgium 24-5 so it's a slight improvement in the results this year. The only details at the time of writing are from the Rugby Canada twitter feed which is appended below.
In other games Wales U16 defeated USA U17 33-13, Canada lost to Wales U16 70-12 in a warmup match last week.
[ed. a reader sent this note]
Just a note from "the front". The Wales team that Canada lost to last week in a lead up to the tourney was a far different and superior team to the one (basically a 'second' squad) that is entered in the tournament and played the US two days ago.
Rugby Canada Twitter Feed
Final score is Canada U17 34 - 10 Belgium U17 #GoCanadaGo
Canada U17 respond with immediate pressure to score again! A conversion attempt from Guiseppe Du Toit hits the post, the score is now 34-10
Belgium U17 hits back with a try to make the scores 29-10 to Canada U17
A fantastic effort from the Canadians as they continue to build on a fine performance against Belgium U17
Into the second half and Canada lead 29 points to 5 with tries from Rupert Peers, Randall Barton, Lucas Rumble and two from Connor Mcrea about
Canada U17 Schooled by Wales Schools U16: 70-12
[ed. comments below]
posted April 5 2012
Canada U17 are in the UK to prepare for the Wellington College Festival where they will meet Belgium U17, England South U16 and France U16. Prior to that they played Gloucester Academy and Wales School U16. They lost to Gloucester Academy 48-10 and then Wales Schools U16 70-12.
In a Rugby Canada press release, head coach Jim Delaney had expressed high expectations for the team before the match, hoping to impress the hosts enough to merit consideration for inclusion into the RFU U16 Four Nations. Somehow I don't think the invitation is in the mail.
"This game against Wales is the Welsh team that is playing in the RFU U16 Four Nations and it is a warm up game for their fixture against England U16 in that tournament," Coach Jim Delaney explained. "This RFU U16 Four Nations tournament is the one that Canada U17 are hoping to be involved in the future, along with France U16 and Italy U17." Delaney said earlier that the fixture would be targeted as an opportunity to raise both eyebrows and support for Rugby Canada's future inclusion in that event. More immediately it will also provide an important benchmark to see where the team is at this standard. "I am expecting us to not be quite up to that level yet, but we don't know at this point where we stand, so it is a great test for us," he said.
The tour is certainly a good way to find out where the Canadian U17 program stands in reference to other countries. The Welsh Schools U16 played Italy U17 last year, winning 32-10. That indicates we might be stretched playing Italy at this level as well but certainly a more attainable goal. The Welsh Schools U16 will be playing USA on April 7th, the result of that contest will be useful for comparison purposes.
The inevitable question after a lopsided result like this is, "what can be done to improve the playing level of the Canadian U17 team"? In terms of immediate results it's in the hands of the coaches. Head coach Delaney had this to say after the game, "In the first-half, we were exposed in contact, we weren't executing what we'd been practising. But once we started putting what the boys had learnt into practice, we were able to put Wales under pressure and prove that when we use those skills we can compete." Canada play Belgium next which will allow the players to implement what they've learned in a slower paced game against a potentially weaker opponent. It will be a chance for Canada to build their confidence and perhaps put up 70 points against the other team.
Of more long term interest though is the issue of what changes can be made to the system to improve the national U17 program? Feel free to email your comments to editor@bcrugbynews.com and I'll summarize your comments in a follow up article. Some areas to consider:
- access to elite coaching at an earlier age
- improving regional age-grade competitions
- access to watching top level rugby
- identifying talent, what's the best practice based on current structures
- pay to play, where is money best spent to support economically disadvantaged athletes
- communication between national age-grade coaches and high schools and clubs
Those are a few thoughts that immediately come to mind. Perhaps you've identified some other areas worth considering, please share.
We wish the U17 team all the best in the remaining games, starting with a thumping of Belgium U17 and competitive games against England South U16 and France U16.
Canada U17s Defeat Lower Mainland Selects 48-12
from Andrew Smith - BCRU
posted Feb 25 2012
Vancouver, BC: The Under-17 Canadian men's national team produced an impressive eight-try performance to defeat the Lower Mainland Selects 48-12 on Saturday, posting their second straight win over a BC representative side. The Canadian U17s had previously defeated the Vancouver Island Selects by a score of 33-10 on Thursday evening in Langford.
Saturday's match in Vancouver wrapped up a week-long trial for the national program, as the coaches will now have to make their selections for the 26-man roster headed to England for the annual Wellington Festival.
Canada U17: 48
Tries: Shane Dagg x2, Paul Ciulini, Brandon Ho, PJ Collins, Connor Plumpton, Spencer Miller, Randy Barton
Conversions: Giuseppe Du Toit x3, Michael Douros
Lower Mainland Selects: 12
Tries: Ryan Lan, Karsten Leitner
Conversions: Nick Collett
Canada U17 Prevail Over Island Rep Team 33-10
[ed. comments below. Action photo by Hugh Jervis.]
It was a reversal of last year's game when the Island surprised the Canadian team and defeated them 17-14. I asked some people involved with the U17 program about the relative strength of this year's team and the reply was that this is a stronger team than last year and this result seems to be a good indicator.
The game was held at Bear Mountain stadium and even though the crowd wasn't capacity the venue is looking good. The stadium concession stand wasn't selling beer this evening since it was free admission but they will be March 2nd & 3rd when the University 7s takes place.
It's a pleasure to take in a night game at a venue like this with excellent lighting and a clearly visible scoreboard.
As for the game itself it was an energetic affair that saw a lot of action up and down the field. The Island were wearing their traditional Tide red and the Canada hopefuls were wearing blue. Selection for the team travelling to England will no doubt be made following the Canada v Mainland game on Saturday.
 One player that stood out was a young prop, Randall Barton, a product of Cowichan Rugby club and currently attending Shawnigan Lake school. It isn't often you see a prop running like a back in the open field, the big difference is instead of a sidestep he chose to run in straight lines with would-be tacklers bouncing off. For his excellent play we awarded Randall one of our BCRN/Lionheart hoodies.
The game was played in a good spirit and afterwards the teams posed for a group photo. The Canada U17 team takes on a Mainland Select on Saturday at Brockton Oval, kick-off is at 1:30pm.
Team Photo
(use the scroll bar at the bottom to see the full photo)
Canada U17 vs Vancouver Island Today at Bear Mountain @ 7pm: UPDATED WITH LINEUPS
posted Feb 23 2012
[ed. Island roster added]
The game is between the Canadian U17 team and a Vancouver Island junior representative team. It is being played at Bear Mountain Stadium on Thursday, February 23rd with a 7:00 pm kickoff. The coach of the VIRU team is Jeff Williams.
The Canada U17 squad assembled at Shawnigan Lake School last Friday for a 10-day camp, the final selection tool before national selectors announce their traveling roster headed to the prestigious Wellington Festival in England.
Island Roster
Macbryan Bos - CW
Jacob Duvenage - CW
Teigan White - Velox
Evan Cambridge - CW
Truan Forsyth - CW
Zak Edmonds - Cowichan RC
Jeff Nishima Miller - CW
Gavin Mclean - Vanier High School
Riley Macpherson - CW
Jordan Degraaf - Vanier High School
Spencer Soltan - JBAA
Connor Willis - Vanier High School
Alex Kanty - CW
Cody Milne - Cowichan RC
Rhys Prevost - CW
Tyson Stoochnof - Cowichan RC
Justin Logan - JBAA
Nolan Ladourette - Vanier High School
Brandon Hudson - Vanier High School
Ben Marsh - Vanier High School
Canada U17 Roster
Name (Province) High School/Club
Nicholas Andrews (BC) Lord Tweedsmuir/ Surrey Beavers AA
Randall Barton (BC) Shawnigan LakeSchool/ Cowichan Rugby Club
Lucas Bradley (BC) Alberni D.S.S./Port Alberni
Mitch Brant (UK) St. Benedict's/ Wasps
Paul Ciulini (ON) St Joan of Arc/ Aurora Barbarians
Thomas Chan (ON) Lakefield College/ Peterborough
Andrew Coe (ON) Bill Crothers/Markham Irish
Peter John Collins (ON) St. Michael's College/Oakville Crusaders
Shane Dagge (BC) South Delta SS/Bayside
Michael Douros (ON) Senator O'Connor/Balmy Beach
Giuseppe DuToit (BC) Shawnigan Lake/ Cowichan Rugby Club
Marshall Fuller (BC) Collingwood/ Capilano RFC
Harjun Gill (BC) St. George's School/ Richmond RFC
Brandon Ho (BC) Rick Hanson/BC
Tristan Hooey (ON) Glebe/Bytown Blues
George Jeavons (UK) The King's School/Worcester Warriors
Devin King (ON) Uxbridge SS/Oshawa Vikings
Kieran Lacey (NL) Holy Heart of Mary/Swilers RFC
Spencer Loughlin (BC) Yale/ Abbotsford RFC
Patrick Lynott (QC) Philemon Wright HS/Chelsea
Thomas MacDougall (QC) Chateauguay Valley/Ormstown
Jordan Marsh (ON) Stouffville D.S.S./Markham Irish
Calixto Martinez (BC)Earl Marriott/ Bayside RFC
Connor McRae (BC) Collingwood/ Capilano RFC
Christopher Miles (BC) Shawnigan Lake School/ Velox RFC
Spencer Miller (BC) Yale/ Abbotsford RFC
Jonathan Norris (BC) Shawnigan Lake School/ Cowichan Rugby Club
Oliver Nott (BC) Shawnigan Lake/ Cowichan Rugby Club
Rupert Peers (BC) Elgin Park / Bayside RFC
Connor Plumpton (ON) Regiopolis - Notre Dame/Kingston Panthers
James Porter (BC) Rockridge S.S./ Capilano RFC
Louis Retief (BC) Sardis S.S./ Abbotsford RFC
Lucas Rumball (ON) Senator O'Connor/ Balmy Beach
Mitchell Santilli (ON) St. John's College/ Brantford Harlequins
John Shaw (ON) St. Peter C.H.S./ Bytown Blues
Kyle Stanley (NL) Holy Spirit H.S./ Bayman
Tobin Sydney-Smith (BC) Sentinel/ Capilano RFC
Joel Tompkins (NL) St. Kevins H.S./ Dogs
Tomasi Vataiki (BC) Hugh McRoberts/ Bayside RFC
Brandon Waeyen (AB) Henry Wisewood H.S./Hornets
Kieran Washburn (AB) Beaumont Composite/ Edmonton NorWesters
Coaching staff
Head Coach: Jim Delaney
Assistant Coach : Francois Ratier
Team Manager: Fran Mason
Canada U17 Final Selection Camp for UK Tour: Feb 17-25
posted Jan 13 2012
The Canada U17 team begin preparations for the Wellington Rugby Festival in England taking place between March 30 and April 14. 42 players have been chosen to attend the final selection camp on Vancouver Island between Feb 17 and 25, out of that group 25 will be chosen for the trip to the UK.
Last year Canada played two warm up games in the UK before competing in the Wellington Festival, they went 1-1 in the warm up games and 1-2 at the tournament (results listed below). Before they left Canada they played two warm up games in BC, losing to Vancouver Island 17-14 and defeating Vancouver 32-12.
This year they repeat the same preparations with games against Vancouver Island and Vancouver. The first game against Vancouver Island, will be held at the new Rugby Canada facility at Langford on Thursday February 23rd at 7pm. The second game will be against a mainland team on Saturday February 25th; location of the game will be posted once confirmed. The staff and players will be staying and practicing at Shawnigan Lake School.
Canada U17's UK Tour Schedule - 2011
Canada U17's 43 v. Yorkshire U16's 24 - April 12th
Canada U17's 31 v. Leeds Carnegie Academy 40 - April 14th
Canada U17's 12 v. England "A" 29 - April 17th
Canada U17's 24 v. Belgium 5 - April 19th
Canada U17's 10 v. France 36 - April 22nd
Canada U17 Preparation Games - 2011
Wed, Feb. 9 Canada 14 - Vancouver Island 17
Sat, Feb. 12 Canada 32 - Vancouver 12
Canada U17 Final Selection Camp - 2012
Name (Province) High School/Club
Nicholas Andrews (BC) Lords Tweedsmuir/Surrey
Randall Barton (BC) Shawnigan Lake/Cowichn
Lucas Bradley (BC) Alberni D.S.S./Port Alberni
Mitch Brant (UK) St. Benedict's/Wasps
Paul Ciulini (ON) St Joan of Arc/Aurora Barbarians
Thomas Chan (ON) Lakefield College/Peterborough
Andrew Coe (ON) Bill Crothers/Markham Irish
Peter John Collins (ON) St. Michael's College/Oakville Crusaders
Shane Dagge (BC) South Delta SS/Bayside
Michael Douras (ON) Senator O'Connor/Balmy Beach
Giuseppe DuToit (BC) Shawnigan Lake/Cowichan
Marshall Fuller (BC) Collingwood/Capilano
Harjun Gill (BC) St. George's/Richmond
Brandon Ho (BC) Rick Hanson/BC
Tristan Hooey (ON) Glebe/Bytown Blues
George Jeavons-Fellow (UK) The King's School/Worcester Warriors
Devin King (ON) Uxbridge SS/Oshawa Vikings
Kieran Lacey (NL) Holy Heart of Mary/Swilers
Spencer Loughlin (BC) Yale/Abbotsford
Patrick Lynott (QC) Philemon Wright HS/Chelsea
Thomas MacDougall (QC) Chateauguay Valley/Ormstown
Jordan Marsh (ON) Stouffville D.S.S./Markham Irish
Calixto Martinez (BC) Earl Marriott/Bayside
Connor McRae (BC) Collingwood/Capilano
Christopher Miles (BC) Shawnigan Lake/Velox
Spencer Miller (BC) Yale/Abbotsford
Jonathan Norris (BC) Shawnigan Lake/Cowichan
Oliver Nott (BC) Shawnigan Lake/Cowichan
Rupert Peers (BC) Elgin Park / Bayside
Connor Plumpton (ON) Regiopolis - Notre Dame/Kingston Panthers
James Porter (BC) Rockridge S.S./Capilano
Louis Retief (BC) Sardis S.S./Abbotsford
Lucas Rumball (ON) Senator O'Connor/Balmy Beach
Mitchell Santilli (ON) St. John's College/Brantford Harlequins
John Shaw (ON) St. Peter C.H.S./Bytown Blues
Kyle Stanley (NL) Holy Spirit H.S./Bayman
Tobin Sydney-Smith (BC) Sentinel/Capilano
Joel Tompkins (NL) St. Kevins H.S./Dogs
Tomasi Vataiki (BC) Hugh McRoberts/Bayside
Brandon Waeyen (AB) Henry Wisewood H.S./Hornets
Kieran Washburn (AB) Beaumont Composite/Edmonton NorWesters
|
