2016 AMERICAS RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP WRAPS UP SATURDAY AGAINST CHILE IN SANTIAGO
Paul Ciulini returns to the lineup at lock in place of Kyle Baillie who will shift to blindside flanker in place of Clay Panga. Gordon McRorie returns at scrum half while Truro, N.S., native Brett Johnson makes his first test start on the wing.
“Since arriving in Chile, we’ve been working on our sets, defense and lineouts,” Ratier said. “After the Argentina XV game, the first thing we needed to do was to recover so that we had fresh minds and legs for Saturday.
“Chile is a great place to train and the facilities, people and food have been outstanding.”
Ratier sticks with the same front row as Ray Barkwill, captain Hubert Buydens and Djustice Sears-Duru keep their spots with Cam Pierce and Ciulini starting at lock. Baillie joins Alistair Clark and Lucas Rumball in the back row.
Newfoundland’s Pat Parfrey gets his second straight start at fly half while Johnson is paired with Dan Moor on the wings. 2015 Rugby World Cup duo Nick Blevins and Phil Mackenzie start at centre with Vancouver’s Brock Staller earning another start at fullback.
“Saturday’s game is a test match and it’s important for international ranking points so it’s vital we close out our ARC campaign with a win,” Ratier said. “It will also validate the hard work this young team has done in the last five weeks so we’re going out there to end on a high.”
Canada heads into its final ARC game sitting in third place in the standings with a 2-2 record. Canada picked up impressive home wins against Uruguay and Brazil but fell narrowly to the USA on the road as well as losing to Argentina XV last weekend. Canada can’t win the ARC title but can still finish second with a bonus point win over Chile and a USA loss to Uruguay.
Canada is 2-0 all-time against Chile in test matches with both meetings taking place in 2002 as part of Canada’s 2003 Rugby World Cup qualifying campaign.
Canada won 27-6 in Calgary in the first matchup on August 17 with Nik Witkowski grabbing a pair of tries before winning 29-11 in Santiago two weeks later.
“Like all South American teams they like to move the ball and take risks,” Ratier said.
Saturday’s game kicks off at 5pm ET/2pm PT with streaming details still to be announced.
Canada’s Team to face Chile (Name, club, hometown):
1. Hubert Buydens, Captain – (Castaway Wanderers/Prairie Wolf Pack) Saskatoon, SK
2. Ray Barkwill – (Castaway Wanderers/Ontario Blues) Niagara Falls, ON
3. Djustice Sears-Duru – (Oakville Crusaders/Ontario Blues) Oakville, ON
4. Cam Pierce – (Pau) Vernon, BC
5. Paul Ciulini – (Aurora Barbarians/Ontario Blues) Vaughan, ON
6. Kyle Baillie – (St. Albert RFC/Atlantic Rock) Summerside, PEI
7. Alistair Clark – (Bay Street Pigs/Ontario Blues) Oakville, ON
8. Lucas Rumball – (Balmy Beach RFC/Ontario Blues) Scarborough, ON
9. Gordon McRorie – (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
10. Pat Parfrey – (Swilers RFC/Atlantic Rock) St. John’s, NL
11. Brett Johnson – (Truro Saints/Atlantic Rock) Truro, NS
12. Nick Blevins – (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
13. Phil Mackenzie – (Sale Sharks/Ontario Blues), Oakville, ON
14. Dan Moor – (Balmy Beach RFC/Ontario Blues) Toronto, ON
15. Brock Staller – (UBC Thunderbirds/BC Bears) Vancouver, BC
16. Rob Brouwer – (Lindsay RFC/Ontario Blues) Lindsay, ON
17. Eric Howard – (Brantford Harlequins/Ontario Blues) Ottawa, ON
18. Ryan Kotlewski – (Calgary Saints/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
19. Clay Panga – (Westshore Valhallians/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
20. Michael Hamson – (Halifax Tars/Atlantic Rock) Halifax, NS
21. Andrew Ferguson – (Oakville Crusaders/Ontario Blues) Mississauga, ON
22. Gradyn Bowd – (UVIC Vikes/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
23. Duncan Maguire – (St. Albert RFCC/Prairie Wolf Pack) St. Albert, AB
Unavailable due to injury:
Kyle Gilmour – (Rotherham Titans/Prairie Wolf Pack) St. Albert, AB
Jake Ilnicki – (Castaway Wanderers/BC Bears) Williams Lake, BC
Callum Morrison – (UBCOB Ravens/BC Bears) Victoria, BC
Mozac Samson – (Calgary Saints/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
Canada’s Coaching Staff:
Francois Ratier — Head Coach
Chris Silverthorn — Assistant Coach
James Kent — Performance Analyst
Andy Evans — Strength and Conditioning Coach
Carla Brash— Athletic Therapist
Rich Gregory — Athletic Therapist
Dr. John Gillis — Team Doctor
Mark Winokur — Team Manager
(Home v Away)
Round 1 – Weekend of Feb. 6 -7, 2016
Canada 33-17 Uruguay
USA 35-35 Argentina XV
Chile 25-22 Brazil
Round 2 – Weekend of Feb. 13 – 14, 2016
USA 30-22 Canada
Argentina XV 52-15 Chile
Brazil 29-33 Uruguay
Round 3 – Weekend of Feb. 20 -21, 2016
Canada 52-25 Brazil
USA 64-0 Chile
Uruguay 21-24 Argentina XV
Round 4 – Weekend of Feb. 27 – 28, 2016
Argentina XV v Canada
Brazil v USA
Chile v Uruguay
Round 5 – Weekend of March 5 – 6, 2016
Chile v Canada
Uruguay v USA
Brazil v Argentina XV
About Rugby Canada
Rugby Canada is the national governing body of the sport of rugby union in Canada. Rugby Football has a long history in Canada dating back to its initial appearance in the 1860s. Since 1974, Rugby Canada has been a permanent fixture on the global rugby scene, including trips to each of the eight Men’s Rugby World Cups and seven Women’s Rugby World Cups. As a regular on the Men’s and Women’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, Canada continues to climb the world rankings and challenge the dominant rugby nations in both versions of the game.
To support the growth of rugby at the grass-roots level and to ensure there are elite programs for prospering young rugby players to become involved with, Rugby Canada has put an emphasis on developing its junior programs. Our goal is to develop and train competitive teams for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup in Ireland and 2019 Men’s Rugby World Cup in Japan.
Twitter: www.twitter.com/RugbyCanada
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RugbyCanada
YouTube: www.youtube.com/RugbyCanada
Instagram: www.instagram.com/RugbyCanada
Website: www.rugbycanada.ca
-30-
For more information, please contact:
Bryan Kelly, Rugby Canada
Manager, Communications and Media Relations
Phone: 250-216-5272
Email: bkelly@rugbycanada.ca