CUDMORE RETURNS TO BOLSTER CANADA’S MEN’S TEAM TO FACE SAMOA
GRENOBLE, FRANCE —Jamie Cudmore will return to Canada’s senior men’s team for Friday’s November Tour finale against Samoa. Cudmore missed the first two games of Canada’s tour due to injury but has now been recalled to the starting XV.
Rob Brouwer, Phil Mack, Nick Blevins and Ciaran Hearn also receive starts as head coach Mark Anscombe makes five changes. Brouwer joins Ray Barkwill and Jake Ilnicki in the front row while Brett Beukeboom starts opposite Cudmore at lock.
Evan Olmstead shifts to blindside flanker while Heaton again gets the nod at openside with Burnaby’s Admir Cejvanovic starting his second straight game at No. 8. Mack replaces Gordon McRorie at scrum-half while Connor Braid again starts at fly-half. Conor Trainor joins captain DTH van der Merwe on the wings while Blevins and Hearn form the centre duo. Matt Evans occupies his usual spot at fullback.
Conor Keys is named to the bench again as he hopes to earn his first test cap for Canada while Matt Tierney and Andrew Ferguson earn recalls. Canada, ranked 18th in the world, will be looking to finish their tour on a high after losses to Ireland (54-21) and Romania (21-16). In five previous attempts, Canada has never beaten Samoa.
The two sides met last year at BMO Field in Toronto as part of the 2015 Pacific Nations Cup where Samoa stole victory with a last minute try to claim a 21-20 win. Fourteenth ranked Samoa are also winless on their November Tour after a heavy 52-8 defeat to France and a 20-16 loss to Georgia.
Friday’s match takes place from the Stade des Alpes in Grenoble France with kickoff at 2pm ET/11am PT. Due to the match being hosted in a neutral country, World Rugby is producing the LIVE stream and details will be announced later today.
Canada’s Roster vs. Samoa (Name, club, hometown):
1. Rob Brouwer – (Lindsay RFC/Ontario Blues) Lindsay, ON
2. Ray Barkwill – (Castaway Wanderers/Ontario Blues) Niagara Falls, ON
3. Jake Ilnicki – (Manawatu Turbos/BC Bears) Williams Lake, BC
4. Jamie Cudmore – (Oyonnax) Squamish, BC
5. Brett Beukeboom – (Cornish Pirates) Lindsay, ON
6. Evan Olmstead – (Newcastle Falcons/Prairie Wolf Pack) Vancouver, BC
7. Matt Heaton – (Darlington Mowden Park/Atlantic Rock) Godmanchester, QC
8. Admir Cejvanovic – (Burnaby Lake RFC/BC Bears) Burnaby, BC
9. Phil Mack – (James Bay AA/BC Bears) Victoria, BC
10. Connor Braid – (James Bay AA/BC Bears) Victoria, BC
11. Conor Trainor – (RC Vannes/BC Bears) Vancouver, BC
12. Nick Blevins – (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
13. Ciaran Hearn – (London Irish) Conception Bay, NL
14. DTH van der Merwe – Captain (Scarlets) Victoria, BC
15. Matt Evans – (Cornish Pirates) Maple Bay, BC
16. Eric Howard – (Brantford Harlequins/Ontario Blues) Ottawa, ON
17. Djustice Sears-Duru – (Glasgow Warriors/Ontario Blues) Oakville, ON
18. Matt Tierney – (Section Paloise/Ontario Blues) Oakville, ON
19. Conor Keys – (UVIC Vikes/Atlantic Rock) Stittsville, ON
20. Clay Panga – (Westshore RFC/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
21. Andrew Ferguson – (Oakville Crusaders/Ontario Blues) Mississauga, ON
22. Pat Parfrey – (James Bay AA/Atlantic Rock) St. John’s, NL
23. Ben Lesage – (UBC Thunderbirds/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
Unavailable for selection:
Tyler Ardron – (Ospreys) Lakefield, ON
Kyle Baillie – (Westshore RFC/Atlantic Rock) Summerside, PEI
Hubert Buydens – (Castaway Wanderers/Prairie Wolf Pack) Saskatoon, SK
Aaron Carpenter – Captain (London Welsh/Ontario Blues) Brantford, ON
Nanyak Dala – (Castaway Wanderers/Prairie Wolf Pack) Saskatoon, SK
Kyle Gilmour – (St. Albert RFC/Prairie Wolf Pack) St. Albert, AB
Jeff Hassler – (Ospreys) Okotoks, AB
Jamie Mackenzie – (UBCOB Ravens/Ontario Blues) Oakville, ON
Phil Mackenzie – (Unattached/Ontario Blues), Oakville, ON
Gordon McRorie – (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
Dan Moor – (Balmy Beach RFC/Ontario Blues) Toronto, ON
Taylor Paris – (Agen) Barrie, ON
Cam Pierce – (Section Paloise/Kelowna Crows) Vernon, BC
Jebb Sinclair – (London Irish/Atlantic Rock) Fredericton, NB
Andrew Tiedemann – (Bourgoin/Prairie Wolf Pack) St. Albert, AB
Jordan Wilson-Ross – (James Bay AA/Ontario Blues) Alliston, ON
Men’s Coaching Staff:
Mark Anscombe – Head Coach
Graeme Moffat – Assistant Coach
Mike Shelley – Scrum Coach
Aaron Takel – Performance Analyst
Michael Deasy – Strength and Conditioning
Mallory White – Physiotherapist
Jessica Smith – Physiotherapist
Dr. Peet Du Toit – Doctor
Mark Winokur – Tour Manager
Alana Gattinger – Operations & Logistics Manager
Canada’s November Tour Schedule:
Canada 21-52 Ireland — Nov. 12
Canada 14-21 Romania — Nov. 19
Canada vs. Samoa — Nov. 25 —Stade des Alpes, Grenoble — 2pm ET/11am PT
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. Canada’s Women’s Rugby Sevens Team also made history in 2016, capturing the first-ever Bronze Medal at the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
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 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup in Ireland, the 2018 Sevens World Cup in San Francisco, the 2019 Men’s Rugby World Cup in Japan and 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.
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Bryan Kelly I Manager, Communications and Media Relations I Rugby Canada I 3024 Glen Lake Road I Langford, British Columbia, Canada V9B 4B4 I Tel. 250.418.8998 ext. 314 I Fax 250.386.3810 I Cell. 250.216.5272 | bkelly@rugbycanada.ca I www.rugbycanada.ca