EXCITING 33-17 WIN FOR CANADA OVER URUGUAY TO OPEN AMERICAS RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP
Rugby Canada – Tries from Phil Mackenzie, Nick Blevins, Alistair Clark, Dan Moor (2) and 13 points off the boot of Gord McRorie seal a 33-17 win over Los Teros in Langford to move Canada into first place after Round One of ARC
“We worked together and came up as a team,” interim head coach Francois Ratier said. “That’s the spirit we want. I am pleased for the boys. “We talked about living in the moment and not thinking about number of caps or whatever. Just play rugby, they are there because they are good players.”
Canada took a 19-7 edge into the break and added two more second half tries while holding off a determined Uruguayan side.
“It was really important for us to close that game out,” Mackenzie said. “It was a great experience. A test win is a test win and we’re pretty pumped. It was good to get out there and wear the red jersey and we’ve now got four weeks to keep building and we’re excited by that.”
It was an explosive first half for Canada who came soaring out of the gates with three tries inside the opening half hour.Mackenzie got things rolling as he went over seven minutes in after debutant Gradyn Bowd found him with a lovely looping pass.
With a 5-0 lead, Canada asserted their dominance as debutant Mozac Samson, as well Blevins and lock Callum Morrison, laid down bone-crunching hits on their opposition.
“That was non-negotiable,” Ratier said. “We needed to be physical.”
Canada’s lead was 19-0 eight minutes later as McRorie intercepted a pass and offloaded to Moor who flew down the wing to score on his test debut. McRorie added the conversion before Uruguay grabbed a penalty try in the 33rd minute to cut the deficit to 19-7 at the interval.
“It was a special moment for me personally but I think the bigger moment is we came together as a team on a short week,” Moor said. “We put in a bunch of systems with new players and it great to see some of the stuff come off that we did tonight.”
Canada had a chance to extend its lead early in the second half but McRorie couldn’t convert two penalty chances, the latter clanging off the goal post. However, Clark, who had replaced Lucas Rumball no more than two minutes earlier, found a hole and squeaked over to add his name to the scorers list on his senior debut. McRorie’s conversion had Canada up 26-7 but Uruguay replied immediately as No.8 Alejandro Nieto bullied his way over from a few inches out to cut the lead to 26-12.
But Moor would show off his pace once again as he pulled away from the Uruguayan backline to add his second try of the game.
“It was my teammates that put me in a position there to have my eyes on those kind of opportunities,” Moor said. “I just did my job really.”
A late try by Leandro Leivas got Uruguay a little closer on the scoreboard but Canada closed out their third straight win over their South American counterparts, and their eighth in nine meetings, to move to 1-0 in the ARC. Two other ARC games took place today, with USA and Argentina drawing 35-35 and Chile defeating Brazil 25-22. Canada will travel to Austin, Texas for its second game of the Americas Rugby Championship next Saturday.
Canada’s Roster vs. Uruguay (Club), Hometown, Province
1. Hubert Buydens – Captain (Castaway Wanderers/Prairie Wolf Pack) Saskatoon, SK
2. Ray Barkwill – (Castaway Wanderers/Ontario Blues) Niagara Falls, ON
3. Jake Ilnicki – (Castaway Wanderers/BC Bears) Williams Lake, BC
4. Paul Ciulini – (Aurora Barbarians/Ontario Blues) Vaughan, ON
5. Callum Morrison – (UBCOB Ravens/BC Bears) Victoria, BC
6. Kyle Gilmour – (Rotherham Titans/Prairie Wolf Pack) St. Albert, AB
7. Lucas Rumball – (Balmy Beach RFC/Ontario Blues) Scarborough, ON
8. Clay Panga – (Westshore Valhallians/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
9. Gordon McRorie – (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
10. Gradyn Bowd – (UVIC Vikes/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
11. Dan Moor – (Balmy Beach RFC/Ontario Blues) Toronto, ON
12. Nick Blevins – (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
13. Mozac Samson – (Calgary Saints/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
14. Phil Mackenzie – (Sale Sharks/Ontario Blues), Oakville, ON
15. Pat Parfrey – (Swilers RFC/Atlantic Rock) St. John’s, NL
16. Eric Howard – (Brantford Harlequins/Ontario Blues) Ottawa, ON
17. Djustice Sears-Duru – (Oakville Crusaders/Ontario Blues) Oakville, ON
18. Rob Brouwer – (Lindsay RFC/Ontario Blues) Lindsay, ON
19. Kyle Baillie – (Halifax Tars/Atlantic Rock) Summerside, PEI
20. Alistair Clark – (Bay Street Pigs/Ontario Blues) Oakville, ON
21. Michael Hamson – (Halifax Tars/Atlantic Rock) Halifax, NS
22. Andrew Ferguson – (Oakville Crusaders/Ontario Blues) Mississauga, ON
23. Duncan Maguire – (St. Albert RFCC/Prairie Wolf Pack) St. Albert, AB
Canada’s Senior Men’s Coaching Staff:
Francois Ratier – Interim Head Coach
Jamie Cudmore – Forwards/defence coach
Graeme Moffat – Attack coach
Mike Shelley – Scrum coach
Chris Silverthorn – Forwards coach
Andy Evans – Strength and Conditioning coach
James Kent – Video analyst
Uruguay’s Roster vs. Canada
1. Mateo Sanguinetti
2. Carlos Arboleya
3. Juan Echeverría
4. Diego Magno
5. Franco Lamanna
6. Juan Gaminara (c)
7. Matías Beer
8. Alejandro Nieto
9. Guillermo Lijtenstein
10. Rodrigo Silva
11. Gastón Mieres
12. Alberto Román
13. Andrés Vilaseca
14. Leandro Leivas
15. Santiago Martinez
16. Germán Kessler
17. Facundo Gattas
18. Rafaél Mones
19. Rodolfo De Mula
20. Mathias Palomeque
21. Gonzalo Soto
22. Santiago Arata
23. Pedro Deal
Scoring details:
Canada:
Tries: Dan Moor (2), Nick Blevins, Phil Mackenzie, Alistair Clark
Conversions: Gordon McRorie (3)
Uruguay:
Tries: Penalty try, Alejandro Nieto, Leandro Leivas
Conversions: Rodrigo Silva
Americas Rugby Championship | Round 1 Standings
1 – Canada (5 Points)
2 – Chile (4 Points)
3 – USA (3 Points)
4 – Argentina (3 Points)
5 – Brazil (1 Point)
6 – Uruguay (0 Points)
Americas Rugby Championship | 2016 Competition Calendar
(Home v Away)
Round 1 – Weekend of Feb. 6 -7, 2016
Canada v Uruguay
USA v Argentina
Chile v Brazil
Round 2 – Weekend of Feb. 13 – 14, 2016
USA v Canada
Argentina v Chile
Brazil v Uruguay
Round 3 – Weekend of Feb. 20 -21, 2016
Canada v Brazil
USA v Chile
Uruguay v Argentina
Round 4 – Weekend of Feb. 27 – 28, 2016
Argentina 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
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 six IRB Rugby World Cups. As a regular on the IRB Sevens Circuit, 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 a competitive team for the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. We also continue to be a world leader in the development of women’s rugby.
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For more information, please contact:
Bryan Kelly, Rugby Canada
Manager, Communications and Media Relations
Phone: 250-216-5272
Email: bkelly@rugbycanada.ca