Rugby Canada – Canada’s Men’s rugby Team to face Brazil on February 17 at Westhills Stadium as part of 2018 Americas Rugby Championship; Coach Jones announces 35-man training camp roster

LANGFORD, B.C. (January 11, 2018) – International men’s rugby returns to the Home of Canadian Rugby at Westhills Stadium on February 17, 2018 when Canada’s Men’s Team faces Brazil as part of the 2018 Americas Rugby Championship (ARC). 

The 2018 ARC will once again see Canada, USA, Uruguay, Chile, Brazil and Argentina “A” face off in a round-robin style format across multiple locations in North and South America starting on January 27^th and will crown the tournament champion on March 3^rd. 

Amongst the ARC competition, Canada will face Uruguay in an additional test match on February 3^rd in Montevideo to decide who will represent Americas 2 in Pool D at next year’s 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. This two-game series has been dubbed “the most important of a generation”. 

After a recent five-day training camp in Langford, Canada departs for London tomorrow for a Regulation 9 Training Camp with 35 of Canada’s top players. Along with weights, video analysis, two-a-day on-field team practices and one-on-one skill development sessions, the camp includes a joint training schedule with the Harlequins, along with a controlled game against Oxford. 

“I am really pleased with the past week’s training here in Langford. It was great to see a mix of experienced players like Tyler Ardron, Phil Mack and Ray Barkwill and less experienced internationals getting some rugby in a controlled training session ahead of the upcoming tests against Uruguay,” said Jones. 

“It was also a good opportunity for the coaches to get to see a wider younger group of Talent ID at camp and mixing it with current internationals. It’s been a very productive week and gives us some much needed close-to-game practice following the holiday break. It’s been a good start to the new year for all the players and staff.”

Canada’s roster includes nearly all of its top overseas professionals: DTH van der Merwe, Taylor Paris, Jeff Hassler, Tyler Ardron, Matt Heaton, Shane O’Leary, Djustice Sears-Duru, Matt Tierney, Benoit Piffero, Evan Olmstead, Kyle Baillie and Brett Beukeboom. Ciaran Hearn and Andrew Coe, who were both injured in Canada’s final November test match against Fiji, along with Conor Trainor and Matt Evans are unavailable for selection due to injury. 

Canada’s roster has also been boosted by the return of dual-code internationals Connor Braid and Admir Cejvanovic, who recently helped Canada finish 2017 with an exciting 4^th place finish in Cape Town on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.  

“The squad has a good balance of experience and youth. Some players are being rewarded for a very good week’s training in addition to impressing at club level over the last few months. I’m really pleased to welcome back into the 15s program Admir Cejvanovic and Connor Braid after doing so well with the Sevens,” added Jones.

Canada and Brazil have met twice in international men’s rugby, with Canada winning 52-25 at the same venue in Langford, BC in 2016. However, the following contest in 2017 would favour the South Americans, as Brazil stole a famous victory last March 24-23 in part to a last-minute try from Lucas Tranquez.

“We are excited to return home to Westhills Stadium to face Brazil on February 17^th. We train here day-in, day-out and know that the local crowd will get behind us as they have done over the past few years,” added Jones.

“Brazil has knocked off both USA & Canada over the last two years and have come a long way in their development, so the game in Langford will be important for us for not only ARC points, but also redemption from last year’s loss,” said Jones. 

Canada will gather in Vancouver on January 21^st to prepare for facing Uruguay on the following Saturday. 

Tickets for the home games on January 27 at BC Place in Vancouver and February 17 – which start at just $10 and will be available to the public on Monday, January 10^th at 10am PT – at Westhills Stadium in Langford can be purchased by clicking here

Canada’s Men’s Team Training Camp Roster:

Tyler Ardron – (Chiefs/Ontario Blues) Lakefield, ON
Kyle Baillie – (London Scottish/Atlantic Rock) Summerside, PEI
Ray Barkwill – (Seattle Seawolves/Ontario Blues) Niagara Falls, ON
Brett Beukeboom – (Cornish Pirates/Ontario Blues) Lindsay, ON
Nick Blevins – (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
Connor Braid – (James Bay AA/BC Bears) Victoria, BC
Hubert Buydens – (New Orleans Gold/Prairie Wolf Pack) Saskatoon, SK
Luke Campbell – (James Bay AA/BC Bears) Victoria, BC
Admir Cejvanovic – (Burnaby Lake RFC/BC Bears) Burnaby, BC 
Dustin Dobravsky – (Castaway Wanderers/BC Bears) Hanover, Germany
Guiseppe du Toit – (UVIC Vikes/BC Bears) Maple Ridge, BC
Andrew Ferguson – (Oakville Crusaders/Ontario Blues) Mississauga, ON
Doug Fraser – (Castaway Wanderers/BC Bears) Ladysmith, BC
Jeff Hassler – (Ospreys/Prairie Wolf Pack) Okotoks, AB
Matt Heaton – (Darlington Mowden Park/Atlantic Rock) Godmanchester, QC
Jake Ilnicki – (Newcastle Falcons/BC Bears) Williams Lake, BC
Cole Keith – (James Bay AA/Atlantic Rock) Sussex, NB
Martial Lagain – (Sherbrooke Abenakis/Atlantic Rock) Saint-Jean-de-Marsacq, France
Josh Larsen – (Northland) Parksville, BC
Ben LeSage – (UBC Thunderbirds/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
Kainoa Lloyd – (Mississauga Blues/Ontario Blues) Mississauga, ON
Anthony Luca – (Burnaby Lake RFC/BC Bears) Burnaby, BC
Phil Mack – (James Bay AA/BC Bears) Victoria, BC
Gordon McRorie – (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
Dan Moor – (Balmy Beach/Ontario Blues) Toronto, ON
Shane O’Leary – (Ealing Trailfinders) Cork, Ireland
Evan Olmstead – (Newcastle Falcons/Prairie Wolf Pack) Vancouver, BC
Patrick Parfrey – (Swilers RFC/Atlantic Rock) St. John’s, NL
Taylor Paris – (Castres/Ontario Blues) Barrie, ON
Benoit Piffero – (Blagnac Sporting Club/Atlantic Rock) Montreal, QC 
Lucas Rumball – (Balmy Beach RFC/Ontario Blues) Mississauga, ON
Djustice Sears-Duru – (Ealing Trailfinders/Ontario Blues) Oakville, ON
Brock Staller – (Meralomas RFC/BC Bears) Surrey, BC
Matt Tierney – (Section Paloise/Ontario Blues) Oakville, ON
DTH van der Merwe – (Newcastle Falcons) Victoria, BC

Canada’s 2018 Americas Rugby Championship & RWC Qualifier schedule:

Canada vs. Uruguay

January 27^th at 5pm local time

BC Place, Vancouver, BC

*Rugby World Cup Qualifier round 1, ARC match 1*

Canada vs. Uruguay

February 3^rd

Montevideo, Uruguay

*Rugby World Cup Qualifier round 2, not an ARC match*

Canada vs. USA

February 10^th at 3pm local time

Sacramento, California

Canada vs. Brazil

February 17^th at 6:30pm local time

Westhills Stadium, Langford, BC

Canada vs. Argentina XV

February 24^th at 8pm local time

Jujuy, Argentina

Canada vs. Chile

March 3^rd at 1pm local time

La Pintana, Santiago, Chile

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 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens in USA, 2019 Men’s Rugby World Cup in Japan, 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Japan and the 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup. 

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Bryan Kelly I  Manager, Media Relations & Communications  I  Rugby Canada  I  3024 Glen Lake Road, Langford, British Columbia, Canada V9B 4B4  I  Cell 250.216.5272 I BKelly@rugbycanada.ca I www.rugbycanada.ca