Rugby Canada – Taylor Paris (x3), Dan Moor and George Barton score tries for Canada as they secure 36-15 victory over Chile in first win over 2017 Americas Rugby Championship; Canada to face USA next Saturday in Burnaby

LANGFORD, B.C. – Taylor Paris had a hat-trick as Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team collected its 100th test win after beating Chile 36-15 in Americas Rugby Championship action at Westhills Stadium.

Canada also got tries from Dan Moor and debutant George Barton en route to a dominant victory. Gordon McRorie kicked seven points while Robbie Povey added four.

“This is definitely a performance we can build on for next week,” Moor said. “We can keep on building on this and we’re excited to face the USA next week.”

After falling 3-0 behind after an early Tomás Ianzeewski penalty, Canada replied with two first half Paris tries either side of a McRorie penalty. Paris’ first try came after Francisco Cruz had seen yellow with Canada swinging the ball wide from the resulting scrum for Paris to score his 10th test try in the corner.

After McRorie’s penalty pushed the lead to 10-3, Paris had his second try of the night after collecting a loose ball off of a strange bounce to touch down for a 17-3 lead at the break. Paris completed his hat-trick in the 53rd minute as he powered over in the corner for a 22-3 lead before Chile grabbed its first try of the night in the 60th minute.

After a Phil Mack line break got Canada into the Chilean 22metre line, Barton had a try on debut as he powered through the Chile line to increase the lead to 29-10 after Povey, also on debut, kicked the conversion for his first test points.

Rodrigo Fernandez’s try cut the lead to 29-15 before Canada, who again had a man advantage, had the final say with Dan Moor charging over in the corner for his fourth test try to complete an impressive 36-15 win.

“We got a win and a bonus point,” Canada’s Head Coach Mark Anscombe said. “I thought some of the young guys performed well and that only bodes well for the future.”

It marks Canada’s second test win over Chile after they defeated them 64-13 in Santiago in last year’s Americas Rugby Championship.

Canada’s head coach Mark Anscombe gave eight players their full test debuts for Canada. In addition to Povey and Barton, Conor Keys, Ollie Nott, Guiseppe du Toit, Cole Keith, Matt Beukeboom and Reegan O’Gorman all won their first test caps.

“They did a really good job tonight,” Moor said. “It’s obviously a really big moment in their lives and they’ve worked really hard to get here. It’s awesome to see.”

Canada returns to action on Feb. 18 as they face the USA at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby. Kickoff is 8pm ET/5pm PT with tickets available at http://events.rugbycanada.ca  

Canada’s Men’s Team to face Chile – Name, (Club/CRC) Hometown:

1. Djustice Sears -Duru – (Glasgow Warriors/Ontario Blues) Oakville, ON

2. Benoit Piffero – (Blagnac Sporting Rugby Club/Atlantic Rock) Montreal, QC

3. Matt Tierney – (Section Paloise/Ontario Blues) Oakville, ON

4. Conor Keys – (UVic Vikes/Atlantic Rock) Stittsville, ON

5. Liam Chisholm – (UVIC Vikes/BC Bears) Kenora, ON

6. Lucas Rumball – (Balmy Beach RFC/Ontario Blues) Scarborough, ON

7. Ollie Nott – (UVIC Vikes/BC Bears) Qualicum, BC

8. Admir Cejvanovic – (Burnaby Lake RFC/BC Bears) Burnaby, BC

9. Gordon McRorie – Captain (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB

10. Gradyn Bowd – (UVIC Vikes/Prairie Wolf Pack) Red Deer, AB

11. Taylor Paris – (Agen) Barrie, ON

12. Guiseppe Du Toit – (UVIC Vikes/BC Bears) Maple Ridge, BC

13. Nick Blevins – (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB

14. Dan Moor – (Balmy Beach RFC/Ontario Blues) Toronto, ON

15. Brock Staller – (UBC Thunderbirds/BC Bears) Vancouver, BC

16. Eric Howard – (Brantford Harlequins/Ontario Blues) Ottawa, ON

17. Rob Brouwer – (Lindsay RFC/Ontario Blues) Lindsay, ON

18. Cole Keith – (James Bay AA/Atlantic Rock) Sussex, NB

19. Reegan O’Gorman – (Marist Albion) Vancouver, BC

20. Matt Beukeboom – (Section Paloise) Lindsay, ON

21. Phil Mack – (James Bay AA/BC Bears) Victoria, BC

22. Robbie Povey – (Bedford Athletic/Prairie Wolf Pack) Northampton, England

23. George Barton – (Clermont Espoirs) Duncan, BC

Canada’s 2017 Americas Rugby Championship Schedule:

Canada 6-20 Argentina — Feb. 4, Westhills Stadium, Langford, BC

Canada 36-15 Chile — Feb. 11, Westhills Stadium, Langford, BC, 8pm ET/5pm PT

Canada vs. USA — Feb. 18, Swangard Stadium, Langford, BC, 8pm ET/5pm PT

Uruguay vs. Canada — Feb. 25, Estadio Domingo Burgueno, Uruguay

Brazil vs. Canada — March 3, Pacaembu Stadium, Brazil

About Rugby Canada

Rugby Canada is the national governing body of the sport of rugby union in Canada.  Rugby Union 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.

Rugby Canada has also put a renewed emphasis on developing its junior programs 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.  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