Rugby Canada – Late Conor Trainor try isn’t enough as Canada’s Men’s Team falls 17-13 to Uruguay in Maldonado; Canada closes out competition next Friday against 33rd ranked Brazil in Sao Paolo

MALDONADO, URUGUAY – Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team fell 17-13 to Uruguay Saturday evening in round four of the 2017 Americas Rugby Championship in a scrappy affair from Maldonado.

Conor Trainor scored a late try for Canada but it wasn’t enough as the visitors came up four points short. Gordon McRorie kicked six points for Canada.

Trailing 17-6 with eight minutes to play, Uruguay’s Franco Lamanna was sent to the sin bin. After Brock Staller missed the resulting penalty, Trainor broke the Uruguayan defensive line and sprinted in for his seventh test try. Staller’s conversion made it 17-13 but Canada were unable to find a second try to steal a victory.

The game started in scrappy fashion as both teams engaged in some argy bargy after a penalty had been called but no cards were shown despite an extended shoving match. McRorie converted the resulting penalty, which had been overturned, for a 3-0 lead for Canada after four minutes.

However, the tides would turn as German Albanell tied the game in the seventh minute before Leandro Leivas scored the night’s opening try as he kicked forward a loose ball and somehow managed to put downward pressure on the ball with his back for a 10-3 lead.

Staller would be sent to the sin bin in the 25th minute for a late hit on the kicker, a decision that seemed harsh and two minutes later, Uruguay had their second try as a penalty try was awarded off of a driving maul.

With a 17-3 deficit at the break, Canada set out to cut into the Uruguay lead and got three points back from McRorie in the 50th minute after Albanell had been sinbinned. Despite some constant pressure and near misses — Admir Cejvanovic came agonizingly close to a try but couldn’t hold on to Gradyn Bowd’s pass — Canada couldn’t find anymore points until Trainor’s try.

The win marked just the second ever test win for Uruguay over Canada. Their previous victory came in 2002. 

Brett Beukeboom started at lock for Canada and when his younger brother Matt took the field in the 63rd minute, they became the first Canadian brothers to play in the same test match since Phil and Jamie Mackenzie at the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Canada will conclude its ARC campaign Friday against Brazil in Sao Paolo.

Canada’s Senior Men’s Team to face Uruguay (Name, club hometown):

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

2. Ray Barkwill – (Castaway Wanderers/Ontario Blues) Niagara Falls, ON

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

4. Brett Beukeboom – (Cornish Pirates) Lindsay, ON

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

6. Clay Panga – (Westshore RFC/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB

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

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

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

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

11. Kainoa Lloyd – (Queen’s University/Ontario Blues) Mississauga, ON

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

13. Conor Trainor – (RC Vannes/BC Bears) Vancouver, BC

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scoring Details:

Uruguay:

Tries: Leandro Leivas, Penalty Try

Conversions: German Albanell, Automatic Conversion

Penalties: German Albanell

Canada:

Tries: Conor Trainor

Conversions: Brock Staller

Penalties: Gordon McRorie (2)

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

Canada 34-51 USA — Feb. 18, Swangard Stadium, Burnaby, BC

Uruguay 17-13 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