Canada national rugby union team

This article is about the national men's team. For the national women's team, see Canada women's national rugby union team.

Not to be confused with Canada national rugby league team.

Canada

Union	Rugby Canada
Nickname(s)	Canucks / Maple leafs
Emblem(s)	the Maple leaf
Coach(es)	Kieran Crowley
Captain(s)	Pat Riordan
Most caps	Al Charron (76)
Top scorer	Gareth Rees (487)
Most tries	Winston Stanley (23)
Team kit Change kit
First international
Japan 9 – 8 Canada (31 January 1932)
Largest win
Canada 71 – 3 Barbados (24 June 2006)
Largest defeat
England 70 – 0 Canada (13 November 2004)
World Cup
Appearances	6 (First in 1987)
Best result	Quarter Finals, 1991

The Canada national rugby union team represents Canada in international rugby union. They are governed by Rugby Canada, and play in red and black. Canada is classified by the International Rugby Board (IRB) as a tier two rugby nation. There are ten tier one nations, and seven tier two nations, the others being Fiji, Japan, Romania, Samoa, Tonga and the USA. Canada competes in competitions such as the Churchill Cup and the Rugby World Cup. The geographic size of Canada means that talent is scattered across the country making the job of coaches and selectors very difficult. The climate is also unfavourable for playing rugby union for much of the year in most parts of the country.

Canada has been playing international rugby since the early 1930s, making their debut in 1932 against Japan. Canada have competed at every World Cup since the tournament was first staged in 1987, the only North American team to do so. Canada achieved their best result at the World Cup in 1991, where they reached the quarter-finals. Canada is the dominant power of North American rugby and considered second only to Argentina in the Americas. Canada is currently ranked thirteenth in the IRB World Rankings, just 1.07 points behind 12th placed Italy.

This position makes Canada the highest ranked team in the world outside of the participating countries of the Six Nations, Pacific Tri-Nations, and the upcoming Four Nations tournaments.

History

Early years

In 1874 the first North American international game took place in Cambridge, Massachusetts between McGill and Harvard universities. Later that same year a second game was played, but this time Harvard were the hosts, and the game was played with early "American Football" rules. Today, in carrying on the oldest annual sporting competition in North America, McGill University and Harvard University continue the tradition of competing for the Covo Cup, at alternating venues each November, using the original rules of rugby football. McGill University can therefore lay claim to being the oldest rugby club in Canada, but due to rugby's popularity among students and the McGill University Rugby Football Club's affiliation with the university, the claim as the oldest independent rugby club goes to the still active Westmount Rugby Football Club.

A Canadian Rugby Football Union was established in 1884, although this organisation went on to become the Canadian Football League, as rugby football in Canada evolved into Canadian football. In 1902–1903 the first Canadian team toured Britain. In 1909, Earl Grey, then Governor General of Canada, donated a trophy to the CRU to be awarded for the Rugby Football Championship of Canada. This trophy became known as the Grey Cup. However the rules used in Canada were vastly different from the rules used in countries that were part of the IRB. In the years that followed, the CRU would legalise forward passing and make other changes that would make Canadian football a totally different sport, similar to American football.

Post-World War I

During World War I and II rugby union was suspended but in the inter-war period there was something of a renaissance. In 1919 a Canadian Services team played overseas against representatives from England, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia. The formation of the Rugby Union of Canada took place in 1929 and this was followed by a tour of Japan by a Canadian representative side in 1932 to help foster trade between the two countries. About half the team were Canadian born (mostly British Columbia players) and the rest were originally from Britain. They lost 9–8 and 38–5 in the two test matches.

The original Canadian Rugby Union disbanded just before World War I. Canada's team to the United Kingdom in 1962 was dominated by British Columbia players. The Rugby Union of Canada was re-formed in 1965 as the Canadian Rugby Union. The 1966 British Lions played a non-cap match in Toronto on their way back from Australia and New Zealand, a match they won 19–8. Canada established themselves as the strongest team in North America, though they struggled to compete with the major test-playing nations in Europe and the Southern Hemisphere.

Modern era

Main article: Canada at the Rugby World Cup

Canada were one of the 16 nations that were invited by the International Rugby Board (IRB) to compete at the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987, hosted by both Australia and New Zealand. Canada were grouped with Wales, Ireland and Tonga in Pool 2. In their first ever World Cup match they defeated Tonga 37 points to 4. However they lost their subsequent matches 46–19 to Ireland and 40–9 to Wales, and finished third in the pool (not advancing to the finals).

Canada had to qualify for the 1991 World Cup, and took part in the Americas tournaments to do so. Canada finished first in the final standings, qualifying into Pool D, alongside France, Romania and Fiji. Canada beat Fiji and Romania but lost their fixture against France 19–13 to finish second in the pool, advancing to the quarter-finals. They were however then knocked out by the All Blacks, 29 points to 13 in Lille.

They famously beat Wales 26–24 on November 10, 1993 at Cardiff Arms Park; and beat France 18–16 on June 4, 1994 at Twin Elms Rugby Park in Nepean, Ontario; and battled to a 27–27 draw against Ireland on June 27, 2000 at Markham, Ontario; and chalked up a 26–23 win against Scotland in Vancouver, British Columbia on June 15, 2002. The win over Scotland was the start of a streak of seven victories before losing to Wales (in Cardiff.)

Canada has never beaten England in six games, but has played their national XV, B team, and Under 23 teams eleven times (for which Canada awarded its players international caps.) The most notable result was a 15–12 victory over a strong England XV on May 29, 1993 at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby. Unfortunately for the Canadians, on the eve of the match England's management chose not to award international caps (due to fact that some players were touring with the British and Irish Lions in New Zealand at the time.) Additionally, before defeating Scotland proper in 2002, Canada beat Scotland XV 24–19 on May 25, 1991 at Saint John, New Brunswick.

As they were quarter finalists in 1991, they automatically qualified for the 1995 World Cup. They were in Pool A with the hosts South Africa, defending champions Australia, and Romania. Canada finished third in the pool, winning their match against Romania but losing 27–11 to Australia and 20-nil to the Springboks. Canada won the now defunct Pacific Rim tournament three years in succession in 1996, 1997 and 1998.

Canada finished second in Round 4 of the Americas 1999 Rugby World Cup qualifying, losing only to Argentina, and qualify for the World Cup. Canada finished third in their pool (with France, Fiji and Namibia), winning their match against Namibia but losing their other two fixtures. The victory against Namibia was uncharacteristic for Canada, as they ran the score up to 72–11, one of their most lopsided victories, as there was a very slight statistical chance that they could have advanced on points scored. This trashing was the one bright light in an otherwise gloomy and disapponting 1999 World Cup performance.

Like all second and third tier nations the Canadians have had problems having these players available for important games. As a consequence Canada has slipped out of the top 10 rugby union nations, but has never-the-less provided top class players such as Dan Baugh, Rod Snow, Mike James, Colin Yukes, Dave Lougheed and Jamie Cudmore to teams in England, Wales and France. The Canadians qualified for the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia.

Canada qualified as Americas 1, finishing at the top of Round 4 Americas tournaments, winning five of their six fixtures to enter the 2003 World Cup in Australia, their fifth world cup in a row. Canada's sole win was a 24–7 result against Tonga as they lost their games against Italy, Wales and the All Blacks.

Since 2003 Canada has played host to the Churchill Cup, making the final in 2010 but losing to the England Saxons 38 to 18. In 2004 and 2005 they replaced China in the Super Powers Cup. For the 2004 Superpowers Cup, Canada was substituted for China. In 2005 the competition was renamed the Super Cup. Canada beat Japan 15–10 in the final.

In 2006 Canada completed the qualification process for the 2007 Rugby World Cup. They were in a 3-team group also containing Barbados and the United States. Each played the other once. On June 24, 2006, Canada defeated Barbados 71–3, in Bridgetown, their largest ever win. Canada achieved a record win over the USA in the match at Newfoundland on August 12, 2006, defeating the USA 56–7 in front of a capacity crowd, player James Pritchard scored a national record 36 points with three tries, six conversions and three penalties in the match, beating the record of 29 he had set against Barbados in their previous match. The win assured Canada of a place in the 2007 World Cup as Americas 2 in Pool B. Also that year, a Canadian team won the NA4 and the national team beat the US earlier in the Churchill Cup.

2007 World Cup

Further information: 2007 Rugby World Cup

Canada take on Wales during the 2007 World Cup

Going into the World Cup Canada were ranked as severe outsiders, and given odds of 5000/1 to win the tournament. Pool B also contained Australia, Fiji, Japan and Wales. In their opening match in Nantes on 9 September the Canadians lost 42–17 to Wales. They followed this with a 29–16 loss to Fiji, whom they had needed to beat to have realistic hopes of progressing to the Quarter Finals. They drew 12–12 with Japan in Bordeaux, conceding an injury-time try by Koji Taira. In their final game they lost 37–6 to an Australian side consisting mostly of second-string players. It meant they finished bottom of Pool B, and returned home from a World Cup without winning a single game for the first time ever.

In Autumn 2008 the Canadians toured Europe, beating Portugal in their opening match, but suffering heavy defeats in their subsequent games in Ireland, Wales and Scotland. In 2009 the Canadians will host a tour by the Welsh and Irish.

2011 World Cup

Main article: 2011 Rugby World Cup

Canada beat the United States in a two-legged playoff game in July 2009 to qualify for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. They will enter the tournament as Americas 1. Canada began its World Cup preparations well, by finishing runner-up in the 2011 Churchill Cup for the second year in a row, losing 37–6 in the final to the England Saxons (England's second-string side).

This good form carried on in a two-legged home and away series of warm-up matches against the USA Eagles. In the first home leg played on August 6 at the BMO Stadium, Canada secured a 28–22 victory in front a record 10,621 fans. In the second away leg played on August 13 at Colorado, Canada won 27–7. Their warm-up schedule continued with a match against the Australian Barbarians on August 26, featuring several of Australia's World Cup squad including Berrick Barnes, Drew Mitchell and Rob Horne. Despite a strong performance, particularly by the Canadian pack, the Barbarians claimed a comfortable 38–14 victory. The Canadians played their final warm-up game on August 30, beating a representative Queensland Reds side (the current Super 15 champions) 33–14.

The Canadians began their World Cup campaign on September 14 against Tonga, winning the match 25–20. They followed this up with a 46-19 loss to France on September 18th. The Canadian side played well given that they had only a 4 day turn-around after their first match (compared to their opponents who had twice as long), but eventually let the game slip out of their reach within the final 20 minutes. They produced a repeat result of 2007, by playing to a 23-23 draw against Japan. Their World Cup campaign concluded with a 79-15 loss against the All Blacks. Tonga's shock upset against France on the final weekend meant that Canada finished fourth in their pool, narrowly missing out on automatic qualification for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Stadium

The national team currently does not have a permanent home stadium and as such play their matches at various locations across Canada. BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario has been proposed as the national team's home stadium, even though it cannot provide a suitable rugby climate year-round. However, rumours have the national team playing out of the proposed Whitecaps Waterfront Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia if it is constructed.^{[citation needed]} This would place the national rugby stadium in the country's main rugby stronghold of British Columbia, and in a city whose winter climate is considerably milder than that of most of the rest of Canada.

In August 2011 it was announced that the national team would have a permanent training centre located in Langford, British Columbia.

Record

World Cup

Main article: Canada at the Rugby World Cup

• 1987 – Pool stage
• 1991 – Quarter-finals
• 1995 – Pool stage
• 1999 – Pool stage
• 2003 – Pool stage
• 2007 – Pool stage
• 2011 – Pool stage

Overall

IRB World Rankings
Top 25 Rankings as of 23 January 2012
Rank	Change*	Team	Points
1		New Zealand	91.43
2		Australia	87.99
3		France	84.70
4		South Africa	84.34
5		England	81.58
6		Ireland	80.65
7		Argentina	80.28
8		Wales	79.61
9		Tonga	76.63
10		Scotland	76.20
11		Samoa	75.81
12		Italy	73.99
13		Canada	72.92
14		Georgia	71.09
15		Japan	70.45
16		Fiji	68.78
17		United States	65.63
18		Romania	63.98
19		Namibia	61.24
20		Russia	60.54
21		Uruguay	60.47
22		Spain	60.33
23		Chile	59.52
24		Portugal	59.30
25		Belgium	57.02
*Change from the previous week
Canada's Historical Rankings
Source: IRB - Graph updated to 23/01/2012

Updated to Sept 14, 2011.

Against	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Win percentage
Argentina	9	3	6	0	33.3%
Australia	6	0	6	0	0%
Barbados	1	1	0	0	100%
Barbarians*	2	0	1	1	0%
Belgium	1	1	0	0	100%
British and Irish Lions*	1	0	1	0	0%
Chile	2	2	0	0	100%
England	6	0	6	0	0%
England U23*	2	0	2	0	0%
England XV*	9	1	8	0	11.1%
Fiji	8	2	6	0	25%
France	8	1	7	0	12.5%
France XV*	2	0	2	0	0%
Georgia	2	1	1	0	50%
Hong Kong	6	5	1	0	83.3%
Ireland	5	0	4	1	0%
Ireland XV*	1	0	1	0	0%
Italy	6	2	4	0	33.3%
Japan	21	8	11	2	38.0%
Namibia	1	1	0	0	100%
New Zealand	5	0	5	0	0%
New Zealand XV*	1	0	1	0	0%
New Zealand Māori*	2	0	2	0	0%
Portugal	3	3	0	0	100%
Romania	3	2	1	0	66.7%
Russia	2	2	0	0	100%
Samoa	2	0	2	0	0%
Scotland	4	1	3	0	25%
Scotland XV*	1	1	0	0	100%
South Africa	2	0	2	0	0%
Spain	1	1	0	0	100%
Tonga	6	4	2	0	66.6%
United States	47	34	12	1	72.3%
Uruguay	8	7	1	0	87.5%
Wales	12	1	11	0	8.3%
Wales U23*	1	0	1	0	0%
Wales XV*	3	0	3	0	0%
Total	202	84	113	5	41.5%

*Note: Canada has awarded international caps for several games against national XV selections, B national teams, and Under 23 teams.

Players

Current squad

Canada's 30-man squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Head Coach: Kieran Crowley
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by the International Rugby Board.

Player Position Date of Birth (Age) Caps Club/province Ryan Hamilton Hooker 9 April 1988 (aged 23) 4 BC Bears Pat Riordan (c) Hooker 30 September 1979 (aged 31) 39 BC Bears Hubert Buydens Prop 4 January 1982 (aged 29) 6 Prairie Wolf Pack Scott Franklin Prop 23 August 1980 (aged 31) 8 Prairie Wolf Pack Jason Marshall Prop 5 February 1985 (aged 26) 8 Stade Aurillac Andrew Tiedemann Prop 21 July 1988 (aged 23) 10 Prairie Wolf Pack Frank Walsh Prop 5 September 1976 (aged 35) 4 The Rock Jamie Cudmore Lock 6 September 1978 (aged 33) 23 Clermont Auvergne Brian Erichsen Lock 18 August 1977 (aged 34) 5 BC Bears Tyler Hotson Lock 30 May 1985 (aged 26) 20 Plymouth Albion Nanyak Dala Flanker 18 June 1984 (aged 27) 11 Prairie Wolf Pack Adam Kleeberger Flanker 2 March 1984 (aged 27) 31 London Scottish Chauncey O'Toole Flanker 22 February 1986 (aged 25) 13 Ospreys Jebb Sinclair Flanker 8 April 1986 (aged 25) 17 London Irish Aaron Carpenter Number 8 9 January 1983 (aged 28) 38 Plymouth Albion Jeremy Kyne Number 8 2 May 1983 (aged 28) 1 Prairie Wolf Pack Ed Fairhurst Scrum-half 7 May 1979 (aged 32) 51 BC Bears Jamie Mackenzie Scrum-half 28 February 1989 (aged 22) 3 Esher Sean White Scrum-half 28 June 1988 (aged 23) 10 BC Bears Nathan Hirayama Fly-half 23 March 1988 (aged 23) 7 BC Bears Ander Monro (vc) Fly-half 6 September 1981 (aged 30) 26 Ontario Blues Mike Scholz Centre 6 August 1988 (aged 23) 4 Ontario Blues Ryan Smith Centre 13 September 1979 (aged 31) 47 Prairie Wolf Pack Conor Trainor Centre 12 May 1989 (aged 22) 1 BC Bears DTH van der Merwe Centre 28 April 1986 (aged 25) 17 Glasgow Warriors Ciaran Hearn Wing 30 December 1985 (aged 25) 17 The Rock Phil Mackenzie Wing 25 February 1987 (aged 24) 9 Esher Taylor Paris Wing 6 October 1992 (aged 18) 3 Ontario Blues Matt Evans Fullback 2 January 1988 (aged 23) 12 Cornish Pirates James Pritchard Fullback 21 July 1979 (aged 32) 39 Bedford Blues

Notable former players

Dan Baugh Jared Barker Mark Cardinal Al Charron Glen Ennis Norm Hadley Mike James Dave Lougheed

Gord MacKinnon Mike Pyke Gareth Rees Bobby Ross Rod Snow Winston Stanley Christian Stewart Karl Svoboda

John Tait Jon Thiel Kevin Tkachuk Morgan Williams Nik Witkowski Mark Wyatt Colin Yukes

Individual records

Most selections: Al Charron – 76 Winston Stanley – 66 Scott Stewart – 64

Most tries: Winston Stanley – 24 Morgan Williams – 13 James Pritchard & DTH van der Merwe – 12

Most points: Gareth Rees – 487 Bobby Ross – 419 James Pritchard – 400

Recent results

Date	Tournament	Location	Venue	Home Team	Score	Away Team
October 2, 2011	Rugby World Cup	Wellington, New Zealand	Westpac Stadium	New Zealand	79–15	Canada
September 27, 2011	Rugby World Cup	Napier, New Zealand	McLean Park	Canada	23–23	Japan
September 18, 2011	Rugby World Cup	Napier, New Zealand	McLean Park	France	46–19	Canada
September 14, 2011	Rugby World Cup	Whangarei, New Zealand	Okara Park	Tonga	20–25	Canada
August 26, 2011	Exhibition	Gold Coast, Australia	Skilled Park	Australian Barbarians	38–14	Canada
August 13, 2011	Friendly	Glendale, USA	Infinity Park	United States	7–27	Canada
August 6, 2011	Friendly	Toronto, Canada	BMO Field	Canada	28–22	United States
June 18, 2011	2011 Churchill Cup	Worcester, England	Sixways Stadium	England Saxons	37–6	Canada
June 8, 2011	2011 Churchill Cup	Esher, England	Molesey Road	Russia	18–34	Canada
June 4, 2011	2011 Churchill Cup	Northampton, England	Franklin's Gardens	Italy A	12–26	Canada

- Green background indicates a win. Red background indicates a loss. Yellow background indicates a draw.

See also

• List of Canada national rugby union team test matches
• Rugby union in Canada
• Rugby Canada
• Super Powers Cup
• Churchill Cup
• Rugby Canada Super League
• Canada national rugby union team (sevens)
• Canadian football

External links

• Rugby Canada's Home Page
• Canadian rugby union news from Planet Rugby
• Canadian rugby world cup news from theRugbyWorldCup.co.uk
• World Cup Preview