ROSTER ANNOUNCED FOR NOVEMBER TOUR IN THE UK

Friday, October 26, 2012

Soon after hosting the successful 2012 IRB Americas Championship, Canada will be on the road in Wales and England for three exciting fixtures as part of the inaugural IRB International Rugby Series.

National Senior Men’s Team Head Coach Kieran Crowley is pleased to announce his squad for the forthcoming tour to the UK.

Based initially in North Wales, Canada will play Samoa on Friday 9 November and Russia on Saturday 17 November at Parc Eirias, Colwyn Bay. They then travel to Oxford, where they will take on the NZ Maori on Friday 23 November at Iffley Road, home of Oxford University RFC.

The fixtures at Parc Eirias will be the first senior rugby internationals held at the stadium, which is the home of RGC1404, the regional team of North Wales. The IRB International Series at Colwyn Bay kicks off on Friday 9 November with USA v Russia, followed immediately by Canada’s game against Samoa. Saturday 17 November has another double-header, with Canada’s game against Russia following Tonga v USA.

The Maori All Blacks fixture will be the first meeting of these sides since the NZ Maori toured Canada for two fixtures in 2003. James Pritchard is the only member of the touring squad who remains from those fixtures.

“We are looking forward to the tour and feel we have three very good games lined up,” said Kieran Crowley, Head Coach of the National Senior Men’s Team.  “Samoa is going to be a tough challenge as always, being ranked 10th in the world, and Russia is an always improving program.  The NZ Maori will be a big test for our team, as they are a team that has a proud record of results.”

This will be Canada’s first fixtures in the UK since the 2008 tour to Ireland, Wales and Scotland.

The squad includes several players who play their club rugby in Europe, including three with Premiership experience. Nanyak Dala, John Moonlight, Phil Mack, Jeff Hassler, Harry Jones, Ciaran Hearn, and Chauncey O’Toole, who represented Canada at the IRB Gold Coast Sevens in October, are also included in the roster.

Domestically, five members of Canadian Rugby Championship’s (CRC) Pacific Tyee are included in the squad, with four each from CRC champion Ontario Blues and Prairie Wolf Pack. The Rock are represented by two players.

The full touring roster is as follows –
Name (Club/CRC Club) Hometown
Tyler Ardron (Brantford Harlequins/Ontario Blues) Lakefield, ON
Ray Barkwill (Niagara, Oakville Crusaders/Ontario Blues) Niagara Falls, ON
Nick Blevins (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
Connor Braid (James Bay AA/Pacific Tyee) Victoria, BC
Brett Beukeboom (Plymouth Albion RFC) Lindsay, ON
Hubert Buydens (Saskatoon Wild Oats/Prairie Wolf Pack) Saskatoon, SK
Aaron Carpenter (Plymouth Albion RFC) Brantford, ON
Nanyak Dala (Castaway Wanderers/Prairie Wolf Pack) Saskatoon, SK
Matt Evans (Cornish Pirates) Duncan, BC
Ryan Hamilton (Capilano/Pacific Tyee) West Vancouver, BC
Jeff Hassler (Okotoks RFC/Prairie Wolf Pack) Okotoks, AB
Ciaran Hearn (Castaway Wanderers/The Rock) Conception Bay, NL
Tyler Hotson  (London Scottish RFC) Vancouver, BC
Harry Jones (Capilano/ Pacific Tyee) North Vancouver, BC
Phil Mack (UVic Vikes/Pacific Tyee) Victoria, BC
Phil Mackenzie (London Welsh) Oakville, ON
Jason Marshall (Aurillac) North Vancouver, BC
John Moonlight (James Bay AA/Ontario Blues) Pickering, ON
Chauncey O’Toole (Brigand Ravens) Belleisle, NB
Taylor Paris (Glasgow Warriors) Barrie, ON
Jon Phelan (Ste-Anne-de-Bellvue/The Rock) Montreal, QC
James Pritchard (Bedford Blues) Parkes, NSW, Australia
Jebb Sinclar (London Irish) Charters Settlement, NB
Andrew Tiedemann (FC Auch Gers) St. Albert, AB
Sean White (James Bay AA/Pacific Tyee) Victoria, BC
Doug Wooldridge (Lindsay RFC/Ontario Blues) Lindsay, ON

Fixtures –
Friday 9 Nov (Parc Eirias, Colwyn Bay)
Canada v Samoa
Kick off at 8:15pm local

Saturday 17 Nov (Parc Eirias, Colwyn Bay)
Canada v Russia
Kick off at 8:15pm local

Friday 23 Nov (Iffley Road, Oxford)
NZ Maori
Kick off at 7:30pm local

Rugby Canada supporters can follow the games online, with live Twitter updates during each game (@RugbyCanada) as well as updates on Facebook. Full match reports will follow on www.rugbycanada.ca, with tour news updates also being filed while the team are in the UK.