Canada smashes Chile 56:0 on cold night in Langford

Friday, February 22, 2019 ~ LANGFORD

by Mary P Brooke ~ West Shore Voice News

It was a cold night, but there was no wind, rain or snow for the Canada vs Chile Americas Rugby Championships game this evening February 22 at Westhills Stadium.

About 500 local fans showed up and cheered both teams, but the hometown energy was invigorating for the Rugby Canada 15s Senior Men team. There was a steady score accumulation right through the game to a final 56-0 win for Canada.

This was Canada’s first win in the 2019 Americas Rugby Championship (ARC). [See roster at the end of this page.]

This was Lucas Rumball’s third ARC game as team captain. The 23-year-old Rumball (#7) said the team got more of what they wanted in this game. “It was way more accurate. We played in the right areas of the park. I was really happy with the effort the boys put out today,” said Rumball on-field after the game.

“You want to build phases, you want to keep the ball moving as much as possible, as fast a possible, keeping that defense on the back foot,” Rumball told West Shore Voice News. “I was really happy to see that coming into the game today.”

Opening up the scoring was Kyle Baillie (#5) catching the inside ball to touch down for a try. Baillie was followed up by Kainoa Lloyd (#11) giving it a try, his first of three in the match—all scored within the first half.

After the game, 24-year-old Kainoa Lloyd, said Canada’s team had a lot of home field advantage. “Being here in front of our crowd, we always play well in Langford.” Talking about the value of training: “The boys just came together after the two weeks and really focussed in. We were playing really well. We played a lot of defense and executed our game plan offence,” Lloyd told West Shore Voice News on-field.

“Chile put us through a lot of phases, and we were really composed about it,” said Lloyd. “We kept our composure and we were able to keep them off the goal line no matter what.” He explained the team didn’t try anything “too risky” by sticking to a structure.

Ciaran Hearn (#12) was good for all conversions in the first and added a penalty to put Canada up 31-0 at the break.

Canada got off to a flying start in the second half, capitalizing off Chile’s error at kick off which lead to a try by Pat Parfey (#10).

At the 52nd minute, winger Andrew Coe (#14) received a great ball from Gordon McRorie (#22) —who subbed into the game for Hearn—to add on another try for Canada. Coe followed that up shortly after with his second try of the match after several dominate Canadian phases.

With a McRorie penalty kick, Canada finished the game victorious 56-0.

Hearn’s impressive kicking came in a milestone match, as he won his 66th cap and is now tied for third most capped player in Canadian rugby history.

With his strong second half effort, Coe was awarded HSBC Canada’s Sevens Man of the Match.

Canada has two matches left in the ARC, against Argentina XV (March 1) and USA (March 8).

Argentina XV currently lead the standings in the ARC and will travel to Langford, BC for their match next week. Tickets are still on sale and can be purchased at https://rugby.ca/en/tickets .

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• Playing even if it snows (pre-game February 22, including roster)
• Article: Canada/Chile team captains this week (February 20)
• February 22 and March 1 games will be broadcast live at 7 pm PT on TSN 5. The game in Seattle on March 8 will be streamed live on www.tsn.ca/TSNApp
  with a tape delay to 8pm PT on TSN 2.
• Canada Roster for February 22 at Westhills Stadium, Canada vs Chile:

1. Hubert Buydens – (NOLA Gold) Saskatoon, SK
2. Eric Howard – (NOLA Gold) Ottawa, ON
3. Cole Keith – (Toronto Arrows) Sussex, NB
4. Mike Sheppard – (Toronto Arrows) Brampton, ON
5. Kyle Baillie – (NOLA Gold) Summerside, PEI
6. Justin Blanchet – (Bedford Blues) Montreal, QC
7. Lucas Rumball – Captain (Toronto Arrows) Mississauga, ON
8. Dustin Dobravsky – (Castaway Wanderers) Hanover, Germany
9. Jamie Mackenzie – (Toronto Arrows) Oakville, ON
10. Pat Parfrey – (Unattached) St. John’s, NL
11. Kainoa Lloyd – (Toronto Arrows) Mississauga, ON
12. Ciaran Hearn – (London Irish) Conception Bay South, NL
13. Nick Blevins – (Calgary Hornets) Calgary, AB
14. Andrew Coe – (Markham Irish) Toronto, ON
15. Theo Sauder – (Toronto Arrows) Vancouver, BC
16. Benoit Piffero – (Blagnac Sporting Club) Montreal, QC
17. Noah Barker – (Glendale Raptors) Courtenay, BC
18. Ryan Kotlewski – (Westshore RFC) Calgary, AB
19. Conor Keys – (Rotherham Titans) Stittsville, ON
20. Nakai Penny – (Seattle Seawolves) Penticton, BC
21. Will Percillier – (Stade Francais) Mill Bay, BC
22. Gordon McRorie – (Calgary Hornets) Calgary, AB
23. Doug Fraser – (Austin Elite) Ladysmith, BC