2014 Canadian Rugby Championship and General Canadian Rugby Chat.

[canadafan]

I wonder if White was included as an emergency FH option as well, he actually plays there in CDI action. Mackenzie had a dreadful ARC so he's incredibly lucky to be there. I'm also taking a guess some of these 33 will only see action in the RFU Championship game, and I could see Cudmore only turning out for Samoa(and maybe Romania) while our other Tier 1 pro's only float in when the Namibia game preparations begin.

He better not have been.

Yeah, I do think some of those guys are their for the Championship game, but that is also a chance for them to go pros.

Also:

Ontario Blues Squad to face Edinburgh Rugby 'A' – Name (Club)

Matt Alexander (Oshawa Vikings)
Ray Barkwill (Niagara Wasps)*
Rob Brouwer (Lindsay RFC)
Joshua Campbell (London St. George's)
Paul Ciulini (Aurora Barbarians)^
Alistair Clark (Bay Street RFC)
Andrew Ferguson (Oakville Crusaders)
Dillon Goos (London St. George's)^
Jesse Lofthouse (Markham Irish)
Jamie Mackenzie (Oakville Crusaders)*
Dan Mathie (Oakville Crusaders)
Hank McQueen (Balmy Beach)
Seb Pearson (London St. George's)*
Judson Rowbotham (Lindsay RFC)
Lucas Rumball (Balmy Beach)^
Mitchell Santilli (Brantford Harlequins)^
John Shaw (Bytown Blues)^
Michael Sheppard (Stoney Creek)
Jordan Wilson-Ross (Barrie RFC)*
Shawn Windsor (Stoney Creek)
Doug Wooldridge (Lindsay RFC)*
David Worsley (Markham Irish)

 

[Beerfalo]

Hookers: Ray Barkwill, Aaron Carpenter, Ryan Hamilton
Props: Hubert Buydens, Jake Ilnicki, Jason Marshall, Andrew Tiedemann, Doug Wooldridge
Locks: Brett Beukeboom, Jamie Cudmore, Tyler Hotson, Jon Phelan
Backrow: Tyler Ardron, Nanyak Dala, Kyle Gilmour, John Moonlight, Seb Pearson, Jebb Sinclair, Richard Thorpe
Scrum-Half: Jamie Mackenzie, Gordie McRorie, Sean White
Fly-Half: Patrick Parfrey
Wing: Sean Duke, Jeff Hassler, Taylor Paris
Utility Back: Jordan Wilson-Ross, Conor Trainor
Center: Nick Blevins, Connor Braid, Ciaran Hearn, DTH van der Merwe
Fullback: James Pritchard

Some thoughts of mine:

I have a bad feeling Crowley might roll with Jamie Mackenzie and Sean White at Scrum-Half while starting Gordie at Fly-Half again, despite it not working during the ARC. It might not be bad if it was Mack at Scrum-Half but yah. I really don't feel comfortable with Parfrey at Fly-Half though I feel equally uncomfortable with White or JMac at SH. Maybe they do move Braid to Fly-Half and Parfrey joins the Center depth.

I'm disappointed that Evans is hurt but Hearn should be able to fill in at Fullback if Pritchard needs to come out. It does suck though as Evans is the heir apparent for Pritchard but he hasn't played for us this year.

I'm glad Wilson-Ross is getting a shot but he's probably here only for the RFU Championship XV and maybe Namibia games. Our backs are too deep for him to play against Samoa and Romania unless our starters get called back to their clubs or get injured.

Who is Richard Thorpe and why is a 30 year old Brit getting into our squad over a young and extremely talented forward like Evan Olmstead who was one of the few exceptionally bright spots at the ARC and had a hell of a CRC campaign. I am incredibly displeased with the exclusion of Olmstead.

For the rest of the Backrow, I wonder what Crowley will do. Ardron and Pearson will get the rolls of 8-Man for sure. I wonder how they'll split time between Sinclair, Moonlight, Dala and Gilmour.

The rest of the team isn't that surprising and pretty much what I expected. I wish Phil Mackenzie, Matt Evans, Phil Mack and Liam Underwood were healthy and on the team. I wish Scholz was healthy as well but think he should probably stick to 7s now. Harry Jones is another player who should only play 7s from now on but with how weak we are at Fly-Half Jones should be getting high levels of play at 15s cause he'll most likely be getting playing at the RWC.

Looking at the squad I'm going to guess the roster for the Championship XV game will look like this:
1) Hubert Buydens
2) Ray Barkwill
3) Jason Marshall
4) Tyler Hotson
5) Jon Phelan
6) Kyle Gilmour
7) John Moonlight
8) Seb Pearson
9) Gordie McRorie
10) Connor Braid
11) Jordan Wilson-Ross
12) Nick Blevins
13) Ciaran Hearn
14) Sean Duke
15) James Pritchard

16) Jake Ilnicki
17) Ryan Hamilton
18) Doug Wooldridge
19) Brett Beukeboom
20) Nanyak Dala
21) Jamie Mackenzie
22) Conor Trainor
23) Patrick Parfrey

 

[LittleGuy]

Thorpe is a backrower as well, not really sure how he fits in with all the others back there, I think he usually plays #8 but can play on the flanks as required. Not sure how he qualifies with us, possibly a Canadian grandparent from World War 2?

Is it possible Olmstead had school/work commitments? Rugby Canada hasn't been as forthcoming about those kinds of absenses lately.

Looks like they want to keep Carpenter at HK, I'd like to see him start and Barkwill come on for impact in the final twenty to half an hour. Hamilton looked poor at the ARC, and with Canada playing in England and France I was actually half wondering whether Piffero would be picked.

 

[canadafan]

If it means anything, and it is kind of curious, Thorpe played at 7 for the London Welsh today.

 

[LittleGuy]

He used to play for London Irish as well so he's done his tour of the Not-Not sides in the Aviva. Think he's an allright player just kind of out of the blue selection considering his age and eligibility.

 

[canadafan]

Yeah, it is strange to bring him in at this time. If he plays well though, and allows us to field a complete pro pack, it could be good for us. TBH, it is all about winning 3 games next WC and if he helps us do that, I am fine with it.

Edit:

I will reserve judgment on his inclusion until after I see him play.

 

[LittleGuy]

Seeing that Blues roster for facing Edinburgh makes some of these selections a little more clear, Mackenzie and Pearson have likely made the side based on being in the UK anyway, they might be a couple of those players that only turn out for the RFU game.

 

[Beerfalo]

Looks like they want to keep Carpenter at HK, I'd like to see him start and Barkwill come on for impact in the final twenty to half an hour. Hamilton looked poor at the ARC, and with Canada playing in England and France I was actually half wondering whether Piffero would be picked.

Why wouldn't they want to keep Carpenter at Hooker? He didn't look out of place there last June and has been playing their with Cornish Pirates. I agree that I definitely want him to start and then I guess Barkwill backing him up to be a final 20 minute sub to try and fight off the 60 minute fade. As for Piffero he's probably busy doing his cool space job(I forget what he does) and couldn't get time off. Hamilton did look bad and I'm betting he only reserves for the Championship XV game. He needs to show a lot more if he wants to go to England next year.

Edit: Also who would you guys have chosen over JMac and Seb? Phil Mack is hurt and we're not that deep at 9. I would have liked Jake Robinson from the Wolf Pack or Andrew Ferguson from the Blues but they are probably busy. I especially would have liked Ferguson to back up Gordie but he is a student and though he's going with the Blues to Scotland I doubt he can stay longer than that. As for Seb, well we do need an 8-Man for the Championship XV game and it was really only between him and Cejvanovic so I don't hate it to much. I really like Cejvanovic and think he has a good future but he's probably hurting and I wouldn't be shocked if he's leaning more towards Dubai 7s so he probably doesn't want to push it.

 

[LittleGuy]

Carps dosen't really like playing Hooker is the main issue with him there, he's said on twitter a couple of times that he prefers to play #8 but if it keeps his spot in pro and international rugby I guess he has to play the role that will extend his career. I wouldn't be shocked to see him slip to #8 if someone gets hurt and they want Barkwill on. (Yeah I think Piffero is in Aerospace if I remember correctly)

That's a good assesment of the Pearson and Mackenzie selections and to be frank I'd entirely overlooked their presence on the Blues tour when I made the initial remarks about their selections, they'll likely only play in the RFU game barring injuries anyway and hey are over in the UK to begin with and it saves flying over someone extra who likely would have only seen a few minutes of action anyway.

Someone else I missed was Dolezel, he played well in the CRC and ARC, but missed the game against the Jaguars and now this tour, did he take a knock(or busy with work)? The all Blues front row was performing very well and could have been an effective late game combination off the bench.

On an aside Namibia have chosen a pretty solid squad for the Canadian game, even Burger is returning to their side, so while we might not need Cudmore or the complete 100% lineup on hand I think we should treat that game with some seriousness as Namibia have a starting XV that aren't too bad, it's mainly depth they lack beyond a few initial decent players.

Romania's team is strong up front but mediocre at best in the backs. Hopefully we play 10x smarter against them this time round versus last year. That being said they'll have the home crowd behind them and it will be our only game in hostile territory(unless English rugby fans get passionate about the RFU XV :lol: ) they've shown they can beat us at home so another opponent that should be a test of our abilities especially at set pieces.

Have no idea how Samoa will approach our game versus them, they might field a slightly weaker lineup since it's kind of the "easy game" on their tour, that didn't help us at all last time as we played what was quite possibly the worst first half I've ever seen a Canadian team play.

 

[Kempistry]

Carps dosen't really like playing Hooker is the main issue with him there, he's said on twitter a couple of times that he prefers to play #8 but if it keeps his spot in pro and international rugby I guess he has to play the role that will extend his career. I wouldn't be shocked to see him slip to #8 if someone gets hurt and they want Barkwill on. (Yeah I think Piffero is in Aerospace if I remember correctly)

That's a good assesment of the Pearson and Mackenzie selections and to be frank I'd entirely overlooked their presence on the Blues tour when I made the initial remarks about their selections, they'll likely only play in the RFU game barring injuries anyway and hey are over in the UK to begin with and it saves flying over someone extra who likely would have only seen a few minutes of action anyway.

Someone else I missed was Dolezel, he played well in the CRC and ARC, but missed the game against the Jaguars and now this tour, did he take a knock(or busy with work)? The all Blues front row was performing very well and could have been an effective late game combination off the bench.

On an aside Namibia have chosen a pretty solid squad for the Canadian game, even Burger is returning to their side, so while we might not need Cudmore or the complete 100% lineup on hand I think we should treat that game with some seriousness as Namibia have a starting XV that aren't too bad, it's mainly depth they lack beyond a few initial decent players.

Romania's team is strong up front but mediocre at best in the backs. Hopefully we play 10x smarter against them this time round versus last year. That being said they'll have the home crowd behind them and it will be our only game in hostile territory(unless English rugby fans get passionate about the RFU XV :lol: ) they've shown they can beat us at home so another opponent that should be a test of our abilities especially at set pieces.

Have no idea how Samoa will approach our game versus them, they might field a slightly weaker lineup since it's kind of the "easy game" on their tour, that didn't help us at all last time as we played what was quite possibly the worst first half I've ever seen a Canadian team play.

For those more familiar with the GTA rugby scene why is it that the Blues don't have a ton of players from the top Marshall teams? You'd think that they would some of the best players if they were the best teams. Obviously it doesn't always work out neatly like that but still seems a bit curious.

 

[jonny24]

I noticed that myself Kemp. Lots of Championship players there. I don't have an answer for you though.

At the Scotland game this summer I was sitting in front of Carpenter's parents, and his dad told me basically the same thing as what LittleGuy said. The move to hook was the smart thing to do to further his career, not something he specifically wanted. I think it was the NSMT management that suggested the move.

 

[LittleGuy]

I noticed that myself Kemp. Lots of Championship players there. I don't have an answer for you though.

At the Scotland game this summer I was sitting in front of Carpenter's parents, and his dad told me basically the same thing as what LittleGuy said. The move to hook was the smart thing to do to further his career, not something he specifically wanted. I think it was the NSMT management that suggested the move.

If I recall he'd flirted with the position very early in his career(very similar to Seb Pearson in this regard) but moved on when it was apparent he was a much more dynamic though probably slightly undersized #8. The lack of Hooker's and depth oozing out of the backrow was probably why the NSMT suggested the move.

Let's face it their has been a lack of guys at Hooker for a long time now in Canadian rugby, Riordan brought intangibles but was an average player at best, Hamilton seems to get hurt constantly and now with his new career might not be that available(lawyer is generally a high hour's job) ditto for Piffero who migth be available for some emergency depth at most. Barkwill was overlooked for way too long and has only been given a chance as his career was winding down, he can be an effective spark player like Dala is in the backrow but won't pile on the minutes. No one else has stepped up either, guys like Govorchin et. al. haven't seized the bull by the horns when given the chance.

This could potentially be a real problem position after 2015 unless one of the young prospects pans out, Carpenter and Barkwill will likely be gone or on their way out after 2015, Hamilton and Piffero have decent jobs and can't be counted on as the next wave. This could be our next crisis position, which right now is reserved for the Fly Half role(does anyone have any dirt on Monro? Can we blackmail him back into the side?)

Edit: On an aside I really do think we've seen the complete last of Kleeberger and O'Toole. I think injuries in the former case just devastated him as a player and the few times I saw him after 2012 he seemed a shadow of his former self. O'Toole's brief 7's comeback last year didn't seem to amount to much either. Dosen't help those two are both in positions where Canada has alternatives.

 

[canadafan]

The Wolf Pack have a couple of promising hookers coming up, the one from Manitoba I think will make the NSMT one day.

 

[Beerfalo]

So right now Manawatu(Buydens) and Hawke's Bay(Marshall) are facing off for promotion in the ITM Cup. And Buydens is getting testy(classic Canadian right haha) and was involved in some shoving with some Hawke's Bay players. Marshall gets Buydens to back away(looked like it to me) as the ref sorts the scuffle out and the announcers pipe it "Two Canadians have come together to discuss maple syrup and moose..." and I'm still having a good chuckle as it caught me off guard. The announcers keep mentioning Canada every couple minutes which is giving me a smile. They are also fans of the BC Bears and Prairie Wolf Pack names apparently. I'm really enjoying this match and hope we can get more Canadians into the ITM Cup(maybe even Super Rugby someday) for future years.

Hawke's Bay is leading Manawatu 14-6 at Half-Time.

Edit: Manawatu wins an exciting game 32-24 and gains promotion to the Premiership for next season, replacing Wellington. It was probably one of the most exciting games I've watched in a long while, though I'm not sure if my tastes are the consensus. First trophy for Manawatu in 34 years and Buydens got to be a part of their exciting season. I'm happy for him but also sad for Marshall. Hawke's Bay gave Marshall a path out of France and gave him some real playing time in a high level competition. To lose the Championship the way they did must have been gut wrenching for him to watch and I hope he gets a shot at redemption with them next year.

Also Jake Ilnicki and the NSW Eagles are playing Brisbane City in one of the semi-finals of the NRC. My phone has said he's been the starting Tighthead since he got down there so I can't wait to see how he does in November, as well as Buydens and Marshall. Hopefully the play of Ilnicki, Marshall and Buydens this year opens the door to more Canadians in Southern Hemisphere competitions.

 

[jonny24]

I watched that game too, great game and loved all the Canada shout outs.

One thing they mentioned was that Buydens is the oldest player for manawatu.

 

[LittleGuy]

 

[iINDOMINUSxx]

i saw people posted about Ontairo Blues squad to face Edinburgh 'A' so i decided to add the Edinburgh 'A' 23 man squad here.

15 Austin Lockington (Melrose)
14 Damien Hoyland
13 Chris Dean
12 Chris Auld *
11 Tom Brown
10 Ruairi Howarth *
9 Grayson Hart
1 Ewan McQuillin *
2 Jake Kerr *
3 Simon Berghan
4 Lewis Carmichael (Melrose) **
5 Jack Turley (Heriot's)
6 George Turner
7 Gary Graham (Gala)
8 Jason Hill (Heriot's)
Subs
16 David McGregor (Heriot's)
17 Rory Sutherland *
18 Callum Sheldon *
19 Callum Hunter-Hill (Stewart's Melville) **
20 Andrew Nagle (Melrose)
21 Alex Glashan *
22 Charlie Purdon (Boroughmuir)
23 Callum Anderson (Melrose)

Surprised to see Austin Lockington starting at 15 as he is mainly plays winger but still would be a danger for blues his steps are good, but overall a good young squad and looks like a good future for edinburgh in there.

 

[jonny24]

i saw people posted about Ontairo Blues squad to face Edinburgh 'A' so i decided to add the Edinburgh 'A' 23 man squad here.

15 Austin Lockington (Melrose)
14 Damien Hoyland
13 Chris Dean
12 Chris Auld *
11 Tom Brown
10 Ruairi Howarth *
9 Grayson Hart
1 Ewan McQuillin *
2 Jake Kerr *
3 Simon Berghan
4 Lewis Carmichael (Melrose) **
5 Jack Turley (Heriot's)
6 George Turner
7 Gary Graham (Gala)
8 Jason Hill (Heriot's)
Subs
16 David McGregor (Heriot's)
17 Rory Sutherland *
18 Callum Sheldon *
19 Callum Hunter-Hill (Stewart's Melville) **
20 Andrew Nagle (Melrose)
21 Alex Glashan *
22 Charlie Purdon (Boroughmuir)
23 Callum Anderson (Melrose)

Surprised to see Austin Lockington starting at 15 as he is mainly plays winger but still would be a danger for blues his steps are good, but overall a good young squad and looks like a good future for edinburgh in there.

Thanks @ImScotty. Did you happen to catch the game?

 

[iINDOMINUSxx]

its just started, 10 minutes in idk about scores, im try to find some somewhere.

 

[iINDOMINUSxx]

Edinburgh 7 - 0 Ontario blues try from Tom Brown converted by Grayson Hart