Canada vs. USA, RWC warm up home and away series.

[LittleGuy]

Mike Hercus is not retired, he's only 32 and still fit playing in Australia for Gordon RFC. I found that it was just the coach's decision to omit him from the squad, which could backfire dramatically.

Based on the preliminary squad O'Sullivan has selected, here are my XV to try out for tonight's match. They need to play Troy Hall at fly-half tonight to see how he fairs otherwise they may as well just leave him out of the RWC squad.

15 Chris Wyles
14 Takudzwa Ngwenya
13 Junior Sifa
12 Tai Enosa
11 James Paterson
10 Troy Hall
9 Tim Usasz
8 Nicholas Johnson
7 Louis Stanfill
6 Todd Clever (c)
5 Scott LaValla
4 Hayden Smith
3 Shawn Pittman
2 Chris Biller
1 Eric Fry

Wow that is a brutal decision, I meant to write that Hercus had "retired from international rugby" but I was wrong on that account as well, I have no idea what Eddie O is thinking with that omission.

Edit: Deleted my old post don't want anyone getting confused as to Hercus' status.

As for tonights game, I think the States are still going to miss Wyles and Paterson as well, I guess their fitness is crucial perhaps we will see them in the Japan game next week. I'd say Canada's lineup is a little weaker this time round mainly due to White coming in for Fairhurst, Evans is well covered but will be missed to a degree.

I can't imagine Canada's lineout being as poor as it was last week, as well they shouldn't concede nearly as many penalties after getting over aggressive in Toronto. If they can weather what should be an aggresive early American attack, I feel Canada should be strong enough to win. Pritchard is also a much better goal kicker than anyone the Eagles have and this could be a critical advantage to Canada as it was last week.

Canada by 5

 

[M Two One]

Hey guys, be sure to get your questions in for Takudzwa Ngwenya by Saturday the 20th.

You can ask questions by clicking here.

Pritchard is also a much better goal kicker than anyone the Eagles have and this could be a critical advantage to Canada as it was last week.

Actually, Malifa is a solid goal kicker, but as I mentioned in the USA RWC preview I think he's feeling the pressure to replace Hercus. He's inexperienced at club level professionally and may suffer until he gains confidence. Having a confident Sevens player like Troy Hall at fly-half might be worth a try tonight to see how things go.

 

[Wilkinson]

First post! What's everyone think of Taylor Paris? Also, is there gonna be a link to the game on here tonight?

 

[CDN_Rugby]

First post! What's everyone think of Taylor Paris? Also, is there gonna be a link to the game on here tonight?

Not sure if there will be a link, but the game is on TSN2. And Taylor Paris is gonna be a good one in the future; I don't think its a stretch to say that he's better than DTH at 18.

Ahh, if only we still had Mike Pyke around... imagine that backline!

 

[M Two One]

I'll try to find a link later on.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

No links to streams on the site please, can get everyone in a world of **** with copyrights being broken etc.

 

[LittleGuy]

Hearn misses a very long attempt

Great try from Van De Merwe 7-0 Canada,

Malifa still can't hit the broadside of the barn...

Another miss from the same spot, he's possibly the worst goalkicker I have ever seen

Pritch nails one, 10-0 Canada

Eagles putting some nice phases together, Usasz loooks good, Malifa really letting them down right now

Yellow Card for Cudmore, playing the man without the ball

Yellow card for Chauncey O'Toole Canada down to 13 men for about 7 minutes

"The God" was just mentioned, also Canadians work hard apparently...

Cudmore back in, US can't make that final burst through Canada's defense, Clive Griffiths needs a medal, great addition to Canada's coaching staff

Chauncey O'Toole back on unbelieveable the US didn't score with those advantages.

Going to the TMO, looks like a try for the States. Nice grubber by Malifa, It is a try 10-5 Canada

10-7 Malifa nails a sideline conversion...I almost choked on my beer

Pritch shanks one still 10-7....Half time. Ugly first half, Canada took advantage of their limited possession but discipline is terrible. Still defence was great, United States put some nice phases together but should be leading this game by quite a bit. Great half time finish, Ti-Cats beat the Argos, 37-32 Osk Eee Wee Wee

Erichsen on as a blood sub for Sinclair...Again going to the TMO for a states try..Pritchard may have held up Stanfield and prevented the score...No Try, Pritchard great effort

Riordan needs to get his line outs fixed

Yellow Card for Biller, professional foul...Pritch hits the easy penalty 13-7 Canada

Smith on for Scholz, Canadian lineout is still awful...Sean White with a nice break but should have offloaded to Pritchard

Great break by Emerick, Clever was given no support Canada counterattacks and despite Ngenwya's fantastic defence Carpenter scores a try..Pritch converts 20-7 Canada

Hamilton on for Riordan not Pat's best game, his lineout throws the last two games have been brutal...Both sides making mulitple changes now

Great vision by DTH!!! Chip kick to Mackenzie for the try!!! Easy conversion for Pritch, 27-7 Canada

Eagles not gving up showing some real grit and heart... but Canadian defence is holding...A converted try for the Eagles would affect the world ranking points

Pritch steals the ball and runs it in to touch game over 27-7 for Canada is your final score

 

[Boltman]

Great try from Van De Merwe 7-0 Canada,

Malifa still can't hit the broadside of the barn...

Another miss from the same spot, he's possibly the worst goalkicker I have ever seen

Pritch nails one, 10-0 Canada

I swear man, they are stupid for starting him again. Dude is horrible at goal kicking.

 

[Boltman]

Hey guys, be sure to get your questions in for Takudzwa Ngwenya by Saturday the 20th.

You can ask questions by clicking here.



Actually, Malifa is a solid goal kicker, but as I mentioned in the USA RWC preview I think he's feeling the pressure to replace Hercus. He's inexperienced at club level professionally and may suffer until he gains confidence. Having a confident Sevens player like Troy Hall at fly-half might be worth a try tonight to see how things go.

At the very least please, this.

 

[M Two One]

Malifa struggled again through most of the first half with two missed penalties that should have been easy points. I have seen him play so much better than that. He shown some signs of his technical ability setting up that nice late try, but I know he's a good kicker too. He needs to play confidently. I still think they should have given Troy Hall an opportunity at fly-half for this match, but sadly he's not even on the bench.

 

[jb12780]

We can't finish. When we get inside 5 meters, we just simply cannot score.

 

[LittleGuy]

We can't finish. When we get inside 5 meters, we just simply cannot score.

I really think Hercus is needed, the missed penalties were massive as well Mike can pop over those drop goals when the ball slows down and points are still on offer. I also think Pritchards try saving tackle was game changing.

 

[CDN_Rugby]

Well, that wasn't pretty...

Slight improvement by Canada but the form we showed in the Churchill Cup is still lacking. Gotta play a lot better if we want to finish third in the pool.

Things that I think
- DTH was the best player on the pitch today
- Malifa is the worst kicker in international rugby. I'm really looking forward to seeing how they fare against Japan next week, it should be a good barometre of where Canada is compared to the Japanese.
- Canadian defence was immense. Glive Griffith's impact on this squad is apparent.
- Lineouts are still concerning. Depite only being on the paddock for ten minutes Hamilton probably played better than Riordan.
- White played well (and had a nice line break in the second half). If he can maintain that form I have no qualms about him coming on for "His Edness." Jamie Mackenzie looked good too.
- Again, the inclusion of Scholz was baffling and I think we need a better player linking Monro to DTH. Either put Evans or P. Mackenzie at 12.
- Scrums were good. Buydens and Marshall just keeps getting better and better.
- Todd Clever looks like tarzan.

 

[Canadian_Rugger]

- those two early kicks Malifa missed were easy points. The US had no answer for the Canadian defence, the fact they couldn't score with a 2 man advantage either says a lot about how good Canada's defence is or how poor the US are on the attack. Riordan's throwing has been way off past 2 games I don't know what the deal is but he better get it sorted. The US has some talented players, but their rugby sense was found a little lacking. They also have some glaring holes in their game... kicking being the biggest one both from ball in hand and off the tee. Canada; on the otherhand, can call upon Pritchard, Hearn, and Monro for solid kicking all around. Scholz was terrible again, he runs into contact standing completely upright and really has trouble making the gameline, Smith over him anyday.

 

[kovana]

Was there a capacity crowd?

 

[formerlyfastwing]

Line outs.....poor

Canada's win was a result of their ability to turn defence into attack.

 

[rusty_lock]

Really not the performance I wanted to see but when Riordan can't throw strait that really hurts. I thought the yellow to Cudmore was a little weak. Penalty, yes but card? I don't think so. He hadn't given Riordan any sort of team warning so I thought it was harsh. The scrum looked solid and that is definitely a positive and the backs, when they actually got some ball, looked dangerous. DTH is all class and a real speed merchent and P-Mac impresses me more and more all the time. Scholz... what can I say, I want to see Evans at 12 or Evans at 15, pritch at 11 and P-Mac at 12. I know some on this forum want Smith to start at 12 but his defense is suspect and I think that with him starting there teams will target him and that just puts more pressure on Munro. Pritch was on form again with the kicking and that is a huge benefit.

Japan will put 50 points on the US next week

 

[M Two One]

A shameful performance that shows Hercus is desperately needed to lead this side. Malifa just doesn't seem ready for the big time and the coach's decisions haven't been good so far. I'm starting to think I'd make a better coach for the team.

Was there a capacity crowd?

Yes, completely sold out.

 

[LittleGuy]

I think Evans might be used at Centre as well Rusty, I think many of us just wanted Smith in last night as he was the only viable option with Evans out. What can you say about Clive Griffiths coaching absolutely superb, to not concede any points with those disadvantages was spectacular. Monro is working really hard out there right now, I'm glad Crowley's faith in him has been rewarded by some outstanding performances by Ander. The scrum was acceptable but not as good as the last few games. I wonder what sorts of lineups we will see against the Barbarians and Reds in the coming weeks.

Canada will go up in the rankings by 2 to 14th, over inactive Georgia and ahead of Tonga who lost to Fiji, The United States will fall below Romania to 18th.

 

[CDN_Rugby]

Yeah, Evans or Mackenzie need to play 12. No faith in Smith, but even less in Scholz. And for anyone who is interested, here's a highlight package I found:



EDIT: Did anyone else think Cudmore's yellow card was harsh?