Canadian squad for Churchill Cup, His Edness included.

[LittleGuy]

The Squad

Forwards

Hookers
Pat Riordan. British Columbia/White Rock, BC
Ryan Hamilton. British Columbia/ Vancouver, BC

Props
Scott Franklin. Prairie Wolf Pack/Regina, SK
Hubert Buydens. Prairie Wolf Pack/Regina, SK
Andrew Tiedemann. Prairie Wolf Pack/St. Albert, AB
Jason Marshall. British Columbia/Vancouver, BC
Tom Dolezel. Prairie Wolf Pack/London, ON

Second Row
Tyler Hoston. Plymouth Albion/Vancouver, BC
Brian Erichsen. British Columbia/Vancouver, BC
Jamie Cudmore. Clermont Ferrand/Squamish, BC

Back Row
Sean Michael Stephen. Plymouth Albion/Oakville, ON
Jebb Sinclair. The Rock/Fredericton, NB
Nanyak Dala. Prairie Wolf Pack/Saskatoon, SK
Chauncey O'Toole. The Rock/Belle Isle, NB
Aaron Carpenter. Plymouth Albion/Brantford, ON

Backs

Scrum-halves
Sean White. British Columbia/Victoria, BC
Ed Fairhurst . British Columbia, Victoria, BC

Fly-halves
Nathan Hirayama. British Columbia/Richmond, BC
Ander Monro. Ontario Blues/Victoria, BC

Centres
Ryan Smith. Prairie Wolf Pack/Calgary, AB
Conor Trainor. British Columbia/Victoria, BC
Phil Mackenzie. Esher RFC/Oakville, ON

Wings
Justin Mensah-Coker. British Columbia/Vancouver, BC
Ciaran Hearn. The Rock/Conception Bay, NFLD

Fullbacks
James Pritchard. Bedford RFC/Parkes, Australia
Matt Evans. Newport Gwent Dragon/Duncan, BC

Injured/Unavailable
Adam Kleeberger (Inj) - flanker
DTH van der Merwe (Inj) - wing/centre
Taylor Paris (Inj) - wing
Stan McKeen (School) - flanker

Manager
Kieran Crowley

I'm not sure why Kevin Tkachuk wasn't named to the squad, I know he has announced his departure from Glasgow, but I had read he wanted to be in the national setup until at least after the RWC was over, perhaps he needed some rest and will return for the warm up matches in August. Van De Merwe will be missed as will Kleeberger and to a lesser extent McKeen, Paris is a great prospect who will have many more oppourtunities in the future.

Great to see Cudmore back it has been a while since he played for Canada and "he who needs not to be named" also included in the team, the backs look relatively solid, with Pritchard providing some excellent goalkicking and creativity. Ander Monro might also fill in for some kicking duties with big footed Ciaran Hearn availble for very long range attempts. Justin Mensah Coker is an attacking threat but his defence could use some help. At centre Ryan Smith and Phil Mackenzie are reliable, Conor Trainor is a hardworker and able replacement.

As for the forwards the back row has some power, with several players in top form in the RFU championship as well Chauncey O'Toole was breifly in the Magners League this past year as a cover player.

The 2nd row is where Cudmore will be present depending on how far Clermont goes in the Top 14 playoffs he may miss a game or two, Hoston is also a rising star and Brian Erichsen is a tough customer, should be ok here.

The front row is the problem area magnified by the missed presence of Tkachuk, this scrum could get shoved around a lot. Especially at Hooker depth is shockingly lacking, while Riordan is not a bad locker room presence and is popular guy with the team as Captain, he isn't a very good scrummager and his replacement Hamilton is just the guy who happens to be 2nd best. The Prop's aren't up to international standards either and Tkachuk I hope will be back in the set-up come September.

I think this is a pretty decent team by our standards, I would say Canada at about 85%, with DTH and Tkachuk sorely missed and Mckeen and Kleeberger probably also being in the RWC plans.

 

[TRF_Cymro]

All hail King Ed

 

[Feicarsinn]

Shame that. Thought it was going to be a good competition but it's a bit of a foregone conclusion now.

 

[lucky number 7]

Boom!

 

[Shaggy]

I guess that answers any questions about Ed's availability for the Rugby World cup as well ... I bet France will be regretting dropping Chabal when the two sides meet in Napier

On a serious note, hopefully Canada can go one better than last year, and win the Churchill cup

 

[LittleGuy]

I guess that answers any questions about Ed's availability for the Rugby World cup as well ... I bet France will be regretting dropping Chabal when the two sides meet in Napier

On a serious note, hopefully Canada can go one better than last year, and win the Churchill cup

I hope you will all join me in knocking on a piece of large wood inside your house, for can it truly be labelled a World Cup if "The Great One" is not included.

On an aside I think this team can definately compete, a lot of the pieces were here last year. Hopefully Pritchard plays better and Cudmore shows some fire. Van De Merwe is a blow. Seeeing what the other sides select is important though, and I think the Saxons will definately be the team to beat, but Canada can certainly make the final.

 

[Ma'a Nonu Junior the 2nd]

Seamus Gay should definetly be in there, been robbed by the selectors for years, even after showing his versatility in playing open/blind and hooker and winning a club premership

 

[AfakasiAssasin]

All hail King Ed

Forgive me for not being in the loop, but what is the big deal about Ed Fairhurst??

 

[TRF_Cymro]

http://www.therugbyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?19167-The-Ed-Fairhurst-Thread

 

[Feicarsinn]

Forgive me for not being in the loop, but what is the big deal about Ed Fairhurst??

He's like a rugby version of Jonah Lomu or Michael Schumacher.

 

[LittleGuy]

Some last minute additions to the squad were made today, mainly due to uncertaintity about Cudmore being available(depending how well Clermont does) and Sean Michael Stephen having an injury issue.

Mitch Gudgeon has been added as a loose forward and as an emergency lock, and Mike Scholz has been added in the backs, both players have caps, Scholz was out of the system for a while with a chronic shoulder issue and both are currently on the seven's circuit, still a downgrade for Canada if Cudmore and Stephen aren't available.

 

[TRF_Cymro]

Are they just resting or made themselves unavailable?

 

[LittleGuy]

Are they just resting or made themselves unavailable?

Cudmore is involved in the Top 14 playoffs he might be in for the entire Cup if Clermont gets knocked out early, he also might be too busy if they go far, and I'm guessing they aren't taking any chances with Sean-Michael Stephen even though its not a serious injury, same with Van De Merwe, Tkcahuk and Kleeberger who were left off the squad even from the start.

 

[TRF_Cymro]

True cheers boss

 

[dangandan]

Ed Fairhurst? Looks like Canada have the world cup wrapped up.

 

[Groundhog]

look left into the face of victory Mensah coker

 

[Jockstap]

No point in the other teams even showing up now

 

[Feicarsinn]

Well Jamie Cudmore will be available anyway. Clermont got trounced tonight by Toulouse. Fatboy Caucau scored two noice tries.

 

[Groundhog]

second one was deadly

 

[LittleGuy]

With Clermont eliminated Cudmore will indeed be available for the entire Churchill Cup which is a big boost to the squad.

I my first post I had mentioned Kevin Tkachuk not being available, fellow TRF member rusty_lock has heard that Tkachuk is resting his back for a couple of months and will indeed make himself available for the summer home and away matches vs. the U.S.A. the warm up match in Australia, and the RWC which could be the swansong of his career.