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Written by RUGBYMag.com News Release
Saturday, 23 July 2011 18:03 |
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Canada Names Squad for Women's Nations Cup |
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Canada -
Women
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Two weeks prior to the 2011 Senior Women’s Nations Cup kicking off at Appleby College in Oakville Ontario, Head Coach John Tait is eagerly looking forward to his first matches at the helm of the National Fifteens program getting underway.
Coach Tait assumed leadership of the Canadian Women’s Program last fall, after the team’s return from the 2010 IRB Women’s Rugby World Cup. To date he has enjoyed much success with the Canadian Women’s Sevens program winning three of three International Tournaments (Las Vegas, Hong Kong and Amsterdam). August 2nd versus South Africa will mark his first match leading the Fifteens squad.
“We have had a very busy spring conducting Talent Identification and Development Camps, across the country. You will see in the selected team for Nations Cup a real mixture of Canada’s veteran athletes and fresh faces to the Senior International scene” Tait remarked from his Vancouver Island home.
Of the twenty six women’s selected to the Nations Cup squad, eight will be seeking to earn their first Senior Women’s International Cap in this summer’s tournament. The Nations Cup tournament is organized jointly by USA Rugby, the RFUW (England) and Rugby Canada. Two tournaments are held every other year, one for the senior women's national teams and one for the women's Under-20 national teams, with rotating host locations. Canada's U20 Women are currently embarking on their final matches in Santa Barbara California. The Senior Women’s Event runs August 2nd through 14th and will feature matches amongst Canada, USA, England and South Africa.
Canada last met North American rivals USA in their final match of the 2010 IRB Women’s Rugby World Cup, where the USA Eagles were triumphant 23-20 earning a 5th place finish at the tournament. Canada will look to regain the upper hand and get back on pace with their 2010 record versus the Eagles where Canada were victorious in three of their five matches with regional rivals.
Canada last met England in the 2009 Nations Cup Final, where England defeated Canada 22-0. England has enjoyed much success and continued growth over recent years on the fifteens front culminating with the successful hosting of the 2010 IRB Womens Rugby World Cup and an appearance in the tournament final versus New Zealand in front of a sold out home crowd at the famous “Stoop” venue.
To date, Canada has only had one meeting with the senior side from South Africa, at the 2009 Nations Cup, where Canada prevailed 35-16.
Coach Tait is optimistic of Canada’s abilities to be contenders for an appearance in the 2011 Nations Cup final. “Our top athletes have made significant gains in off field development over the course of 2011. Working collectively in regional training centres with top Strength and Conditioning coaches, we are excited to see their progress transfer to the pitch this summer.”
Tait will be looking to continue to expand on the skill level of the squad as a whole, which began in June with the recent Senior Women’s Camp conducted at Shawnigan Lake School. Here, forty women vied for the coveted 26 spots to wear the Maple Leaf Jersey this summer. With Canada’s vast size and varied season, National Coaching staff will seek to optimize the 16 days that the team will be assembled, as this is the only fifteens aside assembly in the 2011 calendar.
“The Nations Cup marks the first competition in the start of our four year cycle building towards the 2014 IRB Women’s World Cup in France. It will be a good opportunity to assess where we are at against some of the top international competition, as well as internally as a program.”
You can follow all the Nations Cup action at www.womensnationscup.com
2011 Nations Cup National Senior Women’s Team
*Name (Alphabetical by last name) – Club Team ( Home Town, Province)
Jessica Belchos - Markham Irish Canadians (Innisfil, ON)
Marie Bosco - Ottawa Irish (Ottawa, ON)
Andrea Burk - Capilano RFC (North Vancouver, BC)
Kim Donaldson - Burnaby Lake (Vancouver, BC)
Jess Dovanne - Valkyries (Victoria, BC)
Arielle Dubisette - Toronto Nomads (Ajax, ON)
Corinne Jacobson - Burnaby Lake Rugby Club (Vancouver, BC)
Maria Jaworski - Calgary Hornets RFC (Calgary, AB)
Shannon Kane - Velox Valkyries (Victoria, BC)
Jen Kish - Edmonton Rockers (Edmonton, AB)
Ghislaine Landry - Toronto Scottish (Toronto, ON)
Ashley MacDonald - Lethbridge RFC (Corran Ban, PEI)
Kayla Mack - Wild Oats (Saskatoon, SK)
Mandy Marchak- Capilano RFC & Saracens, UK (Vancouver, BC)
Brittany Orr - Lethbridge RC (Lethbridge, AB)
Cheryl Phillips - Toronto Scottish RFC (Toronto, ON)
Marie-Pier Pinault Reid - Club de Rugby de Québec (Québec, QC)
Danielle Rowlands - Calgary Hornets (Colonsay, SK)
Kelly Russell - Toronto Nomads (Bolton, ON)
Laura Russell - Toronto Nomads (Bolton, ON)
Laura Stoughton – Calgary Hornets RFC (Calgary, AB)
Julia Sugawara - Burnaby Lake (Vancouver, BC)
Brandi Van Eeuwen - Lethbridge RC (Duncan, BC)
Brittany Waters - Meraloma Athletic Club (Vancouver, BC)
Kelsey Willoughby - Lethbridge RC (Lethbridge, AB)
Julianne Zussman- Town of Mount Royal RFC, ( Montreal, QB)
Non traveling Reserves-
Asya Bartley - Barrhaven Scottish RFC (Ottawa, ON)
Marlene Donaldson - Velox Valkyries (Victoria, BC)
Magali Harvey - Club de Rugby de Quebec (Quebec City, QC)
Staff:
John Tait Head Coach
Sandro Fiorino Assistant Coach
Penny Delaney Team Manager
Jason White Athletic Therapist
Darren Wharrie Athletic Therapist
Tuesday 2nd August
4:30 pm - Canada vs. South Africa
6:30 pm - USA vs. England
Friday 5th August
*Games at Chatham
5:00 pm - England vs. South Africa
7:00 pm - Canada vs. USA
Tuesday 9th August
4:30 pm – South Africa vs. USA
6:30 pm – Canada vs. England
Saturday 13th August
2:00 pm 3rd vs 4th
4:00 pm 1st vs 2nd
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Written by RUGBYMag Staff
Tuesday, 26 July 2011 17:48 |
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HSAAs Win v Tygerberg |
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National Teams -
Age-Grade Men
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The High School All-Americans improved to 2-1 on their South African tour with 25-14 win over Tygerburg Rugby Club just outside of Cape Town Tuesday.
The match was a contrast of styles, with the bigger and stronger All-Americans squaring off against a speedy and skilled Tygerberg, a U18 club coming from an underprivileged neighborhood. After hearing of the 71-0 defeat the HSAAs put on the Durban Development team just a week earlier, Tygerberg bolstered their side with some larger U19 and U20 players.
The added heft from Tygerberg didn’t matter though as the HSAAs struck first when lock Christian Castro picked the ball of the base of a ruck and drove four meters for a 5-0 lead. Zach Miller’s conversion was no good, but he would have another chance to add points with a successful penalty kick, putting the Tourists up 8-0 15 minutes in.
The match would be a constant back-and-forth throughout, as Tygerberg’s speed gave the HSAA defense fits. The home side would capitalize on a botched HSAA lineout to score a try and bring the game within a point. But Miller would add another penalty before the half whistle to give the HSAAs an 11-7 lead.
Tygerberg would get out of the gates early in the second half using their blistering pace to weave through the American defense and take a 14-11 lead. The lead would be brief however as Miller would add another HSAA try via some impressive backline play to take the 18-14 lead.
Reserve hooker Cameron Falcon would seal the victory for the All-Americans with a try in the 57th minute off a pick and drive. Sione Aisea would convert to bring up the final score of 25-18.
The HSAAs finish their South African Tour on Thursday when they are hosted by Durbanville High School with a match and post game braai.
High School All Americans 25
Tries: Castro, Miller, Falcon
Convs: Miller, Aisea
Pens: Miller 2
Tygerberg 14
Tries: 2
Convs: 2
High School All Americans lineup
1 Colin Snyder
2 Jeff Calzaretta
3 Peyton Lauber
4 Christian Castro
5 Brendan Hardiman
6 Teli Veamatahu
7 Rick Korvick
8 Blake Simons
9 Charlie Hutchings
10 Sione Aisea
11 Jesse Milne
12 Bear Albritton
13 Gavin Brown
14 Matt Chipman
15 Zach Miller
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Written by RUGBYMag Staff
Tuesday, 26 July 2011 17:55 |
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All Americans Photo Gallery |
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Colleges -
All Americans
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See a photo gallery of the All Americans 2011 games with New Zealand Universities (Dave Geib and Dobson Images photos)
Click here
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Written by RUGBYMag.com News Release
Tuesday, 26 July 2011 13:43 |
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Canada Names U18 7s Team for Youth Commonwealth Games |
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Canada -
Men
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Head coach of the Canadian National Under-18 Men's Sevens team Shane Thompson has announced his roster of 12 players headed to the Youth Commonwealth Games scheduled for September 7-13 on the Isle of Man.
"Entering a Canadian age grade sevens team into an international tournament has never happened before," said Thompson. "This is exciting not only for the players heading to the Games, but for the coaching staff as well. It will be a great opportunity to see how our age grade players perform and measure up against international competition."
Thompson based his selections on a series of recent trials and the first ever Under-18 Victoria International Sevens event held in Victoria on July 16th. The international event featured teams from Ontario, British Columbia, the Prairies, Utah as well as national side the USA All-Americans.
The Canadian U18 roster is made up of an even split of Ontario and British Columbia players.
"After seeing the guys in action at the Victoria event, two things really stuck out from the trial. The BC players had a strong understanding of how to play sevens, and the Ontario squad played a front up style with a lot of physicality," Thompson said. "Our formula for success will be based on combining Ontario's physical style of play with BC's ball movement and structure."
Jorden Best (Abbotsford, BC), Nathan Yanagiya (North Vancouver), and Fergus Hall (Victoria, BC) all competed in the Las Vegas Invitational Sevens this past February for Team BC and had their first taste of international seven-a-side rugby.
Justin Douglas (Abbotsford, BC) and Haydn Evans (Terrace, BC) have each been through the BC Elite Youth Sevens program and have excelled at the national level with the Canadian U17 15s team this year.
Cowichan standout Pat Kay was the only player from the BC Under-18 Sevens team selected for the Youth Commonwealth Games. Kay has proven himself at the international level in the 15-a-side version of the game, and was recently selected as the youngest player to the Canadian Under-20 National Team that toured Georgia for the 2011 Junior World Rugby Trophy championship.
Ontario's Conor McCann was named as an All-Star at the recent U18 Victoria International Sevens, scoring several tries in Ontario's undefeated run to the Cup.
"Conor is a great athlete," Thompson added. "He is a confident player and definitely a guy to be on the lookout for. He was a leader for Ontario and I'm looking forward to seeing him play more sevens."
McCann, who also stars for Shawnigan Lake School on Vancouver Island, will be joined by fellow SLS Stag Lukas Balkovec out of Kitchener, Ontario. Standing tall at 6-foot-5, Balkovec will provide an aerial threat and will be a key asset in restarts and kickoffs.
Thompson and his staff will look to Barrie, Ontario's Byron Boville for his ability to score points with his boot. Boville recently led Barrie Central to the OFSAA A/AA High School Boys Rugby Championship, kicking two penalties in the 6-0 win over Trenton in the final.
Scott Gauer (Mississauga, Ont.) was a standout on the Canadian U17 national team and has proven himself as a leader, captaining the Lorne Park Rugby team. Andrew Battaglia (Aurora, Ont.) has had his fair share of sevens, suiting up for the junior Dog River Howlers, a Prairies-based development program. Lucas Hammond (Toronto, Ont.) has been a standout recently impressing selectors in 15s rugby, while suiting up for the Ontario Junior Blues pogrom.
"We have selected a number of great individual athletes that can perform at the elite level," Thompson said. "Now the challenge will be getting all the players to buy into a team concept. Seven-a-side rugby is about every player on the field buying into that concept and working as a unit."
Thompson will be joined by assistant coach Jeff Williams (Victoria, BC) and co-coach/manager Darrell Devine (Guelp, Ont.) for the competition. The squad will assemble in Toronto on September 1st for a four day camp before departing for the Isle of Man.
Canada will be competing in Pool A at the Youth Commonwealth Games against Australia, Scotland and the Isle of Man. Pool B will be made up of South Africa, England, Sri Lanka and Trinidad and Tobago. Full schedules and tournament details will soon be added to the www.cyg2011.com website.
Canadian U18 Sevens Roster
(Name - Club/Hometown)
Lukas Balkovec - Waterloo County RFC/ Kitchener, Ont.
Andrew Battaglia - Aurora Barbarians RFC/ Aurora, Ont.
Jorden Best - Abbotsford RFC/ Abbotsford, BC
Byron Boville - Barrie RFC/ Barrie, Ont.
Justin Douglas - Abbotsford RFC/ Abbotsford, BC
Haydn Evans - Cowichan Rugby Club/ Terrace, BC
Scott Gauer - Crusaders Rugby Club/ Mississaugua, Ont.
Fergus Hall - Castaway Wanderers/ Victoria, BC
Lucas Hammond - Toronto Nomads RFC/ Toronto, Ont.
Pat Kay - Cowichan Rugby Club/ Cowichan, BC
Conor McCann – Balmy Beach RFC/ Belleville, Ont.
Nathan Yanagiya - Capilano RFC/ North Vancouver, BC
Staff:
Shane Thompson - Victoria, BC
Jeff Williams - Victoria, BC
Darrell Devine - Guelph, Ont.
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