听
Phil Mack sat leisurely on the sidelines of the Claremont Secondary field two weeks ago, watching the children of friends play in a junior high school rugby game. He knew that idyll would end soon and that the whirlwind would begin, leading to perhaps the most important three months in Canadian rugby history.
It starts Friday at sa国际传媒 Place against the New Zealand Maori All Blacks, in a match for which the veteran scrum-half Mack has been named sa国际传媒鈥檚 captain. The lower bowl of sa国际传媒 Place is sold out, with a record Canadian rugby crowd approaching 30,000 expected for the game.
Mack, a graduate of Oak Bay High School and the University of Victoria Vikes, will continue in that role as he captains sa国际传媒 through Test matches Nov. 11 against world No. 12 Georgia in Tbilisi, Nov. 18 versus No. 19 Spain in Madrid and Nov. 25 against No. 9 Fiji in France.
It is all in preparation for the Americas repechage, total-point sa国际传媒-Uruguay set Jan. 27 at sa国际传媒 Place and Feb. 3 in Montevideo, with the winner advancing to the 2019 World Cup in Japan. It is the first time that sa国际传媒, loser to the U.S. Eagles over the summer, has failed to advance to the World Cup directly out of the North American qualifier. Losing to Uruguay would be considered an epic disaster for Canadian rugby.
Newly minted Canadian head coach Kingsley Jones of Wales, based at the Rugby sa国际传媒 Centre of Excellence in Langford, has put his faith in Mack, an undersized but tenacious performer, as sa国际传媒 looks to stem its slide to No. 24 in the world.
鈥淧hil Mack will lead the side for the November series,鈥� Jones said in a statement.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 mean he will play every game, but certainly Friday against the New Zealand Maori at sa国际传媒 Place. What a great honour for him and he thoroughly deserves it.
鈥淭his guy has given a lot to Canadian rugby in both sevens and fifteens. He leads by example and I know that he has the respect of all the players and coaches, whether they are playing overseas, whether they are local, whether they are from the East or the West. He is a natural leader.鈥�
Mack, 32, made his name internationally in sevens rugby as an all-world all-star selection on several occasions. He announced his retirement from the sport after sa国际传媒 failed to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics, but was persuaded to reconsider and return to help sa国际传媒 in fifteens.
鈥淚 had a conversation with Kingsley about things the team needs to work on, and at the tail end, he asked me how I felt about being captain,鈥� said Mack, from Vancouver, where the national team now is in preparation for Friday.
鈥淚t was a big shock but I鈥檓 hugely honoured,鈥� Mack said. 鈥淎ny time you play for your country is a big deal. To be asked to lead the national team is something I don鈥檛 take lightly. I am going to put everything I have into it. But it鈥檚 never about one guy. We have lot of great leaders on this team, such as [former captain] Tyler Ardron.鈥�
The national team is centralized in Langford.
Joining James Bay鈥檚 Mack as Island-associated players named to the Canadian team for the game against the Maori are: Conor Keys of the UVic Vikes, Ryan Kotlewski of Westshore RFC, Josh Larsen of Parksville, Mike Nieuwenhuysen of James Bay, Robbie Povey and Ray Barkwill of Castaway Wanderers, and Shawnigan Lake School graduates Dustin Dobravsky of Castaway Wanderers and Guiseppe du Toit of the UVic Vikes.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a chance for me to make assessments, but also a chance for the players to get to know me. It鈥檚 a new face, a new opinion and a new view,鈥� Jones said upon arriving on the Island last week.
As to his technical priorities, Jones mentioned balance, fundamentals, defence, ball retention and set pieces.
鈥淥ur defence has let us down the last few games and that has to be a big focus for us,鈥� Mack said.
In Mack, however, Jones has found himself a leader with veteran savvy and all those fundamental and ball-handling attributes the new coach needs, along with the ability to break long runs offensively, while resolutely controlling the pace of the game from the pivotal scrum-half position.
RUGBY NOTES: Ghislaine Landry, captain of the Langford-based Rio 2016 Olympic bronze medallist Canadian women鈥檚 sevens team, has been named as one of three finalists for world women鈥檚 sevens player of the year. The fleet-footed Landry, the all-time leading scoring in the World Series, is up against Kiwi stars Ruby Tui and Michaela Blyde for the award, which will be announced Nov. 26 at the World Rugby Awards to take place at the Salle des 茅toiles in Monte Carlo.
