Rugby sa国际传媒 is taking route 29 to Westhills Stadium.
That鈥檚 the number of players that men鈥檚 national team head coach Mark Anscombe named Tuesday to the Canadian roster for Americas Rugby Championship games against Argentina on Feb. 4 and Chile on Feb. 11 at the Langford facility.
Of the 29 players, 20 have caps totalling 268, and nine are uncapped.
鈥淲ith some of our overseas pros not available, it opens doors,鈥� said veteran Phil Mack of Victoria.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about building up depth for the qualifier.鈥�
sa国际传媒 is using the Americas Championship games to gear up for the Tests that matter most later this year 鈥� the two-game qualifying set against the U.S. in June and July with the winner earning a berth into the 2019 World Cup in Japan. The loser of the sa国际传媒-U.S. World Cup qualifier must go through a back-door qualifying route next year through South America.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all building to the qualifier,鈥� said Anscombe.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got an opportunity to see what these young guys have. By giving some guys opportunities here, we鈥檙e extending the depth of our squad, and seeing if guys can handle the step up. We鈥檝e got to make sure we鈥檙e ready to go when the qualifier hits, and they understand the level of rugby that鈥檚 going to be required from them. There鈥檙e nine guys in the squad that haven鈥檛 been capped. It鈥檚 exciting to see what these guys have. Some of these young guys have good futures ahead of them. So the sooner we can get them up and comfortable playing at this level, the better off we鈥檒l be down the road.鈥�
sa国际传媒鈥檚 recent Tests have included several tight games that have been lost in the late stages. Closing out games has been an issue.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a matter of putting it all together and sticking to it . . . and trusting all the hard work that has been put into it,鈥� said Mack, the backfield star out of Oak Bay High, the UVic Vikes and James Bay Athletic Association.
鈥淲hen winning does happen, it becomes contagious. It鈥檚 like a domino effect.鈥�
World Cup veteran hooker Ray Barkwill concurred: 鈥淚t鈥檚 about learning how to finish and how to win in those situations. We have the battle scars . . . and we will turn that corner.鈥�
Players from Island clubs named for the Americas Championship games at Westhills are Mack and Cole Keith of JBAA, Barkwill of Castaway Wanderers, Liam Chisholm, Gradyn Bowd, Conor Keys and Oliver Nott of the UVic Vikes, and Ryan Kotlewski and Clay Panga of Westshore RFC.
While several overseas pros have not been released, four have been made available. The presence of Conor Trainor of RC Vannes, Taylor Paris of Agen, Matt Tierney from Top-14 club Pau and Djustice Sears-Duru from the Glasgow Warriors is likely to prove invaluable for the two-game set at Westhills.
鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting to have so many veterans on this team, also with some younger guys. It鈥檚 a good opportunity to grow as we turn to the World Cup qualifications this summer,鈥� said Barkwill.
Training camp opens Saturday at Shawnigan Lake School.
All games in the Americas Championship are Test matches except those featuring world-power Argentina, which is fielding its national development side.
sa国际传媒 will close out the Americas Championship with a game against the U.S. on Feb. 18 at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby followed by away Tests in Uruguay on Feb. 25 and in Brazil on March 4.
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