He did the same for sa国际传媒 in sevens. Now the medical school student is back in XVs and tasked with helping sa国际传媒 qualify for the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
鈥淪evens is a different game, but Sean brings composure, experience and pace [to XVs as well],鈥� said Canadian coach Mark Anscombe, during a conference call with Canadian media.
Duke draws into a XVs Test match for the first time since 2014 when Langford-based sa国际传媒 plays today against No. 12 Georgia in Calgary.
Another former UVic Vikes player, Brett Beukeboom, will captain sa国际传媒 this afternoon.
There is another Test for sa国际传媒 on June 17 against No. 16 Romania in Edmonton.
鈥淭hese are two big, physical teams,鈥� said Anscombe.
It is all in preparation for sa国际传媒鈥檚 two-game, total-points qualifying set against the No. 17 U.S. on June 24 at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ont., and July 1 in San Diego to decide the North American berth into the 2019 World Cup.
The loser between sa国际传媒 and the U.S. must go through a backdoor qualifying route that includes South America, something sa国际传媒 has never had to do before.
sa国际传媒鈥檚 slide to No. 23 in the world hasn鈥檛 gone unnoticed ahead of this crucial month of Tests.
鈥淲e need to turn it around. We need results,鈥� was Victoria-based Anscombe鈥檚 blunt response.
鈥淏ut we know we have chances ahead of us,鈥� added the Canadian bench boss, who hails from New Zealand.
Anscombe has named 32 players for the biggest month in Canadian men鈥檚 XVs rugby since the 2015 World Cup. He knows he will need to shrewdly allot field time over the four games, particular the final two World Cup qualifiers against the U.S.
鈥淲e must ration playing time wisely,鈥� Anscombe said, as he unveiled his 23 players for the Georgia Test in Calgary.
Veteran Phil Mack of Victoria will start at scrum-half, and Shawnigan Lake School grad Guiseppe du Toit of the UVic Vikes at centre, Conor Keys of UVic at lock and Vikes alumnus and Northhampton pro Jake Ilnicki at prop.
Gradyn Bowd and Liam Chisholm of the UVic Vikes and Castaway Wanderer and now London Irish pro Ciaran Hearn will be subbing in from the bench.
鈥淕eorgia has got some big boys in the scrums and the mauls, so our players up front will be busy,鈥� said Mack, a James Bay Athletic Association player and graduate of Oak Bay High and the UVic Vikes.
鈥淚n the backs, we are looking to be more accurate,鈥� added the undersized but crafty Mack.
The enormity of this month is not lost on any of the Canadian players.
鈥淚t鈥檚 huge. But it鈥檚 a process. We want to use these two games [against Georgia and Romania] to get our systems right for the qualifier and get to the World Cup,鈥� said Mack.
