The player nicknamed The Alphabet 鈥� DTH van der Merwe of Victoria 鈥� hit on all keystrokes from A to Z on Sunday for the Langford-based Canadian men鈥檚 rugby team.
The native of South Africa scored three tries as sa国际传媒 steamrollered Kenya 65-19 in Marseilles, France, to open the last-chance qualifier for the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
鈥淸Van der Merwe] is the man,鈥� said Canadian captain Phil Mack of Victoria, in his official post-match interview.
鈥淗e does so much for us that is good.鈥�
It was the first Test match hat-trick for van der Merwe, who is the all-time career tries scoring leader for sa国际传媒.
Kenya was within reach at 50 minutes as sa国际传媒鈥檚 lead was 27-19, but the Canadian after-burners ignited into the home stretch.
鈥淚t feels great to get the win,鈥� said Mack, who is out of Oak Bay High, the University of Victoria Vikes and James Bay Athletic Association.
鈥淲e know we need two more. So for us, this is just the beginning.鈥�
The winner of the four-team, last-chance tournament in Marseille will earn the 20th and final berth into the World Cup and will join New Zealand, South Africa, Italy and Namibia in Pool B next year in venues all over Japan.
sa国际传媒 plays next Saturday against Germany (7 a.m. PT on TSN) and Nov. 23 against Hong Kong.
The Germans, the lowest seed in the tournament, stunned Hong Kong 26-9 Saturday.
鈥淲e will reflect on this [Kenya] game and see what we need to fix,鈥� said Mack.
鈥淸Germany] will be a different story. They have a big and physical pack and we know we have to front up in that department.鈥�
sa国际传媒 ran across 10 tries against Kenya, including a long sprint down the right side by Matt Evans of Duncan, after receiving a pass from Oak Bay Castaway Wanderers alumnus Ciaran Hearn. It was the first Canadian try for Shawnigan Lake School graduate Evans in more than a year after missing a large chunk of time due to injury. Tyler Ardron from Peterborough, Ont., Theo Sauder from the UBC Thunderbirds and former UVic Vikes star Brett Beukeboom scored two tries each for sa国际传媒.
Canadian head coach Kingsley Jones knew it was fairly tight early in the second half.
鈥淥ur team held its nerve at critical times. It鈥檚 good for our confidence. It was a pleasing day and we need to build on that momentum,鈥� he said.
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 one game, one win. We have another two games that are critical.鈥�
Twenty-two Canadian players trained at Westhills Stadium in Langford in the months leading up the last-chance qualifier. They have been joined in Marseilles by sa国际传媒鈥檚 12 European-based pro players, including van der Merwe, Evans, Beukeboom and Hearn.
