The freefall continues for the Langford-based Canadian men鈥檚 rugby team. Only one safety net remains.
There is one berth 鈥� the 20th and final 鈥� remaining for the 2019 World Cup in Japan. It will go to the winner of the at-large, last-chance four-team world qualifier to be held in November and in which sa国际传媒 will compete against yet-to-be determined representatives from each of Europe, Africa and Oceania.
sa国际传媒, which has qualified for all eight previous World Cups, was relegated to the last-chance 2019 qualifier after losing 32-31 to Uruguay in Montevideo on Saturday.
Needing to win by 10 points, sa国际传媒 stormed to a 15-0 lead only to see Uruguay rally before a passionate home crowd.
Uruguay won the Americas two-game, total point World Cup qualifier 70-60 on aggregate following the first-game 38-29 victory last Saturday at sa国际传媒 Place, and will join Australia, Wales, Fiji and Georgia in Pool D at next year鈥檚 World Cup.
That follows an 80-44 aggregate loss to the U.S. Eagles last summer, marking the first time sa国际传媒 has failed to advance to the World Cup out of that direct North American qualifier.
The United States and Uruguay were nations that sa国际传媒 used to handily beat in rugby. sa国际传媒 is 8-4 all-time against Uruguay. But, tellingly, Uruguay has won the last three meetings.
The earlier qualifying loss to the U.S. led to a review of the XVs program by the brain trust in Langford, which led to Kingsley Jones replacing Mark Anscombe as head coach and other changes at the executive level of Rugby sa国际传媒. Now, serious questions again have to be asked about the Canadian men鈥檚 XVs program as it sits on the precipice of falling from Tier II to Tier III status in the world game.
It鈥檚 hard to believe the Canadian 鈥淏eardo鈥� darlings of the 2011 World Cup have fallen from then No. 12 in the world to bottom out at 23 before rebounding mildly to the current 21.
In a longer historical perspective, sa国际传媒 was a quarter-finalist in the 1991 World Cup before bowing out against the mighty New Zealand All Blacks. That Lower Mainland- and Island-dominated Canadian team will be inducted into the sa国际传媒 Sports Hall of Fame this year.
All that seems like it happened in another universe.
鈥淭he rest of the world has gotten better and moved on. That鈥檚 the reality of where we are,鈥� said former Canadian captain Gareth Rees of Victoria, the country鈥檚 all-time greatest player, and a member of that 1991 World Cup quarter-finalist team.
鈥淚t鈥檚 disappointing, but no excuses. It鈥檚 something we have to address. We鈥檙e No. 21 in the world and going to the repechage,鈥� said Rees, who played in four World Cups, and is now director of commercial programs and relations for Rugby sa国际传媒.
Rugby sa国际传媒 has responded to the rapid expansion of rugby, especially in sevens, by proudly having the Langford-based Canadian women鈥檚 sevens team win bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics. But there are only so many resources, financial and otherwise, to go around and rugby鈥檚 growth has stretched and challenged sa国际传媒.
鈥淲e prioritized in other places the past five years and are now paying the price in men鈥檚 XVs,鈥� noted Rees.
鈥淲e haven鈥檛 prioritized or supported XVs enough.鈥�
The Canadian players gave it their all Saturday, but fell victim to the fast-changing rugby hierarchy in the Americas and around the world.
鈥淭hese America 2 qualifiers were hugely exciting and demonstrate the growing strength of rugby in the Americas,鈥� World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont said in a statement.
鈥淲hile sa国际传媒 will be disappointed, they will now concentrate on bouncing back stronger for the repechage in November.鈥�
Scrum-half Phil Mack of Victoria again captained sa国际传媒. Veteran pro DTH van der Merwe of Victoria scored two tries in his 50th Test match for sa国际传媒, and now has a Canadian all-time leading 31 tries in his international career. But that was a sombre milestone on Saturday.
Canadian coach Jones called it 鈥渁 major blow鈥� to have fly-half Connor Braid of Victoria out with a high-ankle sprain. The backs, led by the marvellous van der Merwe, included Nick Blevins, Ben LeSage, Taylor Paris and Brock Staller. But there was a lot missing back there, with injuries to Braid, Jeff Hassler, Conor Trainor and Duncan鈥檚 Matt Evans coming at the worst time possible for sa国际传媒.
There was again plenty of Island content up front. sa国际传媒鈥檚 starting front line of Hubert Buydens, Ray Barkwill and Jake Ilnicki honed their skills at Windsor Park playing for Castaway Wanderers. The second line featured Josh Larsen of Parksville and former University of Victoria Vikes star Brett Beukeboom.
sa国际传媒 has shown an ability to score in this high-tempo modern offensive era of rugby. But sa国际传媒鈥檚 defence leaked like a broken downspout in an Island rainstorm in allowing way too many points to be scored against it by both the U.S. and Uruguay in qualifying play.
鈥淒efence is an issue,鈥� Rees said.
Island fans will get to see the Canadian team in a Test match against Brazil on Feb. 17 at Westhills Stadium. It is not a qualifier, but part of the separate Americas Rugby Championship. Suddenly it has become preparation for the last-chance World Cup qualifier in the fall, which will reportedly be held in France.
