There is so much hyperbole in sports that you can easily dismiss 98 per cent of it. Then along comes a two per cent moment: It isn鈥檛 an overstatement to say the Langford-based Canadian rugby team will play the most important game in a generation when it meets Hong Kong today in Marseille, France, (noon on TSN).
At stake for both teams, as they close out the last-chance qualifier in Marseille, is the 20th and final berth into the 2019 World Cup in Japan and the reported $10 million US in sponsorships, endorsements and World Rugby funding that will flow the way of today鈥檚 winning program.
sa国际传媒 will try to keep alive its record of having qualified for every World Cup dating to the inaugural tournament in 1987.
鈥淭he support we have had here in France and back home has been excellent. It鈥檚 been a long year for the entire group and we鈥檙e looking to end off our campaign with a result the entire nation can be proud of,鈥� said Canadian head coach Kingsley Jones.
sa国际传媒 will have to do it without the injured winger Matt Evans of Duncan, who has shown well in scoring two tries in tournament victories against Kenya and Germany. Taylor Paris from Barrie, Ont., will replace the Shawnigan Lake School graduate in the Canadian backfield.
That is the only change to a Canadian roster that Phil Mack of Victoria will again captain from the scrum-half position.
From Windsor Park in Oak Bay to Marseille, former Castaway Wanderers stalwarts Hubert Buydens and Ray Barkwill will again start alongside each other on the front row. Buydens will be hoping his 50th cap is memorable on several levels. Former CW teammate Ciarn Hearn will start at inside centre and DTH van der Merwe of Victoria on the wing.
鈥淲e have to respect Hong Kong,鈥� said Mack, the graduate of Oak Bay High, University of Victoria Vikes and James Bay Athletic Association.
sa国际传媒 is on 10 points after having earned a bonus point in each of its two previous victories against Kenya and Germany. Hong Kong (1-1) is on five points and needs a victory today with a bonus points while denying sa国际传媒 a bonus point.
Bonus points are awarded for scoring four or more tries in a game or losing by less than eight points. So sa国际传媒 can still advance if it loses today by seven points or less, or by scoring four or more tries, or by holding Hong Kong to three or less tries in a loss.
鈥淚f you go in thinking about the bonus point [four tries] you start forcing things and it may not happen,鈥� said Mack.
The simplest scenario for sa国际传媒 is to just go out there and win and not have to worry about the other permutations. sa国际传媒 does not want to back into the World Cup. sa国际传媒, however, has not won three consecutive Test matches since beating the U.S., Fiji and Tonga in 2013.
鈥淚t鈥檚 another big test for the group. To win three internationals consecutively is a challenge for any national team. This is the challenge we face. We are two from two in this competition and we are fully focused on our goal [today],鈥� said Jones.
sa国际传媒 would also advance in the case of a tie in today鈥檚 game.
鈥淗ong Kong came into the tournament as favourites and we see this game as our biggest challenge to date.鈥�
