Canada’s Senior Men’s 15s Head Coach Kingsley Jones has selected his 32-man squad for the new Americas Rugby Trophy, a three-country development competition involving Chile, Brazil and Canada.
Games are not full Test status, but they provide Jones and his Coaches an opportunity to assess young players in the international arena.
“These games will give our up-and-coming players a taste of international competition, testing them against stronger opposition and bridging the gap from domestic Rugby. All players involved will gain valuable experience while allowing us to build our depth as we continue to prepare for the next Rugby World Cup qualification period.” Canada Senior Men’s XVs Head Coach Kingsley Jones
Canada will face Chile on Friday, October 21, their first action since the summer fixtures against Belgium and Spain. The second game Canada will face Brazil on Wednesday, October 26, with both game matches being played at the city of Mogi das Cruzes, São Paulo Metropolitan Region.
The squad selected by Jones features a balanced selection of veteran players with experience at the international level mixed with new, younger talent including players from the national U20 program, the Pacific Pride, Canada’s Senior Men’s 7s team and various Canadian universities.
Crossover athletes from the 7s program include Cooper Coats, David Richard, D’Shawn Bowen, Josiah Morra and Alex Russell.
Standouts from Canada’s U20 team Matthew Klimchuk, Takoda and Talon McMullin, who are twin brothers, have been selected by Jones. All three players participated in the recent U20 competition that saw Canada clash with Zimbabwe, Chile and Uruguay this past August.
Former UBC Thunderbird captain Owain Ruttan and current University of Victoria Vikes player Gabriel Casey get their first opportunity to represent Canada. Both players were selected by the Toronto Arrows in the 2022 MLR draft.
Americas Rugby Trophy Schedule:
Chile vs. Canada – October 21 at 4pm local time – 12:00 p.m. PST/3:00 p.m. EST
Brazil vs. Canada – October 26 at 7:30pm – 3:30 p.m. PST/6:30 p.m. EST
Broadcast details to come.
Canada Senior Men’s XVs Team Selected For Americas Rugby Trophy
Gradyn Bowd (Red Deer, AB) – Castaway Wanderers / Old Glory DC
Callum Botcher (Vancouver, BC) – Canada Sevens
Ross Braude (Pretoria, South Africa) – Toronto Arrows
Cooper Coats (Halifax, NS) – Halifax Tars / Canada Sevens
Jason Higgins (Cork, Ireland) – San Diego Legion
Conor Keys (Stittsville, Ottawa, ON) – Rugby Atlanta
Josh Larsen (Nanaimo, BC) – New England Free Jacks
Ben LeSage (Calgary, AB) – LA Giltinis
Liam Murray (Langley, BC) – Dallas Jackals
Josiah Morra (Toronto, Ontario) – Castaway Wanderers / Canada Sevens
Andrew Quattrin (Holland Landing, ON) – New England Free Jacks
Tyler Rowland (Mississauga, ON) – Toronto Arrows
Lucas Rumball (Markham, ON) – Toronto Arrows
Lindsey Stevens (Sydney, Australia) – LA Giltinis
Corey Thomas (Broome, Australia) – LA Giltinis
Emerson Prior (Brockville, Ontario) – Peterborough Pagans / Utah Warriors
Conor Young (Yamba, Australia) – Southern Districts Rugby Club
Takoda McMullin (White Rock, BC) – UBC
Talon McMullin (White Rock, BC) – UBC
Kyle Steeves (Winnipeg, MB) – Manitoba Wombats / Pacific Pride
Alex Russell (Chichester, England) – McGill University / Canada Sevens
Matthew Klimchuk (Regina, SK) – Regina Rogues / UVIC
Izzak Kelly (White Rock, BC) – Bayside Sharks RFC / UBC
Owain Ruttan (Cobourg, ON) – UBC
Gabriel Casey (Ottawa, ON) – Bytown Blues / UVIC
Foster Dewitt (Courtenay, BC) – New England Free Jacks
Kyle Baillie (Summerside, PEI) – Halifax Tars
Siaki Vikilani (Burnaby, BC) – Toronto Arrows
Josh Thiel (Victoria, BC) – James Bay AA
D’Shawn Bowen (Toronto, ON) – Canada Sevens
David Richard (Milton, ON) – Mississauga Blues RFC
Robert Povey (Oxford, UK) – Houston Sabercats
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