Photos from Canada U20 Camp Intrasquad Match: Black v Silver
I dropped by Windsor Park today to catch the Canada U20 camp intrasquad match, Black v Silver. Team Black won handily, they were ahead at the half but poured it on in the second half when the subs came on. A lot of nervous play as players were keen to impress but sometimes tried to do too much themselves. Team Black adapted better to the team play and scored some nice tries, especially in the second half. There apparently will be a tour to South America, possibly in October, but that’s just tentative right now. Both USA and Fiji have been promoted to Tier 1 U20 so it scuppers the Oceania U20 tournament and the traditional home/away with the USA. I posted 44 photos to facebook, embedded below.
Canada West v Canada East Match Wraps Up Camp on Sunday
The original Rugby Canada media release mentioned a Canada U20 vs Pacific Pride match to end the U20 camp on Sunday but it’s looking more like an intra-squad match divided along the lines of Canada West v Canada East. These are the tentative rosters based on early information, that could change by game time which is 11am at Windsor Park on Sunday. Names not on the original list of 48 include Adam Robinson, Colin Mitchell, both props, and Liam Turnbull (UBC) and Max McLeod both centres.
| CANADA WEST | CANADA EAST | ||
| Prop | |||
| Manraj | Randhawa | Josiah | Ashworth |
| Fyfe | Donaldson | Eric | Rutledge |
| Evan | Vodarek | Ethan | Samuels |
| Brendan | Christian | Colin | Mitchell |
| Adam | Robinson | ||
| Sebastiano | Magnan | ||
| Hooker | |||
| Josh | du Toit | Alistair | Yeomans |
| Porter | Gook | Mateo | Quinonez |
| JJ | Kinnear | Rhys | Nicholls |
| Lock | |||
| Seb | Poyser | Carter | Nickless |
| Ronin | Smith | Logan | Hatfield |
| Noah | Poyser | ||
| Backrow | |||
| Emmanuel | Soroh | Coen | Quinn |
| Henry | Boggs | Eliot | Marschall |
| Caden | Du Plessis | Cole | Thompson |
| Ewan | Webber-Smith | Augustin | Duchene |
| # 9 | |||
| Sam | Morreale | Rogan | Moir |
| Chris | Rose | Brek | Ball |
| # 10 | |||
| Michael | Oughtred | Jack | Gore |
| Noah | Merkur | Ariston | Xourafas |
| Center | |||
| Jute | Norlin | Evan | Davies |
| Henry | Pretsell | Kohl | Kletke |
| Liam | Turnbull | Max | McLeod |
| Wing | |||
| Sam | Blundell | Kelan | Barron |
| Noah | Hudson | Will | Gordon |
| Seamus | O’Sullivan | ||
| Fullback | |||
| Luke | Prest | Cooper | Allen |
| Matteo | Cherwayko | Joe | Kaumann |
Canada U20 Training Camp in Langford This Week: 48 Players Listed
The men’s Canada U20 program are holding a week long camp in Langford, they’ve identified 48 players to participate in the camp. It’s interesting to note that the very successful women’s U21 program was made up 100% of Canadian university players. Going through the men’s list about 30 of the 48 are in post-secondary institutions (23 from Canadian university/college), some are still in high school, some playing club rugby. There are eight players from England, two from Ireland, one from Scotland . Both players under the tutelage of Jamie Cudmore at Nissa are on the list. There are three players from UVic, three from UBC and one from UBCO, none from TWU. Again comparing to the women’s U21, of the 30 players on tour, eight were from UBC, four from UVic. The University champions Guelph have five players invited, ETS Montreal who were 2025 University runners up and 2024 champions, have no representation. There are also no players from France besides the two players training with Jamie Cudmore at Nissa.
On Sunday April 5th the camp wraps up with a match at Windsor Park against the Pacific Pride. It will be interesting to see who plays for the Pride as there were six players who transferred from the Pride to BC Premier clubs last weekend. There are no BC Premier matches this weekend so it’s possible those players may suit up for that match. There are also six Pacific Pride players on the U20 list that could suit up under Pride colours.
There was no mention of a live stream of Sunday’s match but the Pacific Pride did set up a YouTube channel about a month ago, we’ll see if that’s still active on Sunday.
The Rugby Canada article mentions “a potential Canada U20 tour later this year”. Traditionally there would be the two game series versus USA to qualify for the U20 Trophy tournament but World Rugby expanded the Tier 1 U20 Championship to 16 teams and USA have been promoted to that tournament, along with Fiji, Japan and Uruguay. Last year Canada U20 played the Oceania U20 tournament but Fiji, like USA, have been promoted to Tier 1 leaving only Tonga and Samoa this year.
FORWARDS
Alistair Yeomans (Streetsville, ON) University of Guelph/ Mississauga Blues
Augustin Duchene (Montréal, QC) Université de Montréal/ Town of Mont Royal RFC
Brendan Christian (Victoria, BC) University of Victoria
Caden Du Plessis (Oakville, ON) Holy Trinity/ Oakville Crusaders
Carter Nickless (Kirkland, QC) John Abbott Cegep/ Sainte Anne De Bellevue
Coen Quinn (Ottawa, ON) Queen’s University/ Bytown Blues RFC
Cole Thompson (Toronto, ON) Babson College/ Toronto Scottish
Eliot Marschall (Sedbergh, England) Nissa Rugby
Emmanuel Soroh (London, England) St Albans School/ Ealing Trailfinders Academy
Eric Rutledge (New Waterford, NS) Pacific Pride
Ethan Samuels (North Vancouver, BC) University of British Columbia
Evan Vodarek (West Kelowna, BC) University of British Columbia Okanagan/ Kelowna Crows
Ewan Webber-Smith (Victoria, BC) University of British Columbia
Fyfe Donaldson (Kirkcaldy, Scotland) Merchiston Castle School/ Watsonians Rugby Club
JJ Kinnear (London, England) Loughborough University/ Wimbledon RFC
Joshua du Toit (Cape Town, RSA) University of British Columbia/ Capilano RFC
Josiah Ashworth (Crowborough, England)Teddington School/ Weybridge Vandals RFC
Logan Hatfield (Uxbridge, ON) University of Guelph/ Oshawa Vikings
Manraj Randhawa (Abbotsford, BC) Abbotsford Rugby Club
Mateo Quinonez (New Glasgow, NS) Memorial University/ Pictou County
Noah Poyser (Bishop’s Stortford, England) Harrow School/ Bishops Stortford
Porter Gook (Lethbridge, AB) Westshore RFC
Rhys Nicholls (Bicester, England) Cardiff Metropolitan University/ Aylesbury RFC
Ronin Smith (Calgary, AB) University of Victoria/ Calgary Saints RFC
Sebastian Poyser (Bishop’s Stortford, England) University of Nottingham/ Bishops Stortford
Sebastiano Magnan (Laval, QC) Saint Anne de Bellevue RFC
BACKS
Ariston Xourafas (Blackrock, Ireland) Blackrock College
Brek Ball (West Vancouver, BC) University of Western Ontario
Chris Rose (Victoria, BC) Pacific Pride
Cooper Allen (Thornbury, ON) Trent University/ Georgian Bay Titans
Evan Davies (Toronto, ON) University of Guelph/ Balmy Beach RFC
Henry Boggs (Oakville ON) Bishop Wand School
Henry Pretsell (Dublin, Ireland) University of Bristol
Jack Gore (Mississauga, ON) Wilfrid Laurier University/ Oakville Crusaders
Joe Kaufmann (Kingston, ON) Nissa Rugby
Jute Norlin (Salmon Arm, BC) Pacific Pride
Kelan Barron (East Gwillimbury, ON) Sacred Heart CHS/ Aurora Barbarians
Kohl Kletke (Oakville, ON) Western University/ Oakville Crusaders
Luke Prest (Duncan, BC) Pacific Pride/ Cowichan RFC
Matteo Cherwayko (London, England) Nottingham Trent University/ Canterbury Rugby Club
Michael Oughtred (Victoria, BC) University of Victoria
Noah Hudson (Bolton, ON) University of Guelph/ Aurora Barbarian
Noah Merkur (Vancouver, BC) Queen’s University/ Ravens Rugby
Rogan Moir (Waterloo, ON) Pacific Pride/ Waterloo County
Samuel Blundell (Victoria, BC) Pacific Pride
Samuel Morreale (Stoney Creek, ON) Brock University/ Burlington Centaurs RFC
Seamus O’Sullivan (North Vancouver, BC) Capilano Rugby Club
Will Gordon (Vancouver, BC) University of Guelph/ Meralomas
from Rugby Canada
Christiaan Esterhuizen, Head Coach of Canada’s U20 Men’s Rugby Team, has named a 48-player squad for training camp in Langford.
This team will convene in Langford, BC for a training and alignment camp from March 31 to April 5. The squad will train at the Al Charron Rugby Canada National Training Centre and play matches against Rugby Canada’s Pacific Pride Development Academy on April 5 at Windsor Park in Victoria, BC.
This camp presents an important opportunity for the selected group of players to put their hand up for selection ahead of a potential Canada U20 tour later this year, with further information to be announced when possible.
The squad has been identified from an initial long list of over 100 players, with this group of 48 invited to attend camp in Langford. As part of the identification process, Rugby Canada hosted regional trials in Toronto in February, involving players from across the country, while BC-based players were assessed through ongoing performances with their clubs and university programs.
The broader player pool was built through strong collaboration with our Provincial Sport Organizations, as well as club and university coaches, and through performances in key competitions including the Canadian Rugby Championship (CRC), Provincial Regional Championships (PRCs), and Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship (CUMRC).
“The objective of this camp is to further narrow our group towards a top 35, who will be invited to a preparation camp in August,” said Esterhuizen. “Equally important is providing players with a clear understanding of the Rugby Canada technical model, while also assessing physical readiness and alignment with our national fitness standards.
We’re looking forward to seeing how this group connects, competes, and continues to grow throughout the week.”
Head Coach Christiaan Esterhuizen will be joined in Langford by coaches Hubert Buydens (Pacific Pride) and Cory Hector (University of Guelph), along with support from John Cunningham (Strength and Conditioning Coach), and Erin Schatkowsky (Lead Athletic Therapist).
Additional coaching support will include Stephen Meehan (Head Coach, Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team), Shane Cahill (Toronto Arrows), Thomas Isherwood (Westshore RFC), along with support staff Aiyanna Grubac (Athletic Therapist), and Ryan Sinclair (Team Manager)