Canada Lose to Namibia 43-37 to Finish Up Fall Tour: MATCH VIDEO
Canada closed out their fall tour with a 43-37 loss to Namibia. Canada were ranked 21st, Namibia 23rd before the match, that may change on Monday when the new rankings are calculated. Hong Kong (24th) also defeated Kenya which may see them rise in the rankings.
The match is archived at: https://eyecons.com/videos/rugby-namibie-canada-2022-11-19-at-1249-19599
The Rugby Canada match report is appended below.
from Rugby Canada
Canadas Mens Rugby Team concluded their two-game European fall tour with a 43-37 loss to Namibia at the National Rugby Center Amsterdam in the Netherlands on Saturday.
Down 36-34 with less than two minutes left in the match, Canada found themselves with a lineout just inside Namibias 22-metre line. Reserve hooker Lindsey Stevens hit his mark on the throw and after a few phases Canada forced Namibia to take a penalty at the breakdown, setting up Cooper Coats for a shot at goal with less than 60 seconds to play.
Coats put the penalty kick through the posts from approximately 15-metres out, giving his Canadian side the one-point advantage at 37-36 with only time for one more play.
On the ensuing kick-off, Canada was called for a knock on before taking two scrum infractions which resulted in a penalty for the opposition. Namibia opted for a lineout deep in Canadian territory rather than kicking a penalty which could have sealed the match. After struggling in the first half, the Namibian lineout came up clutch when they needed it most and after several phases along Canadas try line, scrum half TC Kisting dove over the line, sealing a thrilling victory for his Namibian squad on the final play of the game. The conversion was successful as Namibia defeated Canada for the first time in history, 43-37.
Corey Thomas and Andrew Quattrin each scored two tries while Coats added added 17 points with his foot to round out the scoring for Canada.
We learned a hard lesson today, said Head Coach Kingsley Jones. Really disappointed obviously with a lot of belief going into this game. I felt we should have been further in front at half time, which cost us as well. We took away the Namibian lineout, managed the contact area and I thought our physicality was excellent but unfortunately, we didnt get enough time in their territory.
Canada opened the scoring just two minutes into the match when Coats slotted a penalty kick to give his side an early 3-0 advantage. However, the lead was short lived as just a few minutes later Namibian lock, Adriaan Ludick, charged down a Jason Higgins box kick inside the Canadian half. Several phases later, Ludick finished off the sequence by scoring the try and with a successful conversion, Namibia took a 7-3 lead.
Canada answered with their first try in the 11th minute after a five-metre lineout and well-executed maul by the Canadians saw Quattrin get over the line to reclaim the lead at 10-7.
The 18th minute brought the first of two tries from Canadian flanker Corey Thomas. His first came after finding a gap just outside Namibias 22-metre line, leaving a one-on-one with their fullback Andre van der Berg. Thomas made no mistake, using a step and a stiff arm to get by the last defender to extend his squads lead to 17-7 after a successful conversion from Coats. Namibia scored their second try of the game to pull back to within five points before Thomas added his second of the half in the 28th minute.
Down 12-points with only four minutes remaining in the first half, Namibia struck quickly with two tries to level the game at 24-24 before the half time whistle. The Namibians used a five-metre lineout and a maul to score in the 37th minute before captain Johan Deysel finished off the final score of the first half.
Quattrin added his second try of the game to the scoreboard in the 49th minute to put the Canadians out front once again, 31-24. The 65-minute mark saw van der Berg break at tackle along the left sideline before running 30 metres for his teams fifth try of the match but a missed conversion still gave Canada a narrow 31-29 lead.
Coats kicked his second successful penalty of the game in 71st minute to extend the Canadian lead to 34-29 but after taking several penalties around their own five-metre line, Josh Larsen was sent off with a yellow card setting up another Namibia try in the 77th minute. With the added conversion, Namibia took their first lead of the match 36-34.
Canada appeared to have mounted the comeback after Coats third successful penalty kick in the 80th minute, but with time remaining in the match, Namibia scored their final try of the game on the last play steal the victory by a final score of 43-37.
Lucas Rumball and Ben LeSage captained a match day roster that brought a healthy balance of young talent alongside players with international experience. Starting prop Djustice Sears-Duru earned his 40th cap while Winnipeg, Manitoba native Kyle Steeves and 2022 Toronto Arrows draft pick, Owain Ruttan, both earned their first cap for Canada after coming off the bench in the second half.
Saturdays match was the second of two games Canada played during their European fall tour, presented by DHL. The Canadians faced the host Netherlands on November 12 where they earned a 37-25 victory.
CANADAS MENS RUGBY TEAM MATCH DAY ROSTER vs NAMIBIA
1. Djustice Sears-Duru (Oakville, ON) Unattached
2. Andrew Quattrin (Holland Landing, ON) New England Free Jacks
3. Tyler Rowland (Mississauga, ON) Toronto Arrows
4. Conor Keys (Stittsville, Ottawa, ON) New England Free Jacks
5. Josh Larsen (Nanaimo, BC) New England Free Jacks
6. Corey Thomas (Broome, Australia) Unattached
7. Lucas Rumball (Scarborough, ON) Toronto Arrows
8. Siaki Vikilani (Burnaby, BC) Toronto Arrows
9. Jason Higgins (Cork, Ireland) San Diego Legion
10. Robert Povey (Oxford, UK) Houston Sabercats
11. Josiah Morra (Toronto, ON) Canada Sevens
12. Josh Thiel (Victoria, BC) James Bay AA / Canada Sevens
13. Ben LeSage (Calgary, AB) Calgary Canucks
14. Andrew Coe (Markham, ON) Rugby NY
15. Cooper Coats (Halifax, NS) Halifax Tars / Canada Sevens
FINISHERS
16. Lindsey Stevens (Sydney, Australia) Eastern Suburbs R.U.F.C.
17. Foster Dewitt (Courtenay, BC) New England Free Jacks
18. Kyle Steeves (Winnipeg, MB) Manitoba Wombats / Pacific Pride
19. Piers Von Dadelszen (Vancouver, BC) Oxford University
20. Owain Ruttan (Cobourg, ON) UBC
21. Ross Braude (Pretoria, South Africa) Toronto Arrows
22. David Richard (Milton, ON) Mississauga Blues / Canada Sevens
23. Brock Webster (Uxbridge, ON) Oshawa Vikings / Canada Sevens
*Jones Names Canada Side to Face Namibia on Saturday at 5:30am PT*
Kingsley Jones has named the team to take on Namibia on Saturday at 5:30am PT. If you missed the Canada v Netherlands match it’s archived here:
https://eyecons.com/videos/nederland-canada-12-november-2022-19429
The backline from 10 to 15 remains the same, the front row subs who came on in the Netherlands game, Djustice Sears-Duru at loosehead and Andrew Quattrin at hooker get the start in this match. Conor Keys comes into the roster at second row and Corey Thomas moves to blindside flanker with Kyle Baillie not in the match day 23. Jason Higgins gets the start at scrum half.
On the bench Foster Dewitt and Kyle Steeves get their first action of the tour in the front row, Piers Von Dadelszen is the second row sub and Owain Ruttan is the loose forward sub. David Richard and Brock Webster are back up on the outside.
That means four players from the tour group won’t get to suit up this trip, one forward and three backs.
Loose forwards – Luke Campbell
Backs – Gradyn Bowd, Shane O’Leary, Kainoa Lloyd
The positives from last week’s game, the backs were able to spread the ball wide and gain some ground. Cooper Coats and Andrew Coe looked dangerous. The scrum halves Braude and Higgins kept the ball moving quickly. The forwards hit a few patches where they were able to string together multiple phases, draw the Dutch defence in and create space out wide. The negatives, the box kicking game isn’t accurate enough, it’s gifting counter attacking opportunities. The scrum was overpowered early on until Djustice and Quattrin came in to settle it down. The defence lost focus late in the game and let in two late tries.
Namibia will be a tougher test and Canada will have to be clinical and focused throughout the 80 minutes.
from Rugby Canada
Canadas Mens Rugby Teams match day roster for this weekends international test match against Namibia, presented by DHL, has been confirmed.
Head Coach Kingsley Jones squad will take on Namibia in Amsterdam, Netherlands at 2:30 p.m. local time (5:30 a.m. PT/8:30 a.m. ET) on Saturday November 19 at the National Rugby Center Amsterdam.
When this fixture against Namibia was announced the group was excited, Jones said, following the disappointment from the 2019 Rugby World Cup match in Japan that was cancelled due to a typhoon.
Canada recently climbed to No. 21 in the World Rugby rankings after their 37-25 win over the Netherlands last weekend. Namibia qualified for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France after they defeated Kenya in the 2022 Rugby Africa Cup in July.
In the forwards, Djustice Sears-Duru enters the starting line-up after coming off the bench against the Netherlands. Next to him in the scrum will be Andrew Quattrin who also gets the call from Jones to start the match after being listed as a reserve last weekend. Conor Keys will start at lock while Corey Thomas moves to the back row to play flank.
Jason Higgins draws the start at scrum half, acting as the main ball distributor to an identical backline that helped propel Canada to victory over the Dutch last Saturday.
The players have trained extremely hard this week and as a squad we feel prepared to take on a tough Namibian team, added Jones. A couple of our players picked up injuries last weekend, but I feel we have the right group to take on an opponent who are preparing for the next World Cup in France. Playing these types of matches will help our players develop as we continue to build our program towards the next World Cup qualification period starting in 2025.
WHERE TO WATCH
Canadian fans can watch Canadas Mens Rugby Team take on the Namibia LIVE on TSN.ca (https://www.tsn.ca/live) and the TSN App (under WATCH), at 5:30 a.m. PT/8:30 a.m. ET. on Saturday. Game links will be live approximately 15 minutes before kickoff.
International spectators will be able to watch the livestream here https://eyecons.com/videos/rugby-namibie-canada-16556
CANADAS MENS RUGBY TEAM MATCH DAY ROSTER
1. Djustice Sears-Duru (Oakville, ON) Unattached
2. Andrew Quattrin (Holland Landing, ON) New England Free Jacks
3. Tyler Rowland (Mississauga, ON) Toronto Arrows
4. Conor Keys (Stittsville, Ottawa, ON) New England Free Jacks
5. Josh Larsen (Nanaimo, BC) New England Free Jacks
6. Corey Thomas (Broome, Australia) Unattached
7. Lucas Rumball (Scarborough, ON) Toronto Arrows
8. Siaki Vikilani (Burnaby, BC) Toronto Arrows
9. Jason Higgins (Cork, Ireland) San Diego Legion
10. Robert Povey (Oxford, UK) Houston Sabercats
11. Josiah Morra (Toronto, ON) Canada Sevens
12. Josh Thiel (Victoria, BC) James Bay AA / Canada Sevens
13. Ben LeSage (Calgary, AB) Calgary Canucks
14. Andrew Coe (Markham, ON) Rugby NY
15. Cooper Coats (Halifax, NS) Halifax Tars / Canada Sevens
FINISHERS
16. Lindsey Stevens (Sydney, Australia) Eastern Suburbs R.U.F.C.
17. Foster Dewitt (Courtenay, BC) New England Free Jacks
18. Kyle Steeves (Winnipeg, MB) Manitoba Wombats / Pacific Pride
19. Piers Von Dadelszen (London, England) Oxford University
20. Owain Ruttan (Cobourg, ON) UBC
21. Ross Braude (Pretoria, South Africa) Toronto Arrows
22. David Richard (Milton, ON) Mississauga Blues / Canada Sevens
23. Brock Webster (Uxbridge, ON) Oshawa Vikings / Canada Sevens