Oceania Rugby U20 – Canada v Samoa

Canada U20 Defeat Samoa U20 44-20 in Opening Match of Oceania Rugby Tournament

It was a good result for Canada, exceeded expectations I would say based on U20 results in recent years. Samoa are ranked #14 in the world, Canada #24, so there’s some hope in the young players coming through. The match was in the balance in the first half, the commentator remarked how the lead had changed 6 times.

The promised rugbypass.tv live stream never materialized but someone found a Samoan TV link on tv.garden and we were able to watch the second half on that channel. Samoa were ahead 17-13 based on reports from those in attendance, Canada scored a try before half and led 18-17 at the break. Based on a first half recap from the announcer I believe the first half scorers for Canada were Cole Harris, Liam Kinghorn and Stephen Webb.

Samoa went ahead 20-18 on a penalty but it was all Canada after that, as they scored 4 second half tries. Josh McIndoe led the charge from #10 when an overthrown Canada lineout bounced up nicely and he was very alert to pounce on the ball and run it in from about 22 metres out, 25-20. Stephen Webb then scored his second try as Canada went ahead 32-20. Jimmy Leach finished off an entertaining backline move that saw many hands touch the ball and Canada were looking confident in closing out the match, 39-20. Samoa were getting desperate as they found it difficult to break down the Canadian defence, they tried a chip kick to the wing that was picked off by Morgan di Nardo in his goal area and he hoofed it 100+ metres, untouched, to put the final nail in the coffin, 44-20.

The win was remarkable considering the Canada lineout was not functioning and the scrum was under constant pressure. It’s not often you can laud the Canada backline, especially when playing against the Pacific Island teams, but the Canada backline put it together today, scoring all of Canada’s second half tries. Josh McIndoe at #10 looks like an early success, he’s alert, a great open field runner, once his kicking and distribution skills hit next level, he’ll be vying for a senior spot. Morgan di Nardo, as expected, was dangerous with ball in hand and can score from anywhere.

A big plus was the defence and tackling, kudos to defensive coach John McFarland for getting that organized and the players for getting stuck in. Some work-ons, the lineout, ouch, it was bad in the second half. The scrum looked a bit shaky at times and they’ll need a plan B to get the ball out quickly on their own feed unless they can steady the ship. More than once a pick and go forward action didn’t have the support and looked a bit isolated, so some more coordination might be necessary there. Also the discipline might be worth a chat, 3 yellow cards in the second half, one leading to a red for a double yellow. The cards were a result of over exuberance at the breakdown and a bit of harsh interpretation by the ref, the coaches might need to address that. But a +24 win against Samoa, who can complain, great effort from coaches and players.

At the time of writing Fiji are leading Tonga 41-22 with a few minutes left. Canada face Fiji next which may be the tournament decider.

Canada Names U20 Team to Face Samoa at 7:00pm PT on May 27th

Coach Christiaan Esterhuizen has named his 23 player squad for tomorrow’s kickoff against Samoa. This will be a big test for the Canada side as they face a country ranked #14 in men’s rugby, Canada are ranked #24.

The big surprise is seeing Josh McIndoe at #10, usually playing in the centres it will be interesting to see how his game management, kicking and distribution skills hold up, he’s already a proven line break type of runner. The other backline threat is Morgan di Nardo who plays on the men’s 7s team and is one of their most consistent players, great work rate, makes his tackles and has pace and moves to find open space.

Most of the starters are from the squad that played the 1st half against the Island XV, 11 of the starters are from that group, and 3 are from the group that played the 2nd half. Morgan di Nardo didn’t play in that match.

How the forwards match up against the physical Samoans will ultimately determine the outcome. The match will be streamed on rugbypass.tv and for once Canada won’t be geo-blocked on the platform, as it is for the 7s series and Canada’s senior XVs matches.

Canada v Samoa

1 Cole Harris
2 Allistair Yeomans
3 James Noftall
4 Darragh Doyle
5 Seb Poyser
6 Coen Quin
7 Kaea Griffiths
8 Liam Kinghorn
9 Stephen Webb
10 Josh Mcindoe
11 Morgan di Nardo
12 Jimmy Leach
13 Liam Turnbull
14 Liam James
15 Kohl Kletke
16 Austin Allen
17 Daniel Lucic
18 Kyle Finan
19 Alex Muir
20 Adam Doane
21 Daniel Muzaliwa
22 Spencer Cotie
23 Joe Kaufmann