U.S. thumps Canada 51-34 in key rugby Test
It happened in men’s soccer, where the U.S. surpassed Canada, and in hockey, where they at least equalized. And now, it appears to be occuring in rugby, too.
The U.S. Eagles defeated the Langford-based Canadian national team 51-34 in an Americas Rugby Championship Test match Saturday evening before 3,416 fans at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby.
Canada is 38-17-1 all-time in Tests against the U.S., but more immediately tellingly, the Eagles have won the last six consecutive meetings against the Canadians.
It is an especially ominous sign considering the U.S. and Canada will meet in June in a two-game qualifier for the North American berth into the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
Canada has never failed to qualify first out of North America for the World Cup, but those days might be numbered. The loser of the qualifier must go through an arduous repechage route through South America in order to get to World Cup 2019.
“The Americans fielded a more seasoned team and, it’s not an excuse, but we have a young squad that is learning,” said veteran Phil Mack of Victoria, who started and scored a try Saturday for Canada.
“But we know what we have to do for this summer and we are up for it.”
The Americans took away Canada's home advantage early in building a 12-0 lead after six minutes and 15-0 before Canada could answer.
“We started slow and allowed them two quick tries,” said Mack, a product of Oak Bay High, UVic Vikes and James Bay.
“When you put up 34 points, that’s usually good enough, but we had to play catch-up all game. They [Americans] carried the ball well and maintained their structure throughout the game.”
Canadian coach Mark Anscombe concurred: “They were the better team. They protected the ball and attacked better than us. Conceding two tries that quick is not acceptable. It was just poor from us.”
Canada got two tries from French league pro Taylor Paris from Barrie Ont., and one each from Mack, Admir Cejvanovic and Duncan’s George Barton, a graduate of the Shawnigan Lake School Stags. Mike Te’o recorded the hat-trick of tries for the U.S.
Canada is 1-2 in the Americas Championship after opening the tournament with a loss to Argentina XV and a victory over Chile, both at Westhills Stadium in Langford.
Canada now closes out on the road with Test matches next Saturday against Uruguay in Montevideo and March 4 against Brazil at Sao Paulo.