Canada Selects Roster Announced for France Tour

Led by veteran scrumhalf Phil Mack, Jones’ outfit includes a blend of experience and young faces looking to gain invaluable high-level competition amongst a busy preparation period leading into the 2019 Rugby World Cup repechage tournament in November.
 
“These fixtures are critically important for our top domestic based athletes to prepare for November,” said Jones from the Al Charron Rugby Canada National Training Centre. “We will be facing top opposition in current Top 14 Champions Castres and previous European and Top 14 Champions Clermont.”
 
The tour lands directly in the middle of the 2018 Canadian Rugby Championships, with the first two rounds taking place July 27 to August 7 across the country. The finals weekend will take place at the Calgary Rugby Park on the weekend of August 23 to 26.
 
“We’re looking to give domestic based players as much experience of high level rugby as possible, it’s the best way to improve ahead of our November three-match series. The selected roster blends our regular starters alongside exciting talented young players who we are targeting for future development,” added Jones. 
 
Jones’ side will open the tour against Castres on August 11thin Lacaune before ending off against Clermont in Issoire on the 17th. Both Top 14 Sides are in pre-season at the moment, with their seasons getting underway on August 25thagainst Montpellier (Castres) and Agen (Clermont).  
 
November’s qualifying tournament will be played on a round-robin basis, with the winner automatically qualifying for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.  Currently, Canada, Germany and Hong Kong are confirmed to be participating, with the final nation to be determined in late August (2nd place team from the Rugby Africa Gold Cup). The match order will be determined by the World Rugby rankings after the completion of the Rugby Africa qualification process on August 20th. 

*****August 7 Update:

Clint Lemkus and Nick Blevins are unavailable for tour due to injury. Hubert Buydens will replace Lemkus in the front row, while Grant Crowell has also been added to the tour roster. 
 
Canada Selects Tour:
 
August 11th
Canada Selects vs. Castres
Lacaune, France
6pm local time

August 17th
Canada Selects vs. Clermont
Issoire, France
8pm local time
 
Canada Selects Roster for France Tour:
 
Kyle Baillie – Unattached/Atlantic Rock (Summerside, PEI)
Noah Barker – James Bay AA/BC Bears (Courtenay, BC)
Ray Barkwill – Seattle Seawolves/Ontario Blues (Niagara Falls, ON)
Hubert Buydens - NOLA Gold/Prairie Wolf Pack (Saskatoon, SK)
Luke Campbell – James Bay AA/BC Bears (Victoria, BC)
Paul Ciulini – Aurora Barbarians/Ontario Blues (Vaughan, ON)
Grant Crowell - Prairie Wolf Pack (AB)
Cole Davis – Calgary Saints/Prairie Wolf Pack (Calgary, AB)
Dustin Dobravsky – Castaway Wanderers/BC Bears (Hanover, Germany) 
Guiseppe du Toit – UVIC Vikes/BC Bears (Maple Ridge, BC)
Andrew Ferguson – Oakville Crusaders/Ontario Blues (Mississauga, ON)
Doug Fraser – Castaway Wanderers/BC Bears (Ladysmith, BC)
Matt Heaton – Darlington Mowden Park/Atlantic Rock (Godmanchester, QC)
Eric Howard – New Orleans Gold/Ontario Blues (Ottawa, ON)
Cole Keith – James Bay AA/Atlantic Rock (Sussex, NB)
Conor Keys – UVIC Vikes/Atlantic Rock (Stittsville, ON)
Ryan Kotlewski – Westshore RFC/Prairie Wolf Pack (Calgary, AB)
Ben LeSage – UBC Thunderbirds/Prairie Wolf Pack (Calgary, AB)
Kainoa Lloyd – Mississauga Blues/Ontario Blues (Mississauga, ON)
Phil Mack – Seattle Seawolves/BC Bears (Victoria, BC)
AidanMcMullan – UVIC/Atlantic Rock (Dollard-des-Ormeaux, QC)
Mike Nieuwenhuysen – James Bay AA/BC Bears (Brampton, ON)
Pat Parfrey – Swilers RFC/Atlantic Rock (St. John’s, NL)
*Benoit Piffero – Blagnac Sporting Club/Atlantic Rock (Montreal, QC)*
Robbie Povey – Castaway Wanderers/Prairie Wolf Pack (Northampton, England)
Lucas Rumball – Balmy Beach RFC/Ontario Blues (Scarborough, ON)
Jorden Sandover-Best – UBC Old Boys/BC Bears (Abbotsford, BC) 
Theo Sauder – UBC Thunderbirds/BC Bears (Vancouver, BC)
Djustice Sears-Duru – Unattached/Ontario Blues (Oakville, ON)
Mike Sheppard – Stoney Creek Camels/Ontario Blues (Brampton, ON)
Josh Thiel – Abbotsford RFC/BC Bears (Abbotsford, BC)
Adrian Wadden – Leeds Becket University/Ontario Blues (Mississauga, ON)
*Only available for one fixture*
 
2018 Canadian Rugby Championships:
 
July 27                    BC Bears 24-27 Prairie Wolf Pack (Calgary)
Aug. 3                     BC Bears vs. Prairie Wolf Pack (Vancouver)
Aug. 4                     Ontario Blues vs. Atlantic Rock (Montreal)
Aug. 7                     Ontario Blues vs. Atlantic Rock (Toronto) 
Aug. 23                  1st vs. 4th and 2nd vs. 3rd at Calgary Rugby Park 
Aug. 26                  Bronze & Gold Medal Match at Calgary Rugby Park
 
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