Canada show incredible heart in loss against All Blacks
Rugby 15s Senior Men
Canada battled until the very end but could not keep up with reigning champions New Zealand, falling 63-0 on Wednesday, October 2nd in game two of the Rugby World Cup.
Hot and humid conditions resulted in several errors for both teams in a roaring Oita Stadium, with New Zealand even fumbling two gifts before the try line. A physical game, Canada met the All Blacks head on and while giving up 11 tries, never let up and kept on them at the break down.
"I was happy with the heart," said captain Tyler Ardron. "We had a slip up when we first came out of that second half but other than that I mean, man I'm really proud to be Canadian today. That was a hell of an effort from the boys."
Canada held tight in the first half, creating some opportunities including a massive line break by fly-half Peter Nelson that fired up the Canadian effort.
While New Zealand tightened up to start the second and put up some more points on the board, Canada dug deep and held them off-- keeping them scoreless for the last 20 minutes of the match.
"The players held in until the end," said head coach Kingsley Jones. "There were so many aspects of the game, I'm so proud of the guys. The last 20 minutes in particular. A great experience and I hope all the Canadians are watching back home. A great message for all the young rugby players, maybe we'll see you in 18 years time."
With his start in the match, winger DTH van der Merwe tied Rod Snow and Jamie Cudmore for most Rugby World Cup starts of any Canadian at 14.
Canada will now face South Africa in game 3 of the Rugby World Cup on October 8th in Kobe. Kickoff is at 6:15am ET/ 3:15am PT and will be LIVE on TSN 1, 3, & 4.
Canada's Roster:
1. Djustice Sears-Duru (Oakville, ON) Seattle Seawolves
2. Eric Howard (Ottawa, ON) New Orleans Gold
3. Cole Keith (Sussex, NB) Toronto Arrows
4. Evan Olmstead (Vancouver, BC) Unattached
5. Conor Keys (Stittsville, ON) Unattached
6. Matt Heaton (Godmanchester, QC) Rugby ATL
7. Lucas Rumball (Scarborough, ON) Toronto Arrows
8. Tyler Ardron (Lakefield, ON) Chiefs 'C'
9. Gordon McRorie (Calgary, AB) Calgary Hornets
10. Peter Nelson (Dungannon, UK) Unattached
11. DTH van der Merwe (Regina, SK) Glasgow Warriors
12. Ciaran Hearn (Conception Bay South, NL) Unattached
13. Conor Trainor (Vancouver, BC) USON Nevers
14. Jeff Hassler (Okotoks, AB) Seattle Seawolves
15. Patrick Parfrey (St. John's, NL) Toronto Arrows
16. Andrew Quattrin (Holland Landing, ON) Toronto Arrows
17. Hubert Buydens (Saskatoon, SK) Unattached
18. Jake Ilnicki (Williams Lake, BC) Seattle Seawolves
19. Mike Sheppard (Brampton, ON) Toronto Arrows
20. Josh Larsen (Parksville, BC) New England Free Jacks
21. Phil Mack (Victoria, BC) Seattle Seawolves
22. Taylor Paris (Barrie, ON) Castres Olympiques
23. Andrew Coe (Markham, ON) Markham Irish
Canada’s Rugby World Cup 2019 Schedule:
Canada 7-48 Italy
Canada 0-63 New Zealand
TUESDAY 08 OCTOBER
03:15 PT/ 06:15 ET /19:15 LOCAL TIME
CANADA v SOUTH AFRICA
Broadcast: TSN1, TSN3, and TSN4
Kobe Misaki Stadium, Kobe City
SUNDAY 13 OCTOBER
20:15 PT/ 23:15 ET/ 12:15 LOCAL TIME
CANADA v NAMIBIA
Broadcast: TSN
Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium, Iwate Prefecture, Kamaishi
Photo credit: David Ramos- World Rugby via Getty Images