Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team gathers for European camp

November 2, 2022 (Amsterdam, Netherlands) – As the Fall fixtures in Europe approach, members of Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team are set to gather for camp ahead of test matches against the Netherlands and Namibia in Amsterdam.

The Dutch will host Canada in their first game on November 12 before the Canadians conclude their European tour against Namibia on November 19. Both games will be held at the National Rugby Center Amsterdam with kick-offs scheduled at 6:30 a.m. PT/9:30 a.m. ET.

These two games will be Canada’s first test matches since their summer fixtures against Belgium and Spain.

“The whole team is very excited to get back to playing test match rugby again,” said Head Coach Kingsley Jones. “We had positive performances from players in Brazil during the Americas Rugby Trophy competition. Those games allowed us to get our young talent some international experience while also giving them valuable playing time alongside some of our more experienced players.”

Jones has named a long list of 36 players, many of whom will assemble for camp in the Netherlands ahead of their first game on November 12. Early next week, Jones will finalize his 32-man squad that will be used to select Canada’s match day rosters for the games against the Netherlands and Namibia.

“All the players are looking forward to getting back to work as we begin our preparation for these next two test matches,” stated Jones. “There are still a few tough decisions to be made but we are incredibly pleased with this long list group of players as we look to narrow the squad to take on the Netherlands.”

Andrew Coe, Djustice Sears-Duru, Kainoa Lloyd, Luke Campbell and Shane O’Leary are amongst the experienced players who have been named in the long list

Fresh off the Americas Rugby Trophy, a development competition in Brazil in late October, prop Kyle Steeves and flanker Matthew Klimchuk have earned a call up to the senior long list after strong performances in Brazil. Both Steeves and Klimchuk started in a game against Brazil on October 26 and are part of Canada’s high-performance academy program, the Pacific Pride. Former UBC Thunderbird back row Owain Ruttan is also selected to the long list after starting the game in the forward pack with Steeves and Klimchuk.

CANADA’S MEN’S RUGBY TEAM LONG LIST FOR TEST MATCHES VERSUS THE NETHERLANDS AND NAMIBIA

1. Alex Russell (Chichester, England) – McGill University / Canada Sevens
2. Andrew Coe (Markham, ON) – Rugby NY
3. Andrew Quattrin (Holland Landing, ON) – New England Free Jacks
4. Ben LeSage (Calgary, AB) – Calgary Canucks
5. Brock Webster (Uxbridge, ON) – Oshawa Vikings / Canada Sevens
6. Callum Botcher (Vancouver, BC) – Canada Sevens
7. Conor Keys (Stittsville, Ottawa, ON) – New England Free Jacks
8. Conor Young (Yamba, Australia) – New England Free Jacks
9. Cooper Coats (Halifax, NS) – Halifax Tars / Canada Sevens
10. Corey Thomas (Broome, Australia) – Unattached
11. D’Shawn Bowen (Toronto, ON) – Canada Sevens
12. David Richard (Milton, ON) – Mississauga Blues / Canada Sevens
13. Dawson Fatoric (Ottawa, ON) – Canada Sevens
14. Djustice Sears-Duru (Oakville, ON) – Unattached
15. Foster Dewitt (Courtenay, BC) – New England Free Jacks
16. Gradyn Bowd (Red Deer, AB) – Castaway Wanderers / Old Glory DC
17. Jason Higgins (Cork, Ireland) – San Diego Legion
18. Josh Larsen (Nanaimo, BC) – New England Free Jacks
19. Josh Thiel (Victoria, BC) – James Bay AA / Canada Sevens
20. Josiah Morra (Toronto, ON) – Canada Sevens
21. Kainoa Lloyd (Mississauga, ON) – Unattached
22. Kyle Baillie (Summerside, PEI) – Halifax Tars
23. Kyle Steeves (Winnipeg, MB) – Manitoba Wombats / Pacific Pride
24. Liam Murray (Langley, BC) – Dallas Jackals
25. Lindsey Stevens (Sydney, Australia) – Eastern Suburbs R.U.F.C.
26. Lucas Rumball (Scarborough, ON) – Toronto Arrows
27. Luke Campbell (Victoria, BC) – Old Glory DC
28. Matthew Klimchuk (Regina, SK) – Regina Rogues / UVIC
29. Owain Ruttan (Cobourg, ON) – UBC
30. Peter Nelson (Dungannon, UK) – Stade Aurillacois
31. Piers Von Dadelszen (Vancouver, BC) – Oxford University
32. Robert Povey (Oxford, UK) – Houston Sabercats
33. Ross Braude (Pretoria, South Africa) – Toronto Arrows
34. Shane O’Leary (Ballina, Ireland) – Ballina/Killaloe RFC / Scariff RFC
35. Siaki Vikilani (Burnaby, BC) – Toronto Arrows
36. Tyler Rowland (Mississauga, ON) – Toronto Arrows