Canada’s U20 Men’s Rugby Team falls to USA in World Rugby U20 Trophy qualifier

The United States won the second of two World Rugby U20 Trophy qualifier matches against Canada’s U20 Men’s Rugby Team on Thursday at Starlight Stadium in Langford, BC, taking the win by a score of 41-21.

A penalty kick five minutes into the match gave the USA an early lead, which they followed up with two tries to go ahead 17-0. Canada was awarded a penalty try in the 27th minute, but another American try put Canada back 24-7.  

Canada was once again dominant in the scrum, leading to a string of yellow cards to the Americans. With the USA down to 13 players, Canada had a prime scoring opportunity, but the ball was held up. Another penalty try was awarded to Canada moments later however, with the USA leading 24-14 at half-time.

Spencer Cotie scored for Canada in the second half to tighten the score to 24-21, catching a cross kick from Matthew Bennett, who then converted the try.

However, the USA was able to extend their lead and keep Canada at bay in the final minutes, adding two tries and a penalty kick to win 41-21.

“I think it’s obvious to say that we’re feeling disappointed. Obviously we wanted to turn that result around. We’ve achieved some of our goals. We were successful in the scrums and in the mauls, we got two penalty tries from that. Unfortunately that was our one weapon. We are very disappointed. We feel like we’ve come a long way and we’ve prepared well, and there’s no lack of effort from the boys,” said Christiaan Esterhuizen, Head Coach of Canada’s U20 Men’s Rugby Team. “Eight o’clock to five o’clock every single day [during training camp in May], we really taught them a lot about theory and the technical aspect of rugby. Their knowledge about game understanding grew substantially. It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to work with them for such a long time. They’ve all got a good base now and it’s a really good sign for the future.”

The recap of Canada’s first match against the USA can be found here. Click here to support Canada’s U20 Men’s Rugby Team.

CANADA’S U20 MEN’S RUGBY TEAM
June 6 vs the United States

1. Thorson Noble (Victoria, BC) - University of British Columbia
2. Jeffrey Young (Toronto, ON) - Toronto Nomads / Bedwas RFC
3. Brighton Feldman (Langford, BC) - Westshore / University of Victoria
4. Ryan Cozens (Sidmouth, ENG) - Sidmouth RFC / Cardiff Metropolitan University 
5. Daragh Doyle (Dublin, IRE) - Clontarf Rugby Club
6. Grant Meadows (Richmond Hill, ON) - Aurora Barbarians RFC / Brock University 
7. Garin Schroeder (Stoney Creek, ON) - Burlington Centaurs / Western University
8. Olly Wiseman (London, ENG) - Cardiff Metropolitan University 
9. Patrick Kirwan (Vancouver, BC) - Meralomas 
10. Matthew Bennett (Victoria, BC) - University of Victoria
11. Thomas Wells Richards (Toronto, ON) - Balmy Beach RFC / University of Waterloo
12. Marco Mitchell (Vancouver, BC) - UBCOB Ravens / University of British Columbia
13. Morgan Di Nardo (Toronto, ON) - Toronto City Rugby / University of Victoria
14. Spencer Cotie (Victoria, BC) - Castaway Wanderers / University of Victoria 
15. Ben Greenstein (Vancouver, BC) - UBCOB Ravens / Queen's University

Finishers
16. Riku Konrad (Surrey, BC) - UBCOB Ravens 
17. Justin Tasse (Calgary, AB) - Calgary Hornets / Bowness High School
18. Charles Trollip (Guelph, ON) - Brantford Harlequins / University of Guelph
19. Eric Vann (Burlington, ON) - Burlington Centaurs / University of Toronto 
20. Austin Allen (Thornbury, ON) - Georgian Bay Titans / Trent University 
21. Liam Kinghorn (Calgary, AB) - Calgary Irish / University of British Columbia 
22. Liam Turnbull (Vancouver, BC) - UBCOB Ravens / St. George's School 
23. Caleb Seumanutafa (White Rock, BC) - Bayside Sharks / University of British Columbia

Reserves
Angus Dewar (Vancouver, BC) - Queen's University  
Brady Howlett (Maple Ridge, BC) - Abbotsford Rugby Club / Trinity Western University
Dylan Shaw (Toronto, ON) - Toronto Scottish RFC / University of Guelph
Jaxson Jones (Duncan , BC) - Cowichan Rugby Club / University of Victoria
Kyle Finan (Barnsley, ENG) - Red Deer Titans / Trinity Western University 
Noah Kynaston (Victoria, BC) - Castaway Wanderers
Presley Bosa (Vancouver, BC) - Capilano RFC / Western University  

Injured
Brodie Lowry (Montreal, QC) - Beaconsfield Rugby Club / Royal Military College 
Lockhart MacGregor (Abbotsford, BC) - Abbotsford Panthers / University of Victoria
Ty Driscoll (Victoria, BC) - Pacific Pride