Match day roster named as Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team prepares to take on Romania for the new Cernavodă Cup
Rugby 15s Senior Men
The match day roster for Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team that will take on Romania this Saturday for the new Cernavodă Cup has been named by Head Coach Kingsley Jones.
The match day roster for Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team that will take on Romania this Saturday for the new Cernavodă Cup has been named by Head Coach Kingsley Jones.
Romania hosts Canada at Stadionul Arcul de Triumf in Bucharest on Saturday November 16 at 8:00am PT / 11:00am ET / 6:00pm local time. This is the second meeting between these teams this year; Canada hosted Romania in Ottawa in July, winning 35-22.
This weekend will see Canada take to the field with some new pairings and combinations, along with three players who could earn their first caps, Pacific Pride Development Academy players Sam Miller, Jesse Kilgour and Rhys James.
Earning his second start for Canada is Noah Flesch, who debuted for Canada last Saturday against Chile. Brock Gallagher and James Stockwood, who earned their first caps for Canada in July off the bench against Scotland, get their first starts.
“Our match against Romania in July was an important one for us, where we saw a lot of growth from our squad, and this second opportunity against them gives us another great challenge against strong opposition. Players have worked really hard this week and are really wanting to improve upon our performance from our tough test last Saturday against Chile,” said Head Coach Kingsley Jones.
“Our roster for Saturday looks different than that from the match in July, as our program works through a number of injuries, but it’s a valuable experience for our young players. This is an important opportunity to see how our young players step up ahead of next year’s Rugby World Cup qualification.”
This match will mark the introduction of the Cernavodă Cup, a perpetual trophy that will be contested every time that Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team and Romania play.
The trophy is named, in collaboration with the Embassy of Canada to Romania, to honour the remarkable tradition of Romanian-Canadian cooperation in the nuclear energy sector. For nearly half a century, the Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant, which has two Canadian CANDU reactors, has been at the very heart of this bilateral relationship. It is the biggest and most enduring project that Canada and Romania have ever undertaken together.
The two operational CANDU units at Cernavodă provide Romania with 18% of its total electricity, or one lightbulb in five. They are two of the best-performing reactors in the world and supply safe, secure and affordable electricity while generating zero CO2 emissions.
CANADA’S MEN’S RUGBY TEAM MATCH DAY ROSTER vs ROMANIA
1. Calixto Martinez (White Rock, BC) - Earl Marriott Secondary / Bayside RFC / University of British Columbia / Old Glory DC
2. Andrew Quattrin (Holland Landing, ON) – Aurora Barbarians / New England Free Jacks
3. Conor Young (Yamba, AUS) – Southern Districts Rugby Club / RFC LA
4. James Stockwood (Bowmanville, ON) – Vikings RFC / Pacific Pride
5. Mason Flesch (Cobourg, ON) – Cobourg Saxons RFC / Chicago Hounds
6. Matt Heaton (Godmanchester, QC) - RFC LA
7. Siôn Parry (Cardiff, WAL) - Rhiwbina RFC / Ebbw Vale RFC
8. Lucas Rumball (Scarborough, ON) – Balmy Beach RFC / Chicago Hounds
9. Brock Gallagher (Edmonton, AB) - Strathcona Druids RFC
10. Peter Nelson (Dungannon, NIR) – Dungannon RFC
11. Nic Benn (Caves Beach, AUS) – Utah Warriors
12. Noah Flesch (Cobourg, ON) - Cobourg Saxons / Pacific Pride / Chicago Hounds
13. Mitch Richardson (Stoney Creek, ON) - McMaster University
14. Andrew Coe (Markham, ON) - RFC LA / Markham Irish RFC
15. Cooper Coats (Halifax, NS) - Halifax Tars / NOLA Gold
FINISHERS
16. Jesse Mackail (Palmerston North, NZL) - UBCOB Ravens / Pacific Pride / Seattle Seawolves
17. Sam Miller (Mount Denson, NS) - Valley Rugby Union / Pacific Pride
18. Tyler Matchem (Pictou County, NS) - Pacific Pride / Pictou County RFC
19. Callum Botchar (Vancouver, BC) – NOLA Gold
20. Izzak Kelly (White Rock, BC) - Bayside RFC / University of British Columbia / Cottesloe Rugby Club
21. Matthew Oworu (Calgary, AB) – Pacific Pride / Chicago Hounds
22. Jesse Kilgour (Barrie, ON) - Barrie RFC / Pacific Pride
23. Rhys James (Kelowna, BC) - UBC Okanagan Heat / Pacific Pride