Canada national under-20 rugby union team

The Canada under 20 rugby team is the junior national rugby union team from Canada. It replaced the two former age grade teams, the under 19s and under 21s, in 2008. The team competed at the IRB Junior World Championship in 2008 and 2009 but were relegated to the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy for 2010. The team has yet to make their way back to the top competition.[1]

Canada U-20
UnionRugby Canada
Coach(es)South Africa Christiaan Esterhuizen
Team kit
Change kit
First international
 Australia 81 – 12 Canada 
(6 June 2008)
Largest win
 Canada 71 – 14 Romania 
(9 September 2018)
Largest defeat
 Australia 86 – 0 Canada 
(5 June 2009)
World Cup
Appearances2 (First in 2008)
Best result12th, 2008

History

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2008 and 2009 IRB Junior World Championships

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In June 2008 Canada participated in the 2008 IRB Junior World Championships held in Wales. The team competed in Pool C with all of their pool games being played at Rodney Parade in Newport. Canada lost their matches to Australia 81–12 and to England 60–18 but were able to earn a 17–10 win against Fiji which placed them 3rd in their pool. Canada would go on to lose their next two games to Scotland 15–10 and to Italy 33–10. The team ended the tournament in 12th place.[2]

The following year Canada competed in the 2009 IRB Junior World Championships hosted by Japan. Canada began pool play with an 86–0 loss to Australia. The team went on to lose their next two pool play matches to Wales 51–15 and to Tonga 36–20. Canada then went into the play off stages and beat Uruguay 29–11 but suffered a 32–22 loss in their final match. Canada's final position was 14th and therefore the team was relegated to the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy for 2010.[3]

2010 and 2011 IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy

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Canada went into the 2010 IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy as one of the favourites to play in the final. However, Canada suffered a 17–15 loss to Russia and another loss to Japan, 38–17. Canada's only win came from a 22–6 defeat of Zimbabwe placing them 3rd in Pool B. The team eventually lost in a dramatic 5th place final 13–11 to Uruguay giving Canada the final position of 6th.[4]

On May 24, 2011, under new head coach Mike Shelley, Canada took on the 2011 IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy hosts Georgia to begin pool play. The Canadians were outmatched by the formidable Georgians and lost their opening match 38–9.[5] Canada played their next game four days later against a Japanese team who had previously defeated Zimbabwe four days earlier. The Canadians showed improvement upping their offensive production to 15 points. However, The Japanese proved to be too much for Canada winning the match 30 points to 15.[6] Canada then played their final pool match versus Zimbabwe on June 1, 2011. Canada defeated Zimbabwe 49-23 to record their first Pool B win. Canada would go on to defeat Russia 49–24 in the 5th-place playoff, improving their ranking one spot from last year.[7]

2012 Junior World Rugby Trophy

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Prior to the 2012 Junior World Rugby Trophy, Rugby Canada announced an unprecedented series of matches against fellow under-20 national squads from Romania and the United States.[8]

March 2012 saw Canada match up against a formidable Romanian side for two matches the first being played at Shawnigan Lake School. The Romanians had just missed qualification for the 2012 Junior World Rugby Trophy by placing third behind Georgia and Russia in the European qualifiers and so had much to prove. Romania came out firing with physical play, out-muscling the Canadians in the forwards and secured a 30–22 victory. The Canadians and Romanians came together on 10 March for a rematch, and again the Romanian forward pack proved dominant over the Canadians. Romania completed the sweep with a 23–6 defeat over an outworked Canadian squad.[9]

Canada then met traditional rivals U.S.A. on 23 May 2012 at Shawnigan Lake School for the first of a two-match series. Both squads contained players still vying for spots on their respective nation's final roster for the 2012 IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy. The game proved to be a back-and-forth affair as the Canadians and Americans traded scores. At the end of the first half, the Canadians led the Junior All-Americans by a score of 15–8. Early substitutions at the beginning of the second half proved fruitful for the United States as they scored off a quick tap from an American front row reserve. Quickly after the United States struck again off a counter-attack, taking an important 20–15 lead. Canada would hit back soon after with a try from replacement centre Michael Fuailefau which was well converted by Conor McCann; however, the Americans would find time to score one more try, finishing the match with a 27–22 victory.[10] The teams would meet three days later. Canada would come out with 21 unanswered points before the United States completed the comeback and picked up a 34–28 win.

Canada would play one more preparation game against a touring university side from Scotland, St. Andrews University. The Scottish university side proved to be a mismatch with the Canadian under-20s coming out 118-0 winners. Canada's preparation would conclude with a 1–4 record.

Canada's pre-tournament matches would prove prophetic as Canada struggled throughout, losing their first game 31–17 at the hands of a very physical Georgia side. Four days later, on 22 June 2012, the young Canadians would once again go down in defeat, this time losing to a rising Japan team, 38–35. Canada would end pool play on a positive note, picking up a 66–45 win in a high-scoring affair against Zimbabwe. The fifth-place decider saw the Canadian team face a spirited Chile side. Once again the Canadian defense was lacking, and the Chileans would take a 20-point lead in the second half of the match. Canada came back with a series of tries but ultimately came up short, the game finishing 43–31 in the Chileans' favour. With the loss to Chile, Canada finished 6th in the tournament. Taylor Paris would finish the tournament with 5 tries, the second most in the tournament.

2013–2015 Junior World Rugby Trophy

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During this period, the Canadian junior team saw highs and lows which included two second-place finishes in the 2013 and 2015 Junior World Rugby Trophies and a dismal seventh-place finish in the 2014 edition of the tournament. Canada would go a perfect 3–0 in pool play in 2013, beating out formidable opponents in Tonga, Japan, and Uruguay. The team would eventually fall heavily, 45–23, in the final to a very strong Italian side. This second-place finish, however, would be Canada's best result in the second-tier tournament.

Unable to match their successes of the 2014 tournament, the 2014 Junior World Rugby Trophy saw Canada finish with two losses and a tie against Uruguay. They finished the tournament on a high note, defeating hosts Hong Kong 33–30 to finish seventh overall. Following the tournament Mike Shelley was relieved of his head coaching duties of the Canada U20 team.

With a brand-new head coach in former Canadian national player, Jeff Williams, Canada seemed revitalized, going through pool play of the 2015 tournament with a 3–0 record, knocking off Namibia, Hong Kong, and a close win against Tonga. However, Canada would yet again miss out on promotion to the Junior World Rugby Championship as the team were unable to get by a powerful Georgian side. Canada lost the final match 49–24.

Results and statistics

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Junior World Championship/Trophy
Year Competition P W D L PF PA Diff BP Pts Pool place Playoffs Final position
2024 Did not qualify
2023 Did not qualify
2022 Cancelled
2021 Cancelled
2020 Cancelled
2019 Trophy 3 1 0 2 124 101 +23 3 7 3rd (5th Final) Beat Kenya 52 – 13 5th
2018 Trophy 3 0 0 3 78 111 -33 2 1 4th (7th Final) Beat Romania 71 – 14 7th
2017 Trophy 3 0 0 3 56 126 -70 1 1 4th (7th Final) Beat Hong Kong 38 – 0 7th
2016 Did not qualify
2015 Trophy 3 3 0 0 72 46 26 1 13 1st (Final) Lost to Georgia 49 – 24 2nd
2014 Trophy 3 0 1 2 55 92 -37 0 2 4th (7th Final) Beat Hong Kong 33 – 30 7th
2013 Trophy 3 3 0 0 99 36 63 2 14 1st (Final) Lost to Italy 45 – 23 2nd
2012 Trophy 3 1 0 2 118 114 4 3 7 3rd (5th Final) Lost to Chile 43 - 31 6th
2011 Trophy 3 1 0 2 73 91 −18 1 5 3rd (5th Final) Beat Russia 49 - 24 5th
2010 Trophy 3 1 0 2 54 61 −7 1 5 3rd (5th Final) Lost to Uruguay 13 – 11 6th
2009 Championship 3 0 0 3 35 173 −138 0 0 4th (13th–16th Semifinals) Beat Uruguay 29 – 11
(13th Final) Lost to Italy 32 – 22
14th
2008 Championship 3 1 0 2 47 151 −104 0 4 3rd (9th–12th Semifinals) Lost to Scotland 15 – 10
(11th Final) Lost to Italy 33 – 10
12th
Total
inc. playoffs
- 46 17 1 28 1091 1354 -263 14 59 - - -

Overall

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Canadian U-20 rugby record against other U-20 national teams.

  • Updated as of 21 July 2019
Opponent Played Won Lost Drawn Win % For Aga Diff
  Australia 2 0 2 0 0.00% 12 167 -155
  Chile 2 0 2 0 0.00% 59 88 -29
  England 1 0 1 0 0.00% 18 60 -42
  Fiji 1 1 1 0 50.00% 43 63 -20
  Georgia 3 0 3 0 0.00% 50 118 -68
  Hong Kong 4 4 0 0 100.00% 173 71 +102
  Italy 3 0 3 0 0.00% 55 110 -55
  Japan 6 1 5 0 16.67% 130 208 -78
  Kenya 1 1 0 0 100.00% 52 13 +39
  Namibia 3 1 2 0 33.33% 76 88 -12
  Portugal 3 0 3 0 0.00% 65 117 -52
  Romania 2 1 2 0 33.33% 99 67 +32
  Russia 2 1 1 0 50.00% 64 41 +23
  Scotland 1 0 1 0 0.00% 10 15 -5
  Tonga 4 2 2 0 50% 82 79 +3
  United States 13 8 5 0 61.53% 411 283 +128
  Uruguay 5 2 2 1 50.00% 117 84 +33
  Wales 1 0 1 0 0.00% 15 51 -36
  Zimbabwe 3 3 0 0 100.00% 137 74 +63
Total 60 25 36 1 42.50% 1668 1797 -129

Personnel

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Current squad

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Canada's squad for the 2024 World Rugby Under 20 Trophy North American Qualifier two-match series in Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia and Langford, British Columbia.[11]

  Christiaan Esterhuizen (Bloemfontein, RSA) - Head Coach

  • Assistant Coaches: Hubert Buydens, Cory Hector, and Paddy Watson
  • Additional Coaches: Stephen Aboud, Phil Mack, John McFarland, and Kingsley Jones
Backs
Player Position Club
Brady Howlett Scrum-half   Trinity Western University
Jesse Kilgour Scrum-half   Pacific Pride
Patrick Kirwan Scrum-half   Pacific Pride
Matt Bennett Fly-half   University of Victoria
Ty Driscoll Fly-half   Pacific Pride
Jimmy Leach Centre   Brunel University
Lockhart MacGregor Centre   University of Victoria
Marco Mitchell Centre   University of British Columbia
Liam Turnbull Centre   St. George's School
Spencer Cotie Wing   University of Victoria
Morgan Di Nardo Wing   University of Victoria
Thomas Wells-Richards Wing   University of Waterloo
Ben Greenstein Full-back   Queen's University
Caleb Seumanutafa Full-back   University of British Columbia
Forwards
Player Position Club
Riku Konrad Hooker   UBCOB Ravens
Noah Kynaston Hooker   Pacific Pride
Jeffrey Young Hooker   Bedwas RFC
Angus Dewar Prop   Queen's University
Brighton Feldman Prop   University of Victoria
Finlay Kennedy Prop   Bournemouth RFC
Thorson Noble Prop   University of British Columbia
Dylan Shaw Prop   University of Guelph
Justin Tasse Prop   Westshore RFC
Charles Trollip Prop   University of Guelph
Ryan Cozens Lock   Cardiff Met University
Daragh Doyle Lock   Clontarf RFC
Brodie Lowry Lock   Royal Military College of Canada
Eric Vann Lock   University of Toronto
Austin Allen Back row   Trent University
Presley Bosa Back row   University of Western Ontario
Kyle Finan Back row   Trinity Western University
Jaxson Jones Back row   University of Victoria
Liam Kinghorn Back row   University of British Columbia
Grant Meadows Back row   Brock University
Garin Schroeder Back row   University of Western Ontario
Olly Wiseman (C) Back row   Cardiff Met University

Former head coaches

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Notable former players

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2015-16 1st Kit
 
 
 
 
 
 
2015-16 2nd Kit
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2015-16 3rd Kit
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2017 1st Kit
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2017 2nd Kit

References

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  1. ^ Jimenez, Oscar. "IRB Junior World Championship". irb.com. Archived from the original on 1 April 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2010.
  2. ^ "IRB Junior World Championship Overview". irb.com. 2008. Archived from the original on 2010-04-01. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
  3. ^ "IRB Junior World Championship Overview". irb.com. 2009. Archived from the original on 2010-02-20. Retrieved 2010-03-03.
  4. ^ "INJURY TIME PENALTY LIFTS URUGUAY OVER CANADA". rugbycanada.ca. 2010. Archived from the original on 2016-07-22. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
  5. ^ "Impressive start to JWRT 2011 in Georgia". irb.com. 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-06-01. Retrieved 2011-05-24.
  6. ^ "Hosts maintain unbeaten record at JWRT". irb.com. 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
  7. ^ "Samoa claim JWRT crown". irb.com. 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2011-06-05.
  8. ^ "U20 MEN'S SPRING TEST MATCHES ANNOUNCED". rugbycanada.ca. 2012. Archived from the original on 2016-07-22. Retrieved 2012-05-26.
  9. ^ "U20 MEN FALL TO ROMANIA IN SECOND MATCH OF SERIES". rugbycanada.ca. 2012. Archived from the original on 2016-10-12. Retrieved 2012-05-26.
  10. ^ "U20 MEN FALL JUST SHORT IN BACK-AND-FORTH GAME VS. USA". rugbycanada.ca. 2012. Archived from the original on 2016-07-22. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
  11. ^ Rugby Canada (10 May 2024). "CANADA'S U20 MEN'S RUGBY TEAM BEGINS TRAINING CAMP AT SHAWNIGAN AHEAD OF MATCHES VERSUS THE UNITED STATES". Retrieved 4 June 2024.
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