Canadian men's rugby squad to be tested against Wales, England
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From Starlight Stadium to Twickenham and Cardiff, the Langford-based Canadian men’s rugby team will play two world powers this summer.
The Tests against Six Nations champion Wales are on July 3 at Principality (formerly Millennium) Stadium in Cardiff and world No. 3 England on July 10 at Twickenham. Both venues are considered hallowed grounds in rugby.
“It’s exciting to be able to get the team back playing again after a long break due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Canadian head coach Kingsley Jones of Sooke.
“Playing against European champions Wales and World Cup finalists England in consecutive matches will be a massive challenge for our players as the start of our preparations for World Cup 2023 qualifying later this year.”
These are heady games for Canada against two nations which are giants of the sport. Wales is on form after winning the Six Nations in March. England made the 2019 World Cup final in Yokohama, Japan, against champion South Africa.
“Canada are a traditional rival for England. They’re a tough, physical side and Kingsley Jones is an astute coach,” England head coach Eddie Jones said in a statement.
Canada has not played since losing to South Africa on Oct. 8, 2019, at Kobe, Japan, in the World Cup. Canada’s final World Cup pool game scheduled for Oct. 13, 2019, against Namibia at Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium was cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis.
“With our inability to assemble the national team over the past 19 months due to pandemic restrictions, we are grateful to Major League Rugby for providing top-flight competition opportunities for many of our players over the past three months,” said Kingsley Jones.
“I’d also personally like to acknowledge [England and Wales] coaches Wayne Pivac and Eddie Jones for their aid in confirming these two matches and giving our team the opportunity to face Tier I competition.”
Rugby Canada’s headquarters are located at the Al Charron National Training Centre in Langford, located behind Starlight Stadium.
cdheensaw@timescolonist.com
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