9 Arrows Named to Rugby Canada’s Roster for July UK Tour

With files from Rugby Canada

Nine Arrows have been named to Rugby Canada’s 30-man roster for the national program’s upcoming July tour to Wales and England.

Congratulations to scrum-half Ross Braude, centre Spencer Jones, prop Cole Keith, fly-half Will Kelly, centre Ben LeSage, utility back Pat Parfrey, hooker Andrew Quattrin, prop Tyler Rowland, and flanker Lucas Rumball.

“We’re proud to see nine of our players selected for Canada’s upcoming tour,” said Mark Winokur, Toronto Arrows Chief Operating Officer and General Manager. “One of the foundational goals of our organization is to provide Canadians with the preparation and elite reps required to perform at the international level, and given all the additional hurdles the pandemic has thrown at us as we’ve played the entire 2021 season abroad, we’re excited to see so many of our guys moving from blue to red.”

“Our players have worked extremely hard to earn the opportunity to represent their nation, and we will be proudly supporting them from the United States as we close out our 2021 campaign.”

Club captains LeSage and Rumball have both been designated as captains of the touring roster, joining Rugby ATL’s Matt Heaton in the leadership group.

Braude, Jones, and Rowland are all in contention for their first caps for Canada.

Canada’s senior men’s team, which last played in October 2019 at the World Cup in Japan, will return to action against No. 6 Wales on July 3 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff and No. 3 England on July 10 at Twickenham.

 

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Via Rugby Canada

June 14, 2021 (Langford, BC) – Head coach Kingsley Jones has named 30 players of a 32- man squad that will travel to the UK in July for two test matches against Wales and England. Two (2) spots on the roster remain unfilled pending fitness tests as players continue to return from injury. This will be the first action for the senior men’s team since Rugby World Cup in 2019.

Canada will first play Wales on July 3rd at Principality Stadium in Cardiff.  The following week on July 10th Canada will face England at Twickenham Stadium in London. Jones will use these games against two of the world’s top sides as preparation for upcoming Rugby World Cup 2023 qualification matches this Fall.

There is a heavy Major League Rugby (MLR) presence in the squad that features 25 players currently signed to MLR clubs.  This includes 9 players from Canada’s only MLR franchise the Toronto Arrows.  Jones credits the continued growth and evolution of the league which provides a full-time professional training environment for Canadian players.

Jones said, “The MLR is providing our players the opportunity to consistently train and play at a high level. We are very excited to assemble for the first time since our high-performance camp last November.  It’s been a massive undertaking in coordinating the logistics of assembling these players in a COVID-world, but we feel privileged and humbled to have the opportunity to play these critical Rugby World Cup qualification preparation matches.”

Matt Heaton (Rugby ATL), Ben LeSage (Toronto Arrows), and Lucas Rumball (Toronto Arrows) have been named Captains for the July matches.  Jones has selected 11 uncapped players to the squad including Foster DeWitt, Liam Murray, Reegan O’Gorman, Tyler Rowland, Michael Smith, Ross Braude, Fraser Hurst, Spencer Jones, Lachlan Kratz, Quinn Ngawati, and Isaac Olsen.  There are 18 players in the national 7s program that have not been considered for selection as they focus on final Olympic preparation and selection.

Jones added, “This is an outstanding opportunity for these young players to test themselves and perform against two very high-quality opponents.  The July matches are critical for our team as we prepare for our long-term goal of Rugby World Cup qualification this Fall competing against USA and South American opponents.”

The squad will assemble in a designated RFU venue in England where they will be based for the duration of the tour.

Canadian broadcast details will be announced at a later date.

CANADA’S MEN’S RUGBY TEAM’S 32 PLAYER TRAVELLING ROSTER:

Forwards:

Lucas Albornoz – Burnaby, BC – Houston SaberCats
Foster Dewitt – Courtenay, BC – RC National Development Academy
Matt Heaton – Godmanchester, QC – Rugby ATL
Eric Howard – Ottawa, ON – NOLA Gold
Jake Ilnicki – Williams Lake, BC – Seattle Seawolves
Cole Keith – Sussex, NB – Toronto Arrows
Conor Keys – Stittsville, ON – Rugby ATL
Josh Larsen – Parksville, BC – New England Free Jacks
Liam Murray – Langley, BC – Houston SaberCats
Reegan O’Gorman – Vancouver, BC – Austin Gilgronis
Andrew Quattrin – Holland Landing, ON – Toronto Arrows
Tyler Rowland – Mississauga, ON – Toronto Arrows
Lucas Rumball – Scarborough, ON – Toronto Arrows
Djustice Sears-Duru – Oakville, ON – Seattle Seawolves
Michael Smith – White Rock, BC – San Diego Legion

Backs:

Ross Braude – Pretoria, SA – Toronto Arrows
Cole Davis – Calgary, AB – Austin Gilgronis
Doug Fraser – Ladysmith, BC – Old Glory DC
Fraser Hurst – Vancouver, BC – Utah Warriors
Spencer Jones – Cambridge, NZ – Toronto Arrows
Will Kelly – Ancaster, ON – Toronto Arrows
Lachlan Kratz – Victoria, BC – NOLA Gold
Benjamin LeSage – Calgary, AB – Toronto Arrows
Kainoa Lloyd – Mississauga, ON – RC National Development Academy
Peter Nelson – Dungannon, UK – Mont de Mason
Quinn Ngawati – Victoria, BC – Rugby United New York
Patrick Parfrey – St. John’s, NL – Toronto Arrows
Will Percillier – Victoria, BC – Stade Francais
Robbie Povey – Calgary, AB – Houston SaberCats
Isaac Olsen – Victoria, BC – RC National Development Academy

Unavailable for selection:

Tyler Ardron, Castres Olympique
Kyle Bailey, NOLA Gold
Matt Beukeboom, Bourg-en-Bresse
Luke Campbell, Old Glory DC
Nick Carson, University of Victoria
Tyler Duguid, Montpellier
Evan Olmstead, Biarritz Olympique
Lindsey Stevens, LA Giltinis
Matt Tierney, Castres Olympique

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About Rugby Canada:

Rugby Canada is the national governing body of the sport of Rugby Union in Canada. They administer and operate Men’s and Women’s Senior and Junior National programs in both rugby XV’s and 7s, as well as govern the Club and community game for more than 30,000 registered participants from coast to coast in conjunction with ten Provincial Union members.

Rugby Canada is headquartered at the Al Charron National Training Centre in Langford, BC, with staff also working from Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa. Rugby Canada business operations, programs and events are delivered nationwide, including the internationally recognized HSBC Canada Sevens annual tournaments.

For more information, please contact: [email protected].

Header Photo Credit: Karl Moore