12 Arrows Named to Rugby Canada’s Squad for Upcoming World Cup Qualifiers

With files from Rugby Canada

Twelve Arrows have been named to Rugby Canada’s 30-man roster for the national program’s upcoming Rugby World Cup 2023 Qualification Pathway matches against the United States.

Congratulations to scrum-half Ross Braude, lock/flanker Mason Flesch, scrum-half Jason Higgins, centre Spencer Jones, prop Cole Keith, fly-half Will Kelly, centre Ben LeSage, utility back Pat Parfrey, hooker Andrew Quattrin, prop Tyler Rowland, flanker Lucas Rumball, and No. 8 Siaki Vikilani.

Flesch, Higgins and Jones are all in contention to earn their first caps for Canada, while Keith (18 caps) and LeSage (18 caps) could hit the 20-match milestone. Braude, Rowland and Vikilani all made their first appearances for Canada in the Canucks’ tour to the United Kingdom last month.

The Arrows organization is also represented on Canada’s coaching staff, with Rob Howley serving as Kingsley Jones’ senior assistant coach and Rodin Lozada involved as the team’s performance analyst.

Via Rugby Canada

August 30, 2021 (St. John’s, NL) – Head coach Kingsley Jones has named the 30-man squad that will face off against the USA in their upcoming Rugby World Cup 2023 Qualification Pathway matches. The matches will be shown live in Canada through Premier Sports.

The winner of the two-match North American series is determined by an aggregate score across both games. The winner will move on to face Uruguay on October 2 and 9, with the victor of this series qualifying for Rugby World Cup 2023 as Americas #1. The loser of the two-match North American series will move on to face Chile on October 2 and 9.

Jones said, “We have been working tirelessly to ensure that our team is as prepared as we can be for these upcoming matches against the States. As we know, coordinating the logistics of assembling players in a COVID-world is no easy task and our entire group is thankful to our staff and hosts in St. John’s for their support and excited to be able to compete on home soil in these critical Rugby World Cup qualification matches.”

Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team has been training in St. John’s, Newfoundland ahead of their upcoming qualification matches versus USA.

Jones added, “The St. John’s community has provided an excellent environment for our players to continue preparations for our upcoming Fall matches against the USA, as we continue to work towards our long-term goal of World Cup qualification.”

The first match, powered by DHL Rugby, kicks off at 3PM local time (1:30PM ET / 10:30AM PT) on September 4 at Swilers Rugby Club in St. John’s, NL. Limited tickets remain and can be purchased by visiting www.mileonecentre.com. The return match will be hosted in Glendale, CO on September 11 with kick-off at 9PM ET / 6PM PT.

CANADA’S MEN’S RUGBY TEAM’S ROSTER: 

Kyle Baillie – Summerside, PEI – NOLA Gold
Ross Braude – Pretoria, SA – Toronto Arrows
Cooper Coats – Halifax, NS – Canada Rugby 7s
Cole Davis – Calgary, AB – Austin Gilgronis
Foster DeWitt – Courtney, BC – Pacific Pride
Mason Flesch – Cobourg, ON – Toronto Arrows
Matt Heaton – Godmanchester, QC – Rugby ATL
Jason Higgins – Cork, Ireland – Toronto Arrows
Eric Howard – Ottawa, ON – Nola Gold
Jake Ilnicki – Williams Lake, BC – Unattached
Spencer Jones – Cambridge, NZ – Toronto Arrows
Cole Keith – Apohaqui, NB – Toronto Arrows
Will Kelly – Ancaster, ON – Toronto Arrows
Conor Keys – Stittsvile, ON – Rugby ATL
Lachlan Kratz – Victoria, BC – Nola Gold
Ben LeSage – Calgary, AB – Toronto Arrows
Kainoa Lloyd – Mississauga, ONT – James Bay AA
Peter Nelson – Dungannon, UK – Stade Aurillacois Cantal Auvergne
Quinn Ngawati – Victoria, BC – Rugby United NY
Patrick Parfrey – St. John’s, NL – Toronto Arrows/Swilers RFC
Rob Povey – Long Buckby, UK – Houston Sabercats
Andrew Quattrin – Holland Landing, ON – Toronto Arrows
Tyler Rowland – Mississauga, ON – Toronto Arrows
Lucas Rumball – Scarborough, ON – Toronto Arrows
Djustice Sears-Duru – Edmonton, AB – Seattle Seawolves
Michael Smith – White Rock, BC – San Diego Legion
Corey Thomas – Perth, Western AUS – LA Giltinis
Matt Tierney – Oakville, ON – Castres Olympique
Siaki Vikilani – Burnaby, BC – Toronto Arrows
Brock Webster – Uxbridge, ON – Canada Rugby 7’s

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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: Neil Kennedy