Rowland & Vikilani Named to National Development Academy Roster

With files from Rugby Canada

Two Arrows have been named to Rugby Canada’s 2020-2021 National Development Academy Roster. Congratulations to prop Tyler Rowland and No. 8 / flanker Siaki Vikilani on their selections to the national academy program.

The club wishes Tyler and Siaki all the best as they continue their development in Langford, B.C. with their national academy peers, and we look forward to their involvement in our 2021 season.

October 14, 2020 (Langford B.C.) – Rugby Canada’s two Langford-based Academy programs have assembled and resumed training at the Al Charron National Training Centre.  Both programs are adhering to strict COVID-19 safety protocols.

Rugby Canada National Development Academy

The Rugby Canada National Development Academy provides a professional training environment for targeted male players from across Canada.  The program is comprised largely of uncapped players whose progression suggests they are one to three seasons away from playing senior international rugby.  Academy players are evaluated and selected by Rugby Canada in collaboration with Provincial Unions.  Identified players include those who have come through current age-grade national and provincial team systems, the various club and university leagues throughout Canada, and Canadian-qualified foreign based players.

The Academy operates 10 months of the year, training at the Al Charron National Training Centre. As a team, the Academy competes in the BC Rugby Men’s Premier League under the name ‘Pacific Pride’ which is an homage to the original Pacific Pride program from the late 1990’s and early 2000’s.  The early ‘Pride’ teams helped contribute a majority of players that represented Canada at the 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011 Rugby World Cups.  This included Academy head coach Jamie Cudmore, an alumni from the 2000-01 Pacific Pride team.  Cudmore is supported by assistant coach Phil Mack who recently joined the Academy staff.

“I’m excited to get to work with this young talent from across the country,” said Cudmore.  “The addition of Phil to our staff will be of huge benefit to the players.  He obviously has vast experience at the international level in both 15s and 7s, but his experience coaching with the Seattle Seawolves in MLR is also a huge asset for our program.”

The 2020-21 Academy roster has been selected and assembled for training in Langford.  The 36-man squad has split into 3 training bubbles and follows strict pre- and post-training safety and cleaning protocols.  At this time, the focus of training has been conditioning and skill development.

2020-21 Rugby Canada National Development Academy Roster and Staff:

Chris Atkinson | Surrey, BC (Surrey Beavers)
James Biss | London, UK (Old Elthamians RFC)
D’Shawn Bowen* | Kingston, ON (Unattached)
Liam Bowman | Mississauga, ON (Oakville Crusaders)
Liam Casey | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (KL Saracens)
Thomas Davidson | Chelsea, QC (Toronto Scottish RFC)
Reid Davis | White Rock, BC (Bayside RFC)
Foster Dewitt | Courtenay, BC (Westshore RFC)
Kaden Duguid | Edmonton, AB (Norwesters)
Mason Flesch | Cobourg, ON (Cobourg Saxons)
Brock Gallagher | Edmonton, AB (Strathcona Druids RFC)
Sion Griffiths | Mill Bay, BC (Castaway Wanderers)
Nik Hildebrand | Nanaimo, BC (Burnaby Lake Rugby Club)
Thomas Isherwood* | Skelmanthorpe, England (Foothills Lions RFC)
Austin James | North Vancouver, BC (Burnaby Lake Rugby Club)
Dewald Kotze | Edmonton, AB (Strathcona Druids RFC)
Bryce McKinnon | Water Valley, AB (Regina Rogues)
Liam Murray | Langley, BC (James Bay AA)
Anton Ngongo* | Victoria, BC (Castaway Wanderers)
Cody Nhanala | Ottawa, ON (Ottawa Ospreys RFC)
James O’Neill | Cochrane, AB (Calgary Canucks/UVIC)
Isaac Olsen | Victoria, BC (Castaway Wanderers)
Brennig Prevost* | Victoria, BC (Castaway Wanderers)
Emerson Prior | Brockville, ON (Peterborough Pagans)
Tyler Rowland | Mississauga, ON (Toronto Nomads)
Alex Russell* | Montreal, QC  (McGill University)
Michael Smith | White Rock, BC (UBC Thunderbirds)
Crosby Stewart | Prince Rupert, BC (UVIC Vikes)
Josh Thiel | Abbotsford, BC (Abbotsford RFC)
Siaki Vikilani | Burnaby, BC (Burnaby Lake Rugby Club)
Taitusi Vikilani | Burnaby, BC (Burnaby Lake Rugby Club)
Brock Webster* | Uxbridge, ON (Oshawa Vikings)
Tyler Wong  | North Vancouver, BC (Unattached)

*players also training with the 7s program

Jamie Cudmore, Head Coach
Phil Mack, Assistant Coach
Michael Deasy, Strength & Conditioning Coach
Andrew McMillan, Athletic Therapist
Kingsley Jones, Director of Men’s Performance Rugby

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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: Quinn Width