By the way, one thing that might be of interest would be for the IRB or the Tier 2 nations to band together and create a questionnaire for rugby players around the world. Would ask:

Current club and level of club
Representative honors
Position
Birthplace
Birthplace(s) of parents
Birthplace(s) of grandparents

Then it would go into a database where unions could search for players based on their level of play and eligibility. Not only would be handy for countries like Canada and us, but would also be handy for lower level teams or countries trying to start a team (like, say, Puerto Rico).

I emailed them, what do you think are the chances of me getting an answer?

goeagles - It would not be a very hard thing to do. CanNZ and me were talking about this last week. Rugby Canada is not doing it because they are either too cheap, or too lazy, or both.

It is a way to enhance the potential pool of players with the domestics. I see nothing wrong with it. I know Scott Johnson upset some Americans with his recruiting style; he did an airlift of players, or so I was told.

Canada U20 - 2012 SEND TO FACEBOOK
The Romanians Are in Town for Two Games vs Canada This Week

posted March 5th, 2012
[ed. comments below]

The Romanians are enjoying the hospitality of Shawnigan Lake school where they are preparing for two matches against the Canadian U20 side.

The first game is Wednesday at Shawnigan Lake school at 4pm. The public is welcome and there is no charge. The main matchup is Saturday evening under the lights at Bear Mountain stadium in Langford at 7pm. Tickets for that match are: Youth (Under 12) $5.00; Student (12-18) $10.00; Adult (19+) $15.00.

Canada are preparing for the JWRT tournament from the 18th to the 30th of June in Salt Lake City. Other tournament participants are USA, Chile, Georgia, Japan, Russia, Tonga and Zimbabwe. The winner of the tournament goes up to the Championship tournament which includes the top 12 teams in the world.

Last year's standings were as follows, with Samoa gaining promotion:

1 Samoa
2 Japan
3 Georgia
4 Uruguay
5 Canada
6 Russia
7 USA
8 Zimbabwe

Romania aren't included in either tournament with Georgia and Russia claiming the European spots in the JWRT this year. The Romanians are a large physical side and will be good preparation for Canada, Canada will look to match the Romanians physically up front and dominate with skill and pace out wide.

Canada's two other per-tournament matches include:

Saturday May 26th, 2012 vs USA at Bear Mountain Stadium in Langford
Saturday June 9th, 2012 vs Georgia at Bear Mountain Stadium in Langford

CanNZ - If you do get an answer it will probably go like this: Thank you for your email. We are well aware of this particular player and have been in daily contact with him for several years. You can rest easy knowing Rugby Canada leaves no stone unturned scouting and identifying Canadian players around the world.

Scott Johnson brought in many guys who weren't any better than the American guys. If you're bringing in Super Rugby players or top level guys in the European leagues, that's one thing. But he was bringing in guys like Tyrone Coppedge, a Queensland Cup (second tier in Australia) rugby league player who had never played rugby union before and was terrible. And of course he gave him a start over guys like Kevin Swiryn.

I've tried to block that era out of my memory but yeah, that was Gavin DeBartolo. Back 3, back row and locks are not a problem for us right now but we would kill for some front rows, halfbacks and midfielders. We've always had to import our flyhalves.

I've tried to block that era out of my memory but yeah, that was Gavin DeBartolo. Back 3, back row and locks are not a problem for us right now but we would kill for some front rows, halfbacks and midfielders. We've always had to import our flyhalves.

Would be a good pickup but isn't back row your strength (just like ours)?

Kruis is a second row.

Hercus (who had his critics, but I thought he was not that awful of a #10) outplayed our guys by a wide margin. We have typically had much better 9s and 10s than you guys.

And would make an excellent addition to our tight five.

Can't stress that enough. We have absolutely nobody of that size and quality in the second row coming along the pipelines in the near future. He would plug an enormous gap there, effectively replacing Cudmore. Someone send a letter to Karl Fix asking him to throw a few bucks in to sweeten the pot.

Not high on Cam Pierce?

Cam Pierce is a fine prospect but we are comparing a Clermont academy prospect to an Aviva Premiership regular. Slight difference in class there. I'm confident Pierce will come through eventually but he's all we've got. If we are to dream, though, dream of a Kruis-Pierce second row for RWC 2015 and beyond.

Oh I agree that this guy is ahead of pierce, we also have that 20 year old in Sydney too.

I always wanted to see Francois Viljoen get a run at flyhalf but his career got cut short and it never happened. JP Eloff is really the only prospect we have coming through at the moment as Enosa is really more of a utility back.

Evan Olmstead and Tyler Ardron could maybe play there in a pinch, but both would be undersized and are really back rowers. I'm of the opinion that we should be looking for international sized specialist second rowers and not fielding our big back rowers like Jebb Sinclair there. That means 6'5" 250lbs minimum, ideally 6'6" plus. I know size isn't everything but it certainly makes things more difficult when you're constantly having to man up against bigger opponents.

Completely agree with you here, I don't want to see Sinclair at lock for Canada this summer. I am tempted to go with a:

6. Kleeberger
7. O'Toole
8. Sinclair

backrow. Or move Kleeberger to 7, and try out Zac Coughlan at 6. O'Toole hasn't been impressing me much over the past 6 months.

Just thought of something.

If rugby Canada never knew about this guy, and they contact him and he agrees to commit to canada, do I get a finders fee?

The last one I had hopes for and still have a glimmer of hope for is Zach Pangelinan. He played soccer for Guam so he should have good kicking skills and he is good enough in space to play 7s for the US but we haven't heard much from him in 15s lately. Probably not the answer to our woes at 10.

Obviously I haven't seen Coughlan since he went to BC, but I'd say he's still a ways away yet, and I still think he should move to the front row. He's built like a brick shithouse and would be a great shout to move to hooker a-la Jason Marshall's move to prop.

I'm a big fan of O'Toole but he's clearly out of form for whatever reason so maybe Sinclair at 6, Kleeberger at 7, Carps at 8, Chauncey on the bench until he sorts himself out.

BTW good news for Canadian rugby, Jebber's signed a one year extension at London Irish.

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,3823_7574102,00.html

U20 MEN ANNOUNCE ROSTER FOR MATCH AGAINST ROMANIA

Tuesday, March 6, 2012 - Submitted by RC Communications
Rugby Canada is pleased to announce the roster for the National Men's U20 team as they take on Romania, in the first game of a two game series, this Wednesday at Shawinigan Lake School. Kick off is at 4:00pm PST.
 
PLAYER NAME / CLUB/ CITY/ PROVINCE
 
Lucas Hoppe - Lindsay RFC (Omemee, ON.)             
Eric Selvaggi -  Aurora Barbarians (Woodridge, ON) 
Jake Ilnicki - UVIC Vikes (Williams Lake, BC)                 
Geoff Warburton - AJAX Wanderers ( Toronto, ON)        
Lukas  Balkovec - Waterloo Country (Kitchener, ON)       
Jared Douglas - Abbotsford RFC (Vancouver, BC)          
Chase Kelliher - UVIC Vikes (North Vancouver, BC)         
Cameron Stones - AJAX Wanderers (Toronto, ON)                 
Andrew Ferguson - Oakville Crusaders (Toronto, ON)
Patrick Kay - UVIC Vikes, Dog River Howlers (Duncan, BC)
Taylor Paris - James Bay (Barbie, ON)
Clayton Meeres - Abbotsford RFC (Abbotsford, BC)
Gradyn Bowd - Rowing Club, Red Deer Titans (Red Deer, AB) 
Tomas Costanzo - STE-ANN (Montreal, QB)
Jon West - Markham Irish RFC (Scarborough, ON)
Noah Barker - Rowing Club (Vancouver, BC)
Tom Winter - Nor'Westers (Edmonton,AB)
Casey Reid - UVIC Vikes (Victoria, BC)
Jacob Rumball - Balmy Beach Rugby Club (Langford, BC)
Pat Shield - Abbotsford RFC (Abbotsford, BC)
Lucas Hammond - Toronto Nomads (Victoria, BC)
Luc Pearson - Lindsay RFC (Victoria, BC)

Announcements regarding the second match at Bear Mountain Stadium in Langford, BC on Saturday to be made later this week.

For event questions please email events@rugbycanada.ca
For media questions please contact Adam Storey at astorey@rugbycanada.ca

CRC KICKS OFF IN AUGUST

Tuesday, March 6, 2012 - Submitted by Garth Gottfried, CRC Press Officer
The 2012 Canadian Rugby Championship kicks off on August 18th, when the Prairie Wolf Pack hosts British Columbia at Calgary Rugby Park. The league’s two other teams will start play the following week, when the Rock makes the trip from Newfoundland to face the Ontario Blues.

Now in its fourth season, the Canadian Rugby Championship (CRC) will see each team play five games in 2012, with the eastern teams each hosting three games. When the league debuted in 2009, it was a simple round-robin; 2011 was the first season where teams played each other more than once.

“Providing five fixtures increased the number of games for all sides in the competition and most sides seek out additional high performance games outside of the CRC season,” stated League Commissioner Gord Sneddon.

“The goal is to expand to six, a full home and away contest, then subsequently include a final. We are only limited in that regard by financing which is why the support of the rugby community is critical. In short we need to get people out to the games.”

Partially funded by the International Rugby Board (IRB), the CRC was brought into existence in order to provide more high-level games for
Canada’s rugby athletes, officials and administrators.

“We are delighted to see the CRC go from strength to strength each year in terms of the standard of Rugby and the organisation of the event” said Mark Egan IRB’s Head of Development and Performance.

“Since its inauguration the CRC has played a crucial role in developing players who have graduated to represent the senior national men’s team and will continue to do so over the next four years as we build towards RWC 2015” added Egan.

The 2012 pre-season will see teams take on their most ambitious exhibition schedules yet. The first CRC team that will see action is the Ontario Blues, who travel to B.C. for a friendly on April 7. The Blues will face the Maple Leafs, a team made up from national rugby team athletes based at the Centre of Excellence in Langford.

In May, the Rock will take 33 players to Victoria, B.C., for four tune-up games in nine days as part of their pre-season training camp. Around the same time, the Ontario Blues will tour to South America playing a provincial side in Argentina, as well as the Chilean and Uruguayan national teams.
As 2011 champions, the Blues will play Salta in Argentina’s north; the provincial side toured Canada in 2011, inviting the eventual CRC champions to make the return trip in 2012.

“The program made big strides last year,” stated Blues manager Mark Winokur, “but we are very aware that the other CRC teams will improve, and that our pre-season tour will be the most challenging two weeks for us ever.”
“The guys are really buying into the whole thing, though, so we will continue to push and make progress on what we did last year.”
In June, the Rock will also play fixtures against Nova Scotia and the Voyageurs, which will be a select side from the Quebec and Eastern Ontario region.

The Prairie Wolf Pack is unique as it draws players from three different provinces, which poses many challenges. Former Canada national senior men`s team player Ryan Smith is the team manager in 2012.
With some of the harshest off-season weather in the nation, the Wolf Pack knows a thing or two about winter training. Rugby World Cup player Jeremy Kyne is one of several coaches working with players in Calgary, Edmonton, Regina and Saskatoon.

“We are excited about the upcoming season, as we have a solid foundation to build on from the last two years," stated Smith. “We have tremendous buy-in from the players for our region, and our team culture has really taken on a life of its own. “
“We have a jumpstart to the season with our winter training plans and the regional reorganization, so we are extremely excited for this coming CRC season.”

In British Columbia, the team will be part of Rugby Canada`s new Centre of Excellence in Langford, playing their home games at Bear Mountain Stadium on Vancouver Island. Ontario`s three home games will be put to tender, with venues announced in the coming weeks. The Prairie Wolf Pack will play at Calgary Rugby Park, while the Rock play at the Swilers’ Rugby Complex in St. John`s.

CANADIAN RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP 2012 SCHEDULE
Saturday, August 18
B.C. @ Wolf Pack

Saturday, August 25
The Rock @ Blues
Wolf Pack @ B.C.

Saturday, September 1
B.C. @ Blues
Wolf Pack @ The Rock

Tuesday, September 4
Wolf Pack @ Blues
B.C. @ The Rock

Saturday, September 15
Blues @ B.C.
The Rock @ Wolf Pack

Saturday, September 22
Blues @ The Rock

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT: ROMANIA

Tuesday, March 6, 2012 - Submitted by RC Communications


As the Canadian U20 team prepares to face off against Romania this week in a series of matches, how much do you really know about Romania?

For starters the capital of Romania is Bucharest and was once called the “Paris of the East”, due to the elegant architecture of the city. Bucharest is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovia River.

The population of Romania is approximately 19 million with 1.7 million living in the capital of Bucharest. Romanian is the official language of the country while Hungarian, Ukrainian and German languages are spoken within the country.

The currency in Romania is called the Leu. A $15.00 adult ticket for Saturday’s match would cost 49.70 Romanian Leu.

Romanian’s official flag consists of three vertical bars coloured blue, yellow and red each with a separate meaning. Blue – vigilance, truth and loyalty, perseverance and justice. Yellow – a symbol of generosity. Red – hardiness, bravery, strength and valor.

Rugby was introduced in Romania by students returning with rugby balls from their studies in Paris. Clubs began to form in the capital of Bucharest beginning in 1913. Following the introduction of rugby Romania's first international was played against the USA in 1919.

The Canadian team is facing an opponent with an intimidating history. Bram Stroker based his horror novel Dracula, on the fifteenth century Prince Vlad Dracul known as the Impaler. Bram Castle or Dracula’s castle remains a national landmark in Romania.

Match Details:

Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - Canada U20 vs Romania (Shawinigan Lake School) 4pm kick off.

Saturday, March 10, 2012 - Canada U20 vs Romania (Bear Mountain Stadium, Langford) 7pm kick off.

The CRC is coming back for another season, sounds like they are reading my posts on here.



http://www.rugbycanada.ca/leagues/newsl ... page=59954

Positives:

* Great to see Ontario taking the CRC seriously.
* Great to see the likes of Ryan Smith and Jeremy Kyne staying involved with the Wolf Pack.
* Great to see the Rock are continuing to have pre-season tours.
* Great to read that some involved with the CRC would actually like to see it expand.

Negatives:

* British Columbia, which does not give a shit about the CRC, are based out of Rugby Canada's high performance centre, with access to RC's fields, weight rooms, coaches, etc. How convenient?
* The regions should be cut. The Rock and the 'Pack are de facto NL and Alberta teams; name them after their provinces. If a couple of prairie dogs play with the 'Pack, the eight people who watch the team play in Calgary will not even notice.
* As with most things that Rugby Canada touches, the CRC is designed not to succeed.

A busy day on the Canadian rugby news front, here is the canadian squad to take on Romania.


http://www.rugbycanada.ca/leagues/newsl ... page=59967

CanNZ - At least Gord Sneddon is putting it on the line. They want the CRC to expand to six teams, but it has no money. RC has some IRB guy helping out on the Island and they asked him what Canada needs to improve; he said something like, a more intense league in Canada would help. No Effing kidding! We have been saying that for years. Try and get RC to give a hoot, though.

So the Canadian u20's play a Romanian u20 this Saturday in Victoria  BC.      By the amount of press this game is getting  in the local papers, on the radio and on TV, you  would think the game is  being played in a Romanian  coal mine.    This game is being played in arguably one of the best rugby cities in the country yet no one knows about it.   This game is going to be a complete failure in the seat sales and loss of support rugby canada gained at the world cup.   Laughable

Crazy to think Taylor Paris is still U20 despite being so pivotal to the 7s team success. I'm familiar with Lucas Hammond, Luc Pearson and Lucas Hoppe (odd trend in the names), what else do we know about this team? Hoppe has an arrogance issue. Sure many players do but he really sticks out, picking fights with kids in high school matches in one sided demolitions (his team winning). Pearson I rate though. Whatever happened to his brother, Seb? I heard a while back he was at the Leicester Academy but haven't heard much about him recently?