Canada Team Selected For Ireland Clash
Canada head coach Kieran Crowley has selected his starting line-up for Saturday’s opening Rugby World Cup Pool D match against Ireland at the Millennium Stadium (kick-off 2.30pm).
Experienced Clermont Auvergne lock Jamie Cudmore will captain Canada for his first time at a Rugby World Cup. Regular skipper Tyler Ardron (knee) is unavailable for selection due to injury, along with full-back Harry Jones (shoulder).
Veteran Hubert Buydens starts at loosehead prop with Doug Wooldridge at tighthead, and Ray Barkwill gets the nod at hooker. Cudmore will partner Brett Beukeboom at lock, while Kyle Gilmour and John Moonlight join Aaron Carpenter – Canada’s second most-capped player of all-time – in the back row.
Carpenter and Buydens are two of three players who have played in all seven of Canada’s Test matches this summer. The other, Djustice Sears-Duru, is named to the bench.
Gordon McRorie will partner Nathan Hirayama at half-back, with Nick Blevins combining with Ciaran Hearn in the centre. There is an all UK-based back-three as the Scarlets’ DTH van der Merwe and Jeff Hassler of the Ospreys feature on the wings and Cornish Pirates clubman Matt Evans lines out at full-back.
Eight members of the Canadian team will be making their Rugby World Cup debuts on Saturday – Barkwill, Wooldridge, Beukeboom, Gilmour, Moonlight, McRorie, Blevins and Hassler.
It is World Cup number three for both Carpenter and van der Merwe. The pair played in all eight matches at the 2007 and 2011 tournaments in France and New Zealand respectively.
CANADA Team & Replacements (v Ireland, 2015 Rugby World Cup Pool D, Millennium Stadium, Saturday, September 19, kick-off 2.30pm):
15. Matt Evans (Cornish Pirates)
14. Jeff Hassler (Ospreys)
13. Ciaran Hearn (Unattached/Atlantic Rock)
12. Nick Blevins (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack)
11. DTH van der Merwe (Scarlets)
10. Nathan Hirayama (UVIC Vikes/BC Bears)
9. Gordon McRorie (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack)
1. Hubert Buydens (Unattached/Prairie Wolf Pack)
2. Ray Barkwill (Unattached/Ontario Blues)
3. Doug Wooldridge (Lindsay RFC/Ontario Blues)
4. Brett Beukeboom (Cornish Pirates)
5. Jamie Cudmore (Clermont Auvergne) (capt)
6. Kyle Gilmour (Rotherham Titans/Prairie Wolf Pack)
7. John Moonlight (James Bay AA/Ontario Blues)
8. Aaron Carpenter (Cornish Pirates/Ontario Blues)
Replacements:
16. Benoit Piffero (Unattached/Atlantic Rock)
17. Djustice Sears-Duru (Oakville Crusaders/Ontario Blues)
18. Andrew Tiedemann (Unattached/Prairie Wolf Pack)
19. Jebb Sinclair (London Irish/Atlantic Rock)
20. Richard Thorpe (London Welsh)
21. Phil Mack (James Bay AA/BC Bears)
22. Liam Underwood (Balmy Beach RFC/Ontario Blues)
23. Conor Trainor (UBCOB Ravens/BC Bears)