By Oisin Horgan
Canada and the USA will come face to face in Austin, Texas, on Saturday for the right to represent North America at the World Rugby U20 Trophy 2016 in Zimbabwe.
The Rugby Americas North regional qualifier will join hosts Zimbabwe, Fiji, Namibia, Spain, Hong Kong, Uruguay and Samoa, the side relegated from the U20 Championship last year, in Harare from 19 April to 1 May.
Canada comfortably came out on top in this qualifier last year – winning 65-29 on aggregate in what was then a two-legged affair (main picture) – and went on to reach the U20 Trophy final, losing 49-24 to Georgia to miss out on a return to the U20 Championship in 2016.
Two members of that squad in captain Lucas Rumball and fellow forward Paul Ciulini made their test debuts for Canada last weekend in the Americas Rugby Championship against Uruguay and coach Jeff Williams believes that has been a huge motivator for the 2016 class.
“Both guys are outstanding rugby players and great ambassadors of the U20 programme,” admitted Williams.
“The boys were thrilled. They all know if they work hard they can play at that level. They have the talent but as I said to them we need to work harder than everyone else. Those two guys are good examples of that hard work.”
Twenty-five players have come through Canada’s U20 Trophy or Championship teams since 2008 to make their test debuts and Williams knows the importance of the age-grade programme to Canada’s future.
“I think for Canada as a whole, moving forward from U20 to senior men teams this is an extremely important tournament and a major focus for the programme. The takeaways are huge when participating in these types of games and tournaments ... we need more experiences for this age group.
New energy and ideas
“If we look at the last two or three years, and if we include this year and maybe the next year, I truly believe half of the 2019 World Cup team will be from players that have come through the U20 programme.”
Canada will have nine players returning from the U20 Trophy final defeat of 2015 and Williams, who himself played for the Canucks in 15s and sevens, knows it will be a big challenge against the Junior All-Americans at the Dell Diamond Stadium.
“The preparations thus far have been good. We have had two camps and within the last camp a more focused approach to our set pieces and nine play,” said Williams.
“The USA will be tough, they are playing at home with lots of momentum on their side. New coaches bring new energy and new ideas. They will be big and physical and I expect a physical encounter on Saturday night.”
Williams’ counterpart JD Stephenson is hoping to bring a fresh lease of life to the American U20 programme as they bid to return to the U20 Trophy stage, a tournament they won in 2012 on home soil in Utah.
Stephenson has worked with more than 40 players, holding camps in Missouri and Arizona, to prepare the squad for this qualifier and get them to buy into his way of thinking.
“As a coaching staff we have leveraged all forms of technology to ensure a clear message of roles and responsibilities have been conveyed to the players,” explained Stephenson.
“There has been a considerable amount of work done between the camps to ensure the playbooks, terminology, processes, and outcomes are aligned between player and coaching staff.”
The match will be shown on USA Rugby TV at 20:45 CT, following the Americas Rugby Championship encounter between the USA Eagles and Canada.