Scotland ease past Canada as Sale Sharks duo grab try doubles

A second-string Scotland side got their mid-year tour off to a winning start as they comfortably dispatched Canada 73-12 at TD Place Stadium in Ottawa on Saturday.

Missing the majority of their Six Nations regulars, head coach Gregor Townsend is using this Americas tour to look at fringe players who are pushing for regular places.

Josh Bayliss, Dylan Richardson (2), Aaron Reed (2), Gus Warr (2), Harry Paterson, Jamie Dobie, Stafford McDowall and Kyle Steyn all crossed the whitewash in an 11-try result.

Lucas Rumball scored for Canada early on and Kyle Baillie after the break but it was a stroll in the end for Scotland as they claimed The Douglas JL Horn Memorial Trophy.

The hosts were camped inside the Scotland 22 in the opening exchanges and were duly rewarded after eight minutes when captain Rumball burst over following a driving maul.

Spurred into action, Scotland hit back four minutes later with their first real attack as Paterson punctured the defensive line and offloaded to Matt Currie on the left wing, his pass back inside allowing Bayliss to go over unopposed.

Richardson had his first try after a quarter of an hour having collected an offload from Ross Thompson, who converted both of Scotland’s opening scores to put them 14-5 ahead.

Thompson failed to split the posts when Richardson dotted down from a surging maul and was again wayward with his kick when Reed marked his international bow with a try before half-time, Paterson the architect of the move with an offload out the back of his hand which freed the debutant to score.

Warr reinforced Scotland’s lead after the break, first dancing through the line and while Canada briefly held out, the scrum-half collected the ball again and dived over the ruck for a debut try.

Baillie’s converted try gave Canada respite from the Scotland onslaught, but the impressive Paterson and Warr combined for the latter to shrug off a couple of challenges and touch down.

Scotland looked a threat every time they pushed forward and Reed grabbed his second of the match after barrelling down the left wing, barging past a couple of defenders, before going over.

Scotland breached the 50-point barrier just after the hour mark when Paterson deservedly got on the scoreboard following some excellent interplay, while Dobie touched down underneath the posts after being teed up by Reed.

McDowall also went over underneath the posts after some deft footwork to evade several challenges while Steyn gratefully accepted Healy’s offload to round off the scoring.

Next up for Scotland is a clash with USA on Friday in Washington before facing Chile in Santiago (Saturday, July 20) and then Uruguay in Montevideo (Saturday, July 27).

The teams

Canada:  15 Cooper Coats, 14 Andrew Coe, 13 Mitch Richardson, 12 Ben LeSage, 11 Nic Benn, 10 Peter Nelson, 9 Jason Higgins, 8 Siaki Vikilani, 7 Lucas Rumball, 6 Mason Flesch, 5 Kyle Baillie, 4 Conor Keys, 3 Conor Young, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 1 Liam Murray
Replacements:  16 Jesse MacKail, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Cole Keith, 19 James Stockwood, 20 Sion Parry, 21 Brock Gallagher, 22 Talon McMullin, 23 Takoda McMullin

Scotland:  15 Harry Paterson, 14 Jamie Dobie, 13 Matt Currie, 12 Stafford McDowall, 11 Arron Reed, 10 Ross Thompson, 9 Gus Warr, 8 Josh Bayliss, 7 Luke Crosbie, 6 Gregor Brown, 5 Glen Young, 4 Max Williamson, 3 Elliot Millar-Mills, 2 Dylan Richardson, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements:  16 Robbie Smith, 17 Nathan McBeth, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Ewan Johnson, 20 Matt Fagerson, 21 Ben Healy, 22 Kyle Steyn, 23 Ross McCann

Referee:  Adam Leal (RFU)
Assistant Referees:  Kat Roche (USA), Kahlil Harrison (USA)
TMO:  Austin Reed (USA)

Tonga return to winning ways against hapless Canada in Nuku’alofa

Tonga overcame a second-half red card for George Moala to clinch a 28-3 victory against Canada in the first of two Rugby World Cup warm-up matches for the Pacific Islanders in Nuku’alofa on Thursday.

It was a much improved performance from the home side ― who finished winless and at the bottom of the table during the recent Pacific Nations Cup ― as they dominated for long periods and eventually outscored their opponents by four tries to none.

Hard running number eight Sione Vailanu led the way with a brace of five-pointers for the Ikale Tahi while Sam Moli (hooker) and Sonatane Takulua (captain and scrum-half) also crossed the whitewash.

Takulua also succeeded with four conversions which meant he finished with a 13-point haul.

It was a tough day at the office for the North Americans, who will not be participating at the global showpiece for the first time since the inaugural tournament in 1987, and their only points came via the boot of Peter Nelson.

Fine start from Tonga

Moli gave the hosts an early lead when he scored his try after breaking off the back of a lineout drive deep inside Canadian territory, before Nelson responded with his three-pointer off the kicking tee.

After that, the hosts had the bulk of the territory and possession and midway through the opening half they were rewarded with a sensational try from Takulua, after Afusipa Taumoepeau and Fine Inisi combined brilliantly in the build-up.

On the stroke of half-time, Vailanu powered over the try-line off the back of a lineout deep inside Canada’s 22 and Takulua added the extras to give Tonga a 21-3 lead at the interval.

The second half was a tighter affair, especially after former All Blacks centre Moala received his marching orders for a dangerous hit on Canada counterpart Ben LeSage in the 45th minute.

Despite their one-man advantage, Canada could not breach the defence of the Ikale Tahi who sealed their victory when Vailanu crossed for his second try in the 51st minute.

Two hat-tricks for England as they thump Canada

Marcus Smith piloted England’s 70-14 rout of Canada ― unaware he had been called up to the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa.

Smith’s madcap month took another remarkable twist, with the Harlequins fly-half receiving a Lions call-up midway through England’s 10-try romp at Twickenham.

Jamie Blamire and Adam Radwan bagged hat-tricks, with Joe Cokanasiga claiming a brace and Ellis Genge also crossing in addition to a penalty try.

But Smith’s Lions elevation was the talk of the 10,000 fans in Twickenham ― who all knew about his call-up before the man himself.

The 22-year-old steered Harlequins to an unlikely Premiership final victory on June 26, quickly following that triumph with his first two England caps.

But while the fleet-footed playmaker was en route to a 100 per cent return of nine shots at goal, he was also called up to the Lions squad as injury cover for Scotland fly-half Finn Russell.

The Lions confirmed Smith’s call-up at the start of England’s second half.

And as word filtered around Twickenham, supporters were trying their best to break the news to the uninformed fly-half.

Smith was replaced by George Furbank with 15 minutes to play, and appeared to discover his Lions fate on leaving the field.

While Smith was all set to race to the airport to jump on a flight to South Africa, his other England team-mates were left to toast a well-constructed win.

Ross Braude and Kainoa Lloyd claimed tries for a Canada side that were outclassed, with England effectively in control throughout.

Sam Underhill’s immediate turnover from kick-off set the tone for England’s near total dominance.

Blamire capped a driven penalty lineout, Smith converted ― and so started the procession of try scorers.

Braude hit back straight away with a neat finish from a tapped penalty, but a penalty try had England back in control.

Lock Conor Keys was sin-binned for collapsing a maul to gift England that penalty score.

Radwan capped a neat arcing break with a good finish for his try, before Cokanasiga bullied the Canada defence for his two scores in three minutes.

Captain Lewis Ludlow’s cheap yellow card opened the door to a second Canada score, with wing Lloyd finish well in the right corner and Peter Nelson converting.

Blamire crossed again to ensure England had the last word in the half however, for Jones’ men to lead 42-14 at the break.

Vice-captain Genge opened the scoring after the interval, for England’s seventh try.

Radwan raced in for his second score of the game quickly afterwards, taking a fine scoring pass from Alex Dombrandt.

Smith extended his 100 per cent record still further with yet another conversion, to put the hosts 56-14 to the good.

Blamire completed his hat-trick with final act of the afternoon before being substituted.

And just moments later, Radwan sealed his own treble.

Wales win marred by serious Leigh Halfpenny injury

Wales welcomed fans back to the Principality Stadium in style as their launched their summer international series with a 68-12 victory over Canada.

The Six Nations champions ran in 10 tries, although victory came at a cost after full-back Leigh Halfpenny’s 100th Test for Wales and the British and Irish Lions lasted just two minutes before he was carried off injured.

Halfpenny suffered a suspected knee ligament problem, being hurt when he appeared to slip after going into a challenge on the halfway line.

Ongoing restrictions meant the capacity was set at 8,200, and 6,164 spectators were a welcome sight for head coach Wayne Pivac and his players as Wales returned to action following their Six Nations title triumph 14 weeks ago.

It was a first home crowd since February last year, and Wales delivered as they took charge through first-half tries from Tomos Williams, Jonah Holmes, Nicky Smith, Elliot Dee, James Botham and Will Rowlands.

Williams added his second try early in the second half, and there was also a double for Taine Basham in his first Test and Holmes also claimed a brace, while fly-half Callum Sheedy kicked seven conversions and Ben Thomas added the extras following second scores for Basham and Holmes.

Canada, who face England at Twickenham next weekend, went ahead through wing Kainoa Lloyd’s early try, but their first Test since the 2019 World Cup ended in a hefty defeat.

Full-back Cooper Coats claimed a late consolation touchdown, converted by fly-half Peter Nelson, yet it proved a frustrating afternoon for Canada’s Welsh coaching trio of Kingsley Jones, Rob Howley and Byron Hayward.

Pivac, minus a sizeable British and Irish Lions contingent, handed Test debuts to Scarlets wing Tom Rogers and Dragons lock Ben Carter in a team captained by centre Jonathan Davies.

Wales were clearly rocked by Halfpenny’s exit, and as they regrouped after Saracens’ Nick Tompkins replaced him ― Holmes moved to full-back, with Tompkins on the wing ― Canada struck through a fifth-minute try.

Slick passing by the backs ended with Coats sending Lloyd over wide out, but Wales responded impressively after an initial Sheedy break put Rowlands clear in space.

Quickly recycled possession then highlighted huge gaps in Canada’s defence, and Williams darted over from close range, with Sheedy converting for a two-point lead.

Wales looked to increase the tempo, and a sharp Tompkins break allowed the supporting Davies to threaten Canada’s line before he gifted an unmarked Botham his first Test try.

Canada were struggling to cope with Wales’ pace and precision, and Holmes ended the opening quarter by pouncing for a third try, with Sheedy’s conversion making it 19-5.

The Canadians’ early promise had evaporated, and Wales moved past 30 points through tries in quick succession from front-row forwards Smith and Dee.

Sheedy added both conversions, and Canada were in damage-limitation mode approaching half-time as Rowlands pounced for Wales’ sixth touchdown of a one-sided contest.

Sheedy’s conversion made it 40-5 at the interval, and Pivac knew he could start ringing the changes ahead of next Saturday’s appointment with Argentina.

He sent on two debutants ― Basham and Ospreys prop Gareth Thomas ― after Williams’ second try, and it took Dragons back-row forward Basham just seven minutes to make his mark as he breached Canada’s defence to score.

Canada managed to avoid further damage until Holmes struck, and it was a case of job done for Wales who next meet the Pumas on successive weekends in Cardiff.

10-try Springboks put Canada to the sword

South Africa were in sensational form, running in 10 tries in a 66-7 victory over Canada in their Rugby World Cup encounter in Kobe on Tuesday.

As the scoreline suggests, this was a one-sided affair which was dominated by the Springboks from the kick off and they held a comfortable 47-0 lead at half-time.

The Canucks were second best in all departments and they had to play most of the match with 14 men after Josh Larsen was red carded for a shoulder charge to Thomas du Toit’s neck, while clearing out a ruck in the 36th minute.

Cobus Reinach led the way with a hat-trick of tries for South Africa while Elton Jantjies finished with a 16-point haul after succeeding with eight conversions.  Their other points came courtesy of five-pointers from Damian de Allende, S’busiso Nkosi, Warrick Gelant, Frans Steyn, Schalk Brits, Damian Willemse and Frans Malherbe.

For Canada, Matt Heaton scored a try and Peter Nelson added a conversion.

The Springboks made a fantastic start and had their bonus point in the bag inside the opening quarter after early five-pointers from De Allende, Nkosi and Reinach (2).

They opened the scoring as early as the third minute when De Allende crossed the whitewash from close quarters before Nkosi went over in the left-hand corner after gathering a pass from Kwagga Smith deep inside the Canucks’ 22.

And in the 10th minute, Reinach also got his name onto the scoresheet courtesy of a sensational five-pointer.  The Bok number nine set off on an attacking run 10 metres inside Canada’s half and tore his opponents’ defence to shreds with a superb line break.  He then delivered a perfectly-weighted chip kick which he regathered and had an easy run-in over the try-line.

Five minutes later, Reinach spotted a gap close to the try-line before diving over for his second try and he secured his hat-trick the 21st minute after Jantjies, Gelant and De Allende combined brilliantly in the build-up.

Canada’s defence continued to let them down as Gelant also crossed the whitewash in the 28th minute and Jantjies added the extras which meant South Africa were cruising with the score 40-0 in their favour.

Just before half-time, Canada suffered a major blow when referee Luke Pearce sent Larsen off for an illegal hit on Du Toit and things went from bad to worse for them when Steyn scored the Boks’ seventh try after intercepting a pass from Phil Mack close to the Canucks’ try-line.

FT: @springboks go top of Pool B after beating @RugbyCanada 66-7 at #RWC2019 #RSAvCAN #RWCKobe pic.twitter.com/4W4M0BLZaJ

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 8, 2019

The second half started brightly for Canada and shortly after the restart Jeff Hassler put them onto the front-foot with a strong run before being brought to ground deep inside South Africa’s 22.  The ball was recycled quickly before Mack offloaded to Heaton, who crossed for his side’s only try in the 46th minute.

10 minutes later, Brits stepped past a couple of defenders before dotting down and there was more joy for the Boks when their inside backs created space for Willemse, who crossed for his first Test try.

And in the 71st minute, Malherbe also got over the whitewash for the first time at Test level which secured an emphatic win for the Springboks and sets them up nicely ahead of the quarter-finals.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  De Allende, Nkosi, Reinach 3, Gelant, Steyn, Brits, Willemse, Malherbe
Cons:  Jantjies 8

For Canada:
Try:  Heaton
Con:  Nelson
Red Card:  Larsen

South Africa:  15 Damian Willemse, 14 Warrick Gelant, 13 Damian de Allende, 12 Frans Steyn, 11 S’busiso Nkosi, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Francois Louw, 7 Kwagga Smith, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Thomas du Toit
Replacements:  16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Handre Pollard, 23 Willie le Roux

Canada:  15 Andrew Coe, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Conor Trainor, 12 Ciaran Hearn, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Peter Nelson, 9 Phil Mack, 8 Tyler Ardron (c), 7 Matt Heaton, 6 Lucas Rumball, 5 Kyle Baillie, 4 Evan Olmstead, 3 Jake Ilnicki, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 1 Hubert Buydens
Replacements:  16 Benoit Piffero, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Matthew Tierney, 19 Josh Larsen, 20 Mike Sheppard, 21 Jamie Mackenzie, 22 Shane O’Leary, 23 Guiseppe du Toit

Referee:  Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees:  Angus Gardner (Australia), Andrew Brace (Ireland)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

Barrett brothers all score as All Blacks ease to win

The Barrett brothers, who became the first sibling trio since the Vunipolas to start a World Cup match, all touched down as the All Blacks thrashed Canada 63-0 in Ōita.

Fe’ao, Elisi and Manu Vunipola were in the Tongan team that played Scotland in 1995, but the Barretts went better than that with Jordie, Beauden and Scott touching down.

Two of those players went over in the first half as Steve Hansen’s men took a 28-0 advantage at the break.  Sonny Bill Williams also crossed the whitewash, while they were awarded a penalty try, which opened up a comfortable buffer at the interval.

Rieko Ioane then scored in the second period before Scott Barrett completed a fine day for the family.  New Zealand were not done there, however, with Shannon Frizell and Brad Weber (twice) completing an easy victory.

It was always going to be a long evening for the Canadians and immediately they were put under pressure by the three-time World Cup winners.  From the kick-off, the All Blacks collected and went through the phases, almost touching down via captain Kieran Read.

Kingsley Jones’ charges did well to hold him up but, from the resultant scrum, New Zealand’s forward eight surged towards the line and they were awarded a penalty try for a 7-0 lead.

A second score was soon forthcoming when Richie Mo’unga’s excellent cross-field kick was collected and finished by wing Barrett.

They are the only trio of brothers to start in an @AllBlacks Rugby World Cup match, and they have now all scored a try in #NZLvCAN. #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/80FX7W2KmT

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 2, 2019

Against the quality of the defending champions, it was a long way back and, when Williams touched down following an impressive step, the Canucks were 21-0 in arrears after 16 minutes.

Canada almost hit back, however, as Gordon McRorie and Lucas Rumball combined to send Peter Nelson clear, but the scramble defence was impressive to prevent the fly-half from going over.

Following the break down of that attack, Hansen’s men reasserted their authority and had the bonus-point secured before the half-time whistle.  Although Scott Barrett initially missed a glorious chance to score, dropping the ball over the line, brother Beauden wasn’t so profligate and they held a 28-point buffer at the interval.

Conditions were difficult, which led to several handling errors in the first half, but they were well and truly eradicated in the third quarter.  Just one minute had elapsed when Ioane crossed the whitewash before second-row Barrett followed him soon after.

Canada’s heads duly dropped and the All Blacks were simply irresistible at times with the axis of Mo’unga and Beauden Barrett combining superbly.

With the talented duo dictating play Frizell increased their lead, taking Ioane’s off-load and touching down, before Weber twice sprinted clear after good work from the two playmakers.

The game then became loose in the latter stages and New Zealand failed to add to their 63 points, but the All Blacks remained stout in defence and kept the Canadians scoreless.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Penalty try, J Barrett, Williams, B Barrett, Ioane, S Barrett, Frizzell, Weber 2
Cons:  Mo’unga 8

New Zealand:  15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Jordie Barrett, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Matt Todd, 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Scott Barrett, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu, 3 Angus Ta’avao, 2 Liam Coltman, 1 Atu Moli
Replacements:  16 Codie Taylor, 17 Ofa Tuungafasi, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Samuel Whitelock, 20 Ardie Savea, 21 Brad Weber, 22 Ryan Crotty, 23 Ben Smith

Canada:  15 Patrick Parfrey, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Conor Trainor, 12 Ciaran Hearn, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Peter Nelson, 9 Gordon McRorie, 8 Tyler Ardron (c), 7 Matt Heaton, 6 Lucas Rumball, 5 Conor Keys, 4 Evan Olmstead, 3 Cole Keith, 2 Eric Howard, 1 Djustice Sears-Duru
Replacements:  16 Andrew Quattrin, 17 Hubert Buydens, 18 Jake Ilnicki, 19 Mike Sheppard, 20 Josh Larsen, 21 Phil Mack, 22 Taylor Paris, 23 Andrew Coe

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)
Assistant Referees:  Pascal Gauzere (France), Alexandre Ruiz (France)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Seven-try Italy cruise past Canada

Italy continued their fine start to their Rugby World Cup campaign when they notched a 48-7 bonus-point win over Canada in Fukuoka on Thursday.

The Azzurri were full value for their victory as they dominated most facets of play and had the bulk of possession and territory.

They eventually outscored their hapless opponents by seven tries to one with Braam Steyn, Dean Budd, Sebastian Negri, Mattia Bellini, Federico Zani and Matteo Minozzi all crossing the whitewash, and they were also awarded a penalty try.

Tommaso Allan contributed nine points, after succeeding with three conversions and a penalty, while Carlo Canna also added a conversion.  For Canada, Andrew Coe scored a try which was converted by Peter Nelson.

Italy held the upper hand from the kick off and opened the scoring as early as the third minute courtesy of a penalty from Allan.  They continued to dominate as the half progressed and were up 17-0 after 13 minutes thanks to two well-taken converted tries from Steyn and Budd.

Steyn’s try came in the eighth minute after a barnstorming run off the back of a scrum on the Canucks’ five-metre line and he showed great determination to power his way over, despite the attentions of two defenders.

Five minutes later, Budd took the ball into contact on the edge of Canada’s 22 and burst through a poor tackle from Matt Tierney before racing away to score under the posts.

Canada held a slight edge during the next 10 minutes but, despite spending most of that time inside the Azzurri’s half, they had nothing to show for their efforts.  Midway through the half, they wasted a golden opportunity to open their account when Matt Heaton knocked on a pass from Tyler Ardron with the try-line at his mercy.

The rest of the half was characterised by several unforced errors from both teams which prevented further points from being scored during that period.  In the 31st minute, a flowing move from the Canucks deep inside the Azzurri’s half came to nothing when Gordon McRorie stepped into touch.

Italy also had a chance to extend their lead shortly before half-time when they launched a lineout drive close to Canada’s try-line but they could not breach their opponents’ defence.

Full-time | Impressive display from @Federugby.

They get their 2nd win at #RWC2019 after beating @RugbyCanada 48-7 #ITAvCAN#RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/0BeKSPEUlE

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 26, 2019

That meant the Azzurri were 17-0 up at the interval and they extended that lead shortly after the restart when Negri crossed for their third try, after the ball went through several phases in the build-up.

The next 15 minutes was an arm wrestle as Italy went in search of their bonus-point and that came on the hour-mark when Heaton illegally halted a lineout drive close to his try-line, resulting in a penalty try and yellow card for his indiscretion.

Shortly afterwards, the Azzurri went further ahead when Bellini gathered a perfectly-weighted long pass from Negri before outpacing the cover defence on his way over the try-line, which meant his side were cruising with the score 36-0 in their favour.

Despite being well and truly beaten, Canada did not surrender and were rewarded in the 70th minute when Andrew Coe beat Giulio Bisegni with outstanding footwork before diving over in the right-hand corner.

Nelson added the extras which added some respectability to the score but Italy finished stronger and sealed an emphatic win with late tries from Zani and Minozzi.

The scorers:

For Italy:
Tries:  Steyn, Budd, Negri, Penalty try, Bellini, Zani, Minozzi
Cons:  Allan 3, Canna
Pen:  Allan

For Canada:
Try:  Coe
Con:  Nelson
Yellow Card:  Heaton

Italy:  15 Matteo Minozzi, 14 Tommaso Benvenuti, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Jayden Hayward, 11 Giulio Bisegni, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Callum Braley, 8 Braam Steyn, 7 Jake Polledri, 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Dean Budd (c), 4 David Sisi, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Andrea Lovotti
Replacements:  16 Federico Zani, 17 Nicola Quaglio, 18 Marco Riccioni, 19 Federico Ruzza, 20 Maxime Mbandà, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Carlo Canna, 23 Mattia Bellini

Canada:  15 Patrick Parfrey, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Ben Lesage, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Peter Nelson, 9 Gordon McRorie, 8 Tyler Ardron (c), 7 Lucas Rumball, 6 Michael Sheppard, 5 Josh Larsen, 4 Conor Keys, 3 Matt Tierney, 2 Eric Howard, 1 Hubert Buydens
Replacements:  16 Benoit Piffero, 17 Djustice Duru-Sears, 18 Jake Ilnicki, 19 Luke Campbell, 20 Matt Heaton, 21 Jamie Mackenzie, 22 Ciaran Hearn, 23 Andrew Coe

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Karl Dickson (England)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

Seven-try Scotland beat Canada

Scotland kicked off their June campaign with a straightforward 48-10 win over Canada at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on Saturday.

Tries from Byron McGuigan, Ruaridh Jackson, George Turner (3), Magnus Bradbury and Lewis Carmichael saw Gregor Townsend’s outfit prevail.

In reply the Canadians could only muster a penalty try as their woes continue.  They will now hope to bounce back against Russia next weekend.

Scotland led 15-3 at the break but in truth their cushion should have been greater following a dominant opening 40 minutes with ball in hand.

They went ahead after four minutes when Sam Hidalgo-Clyne kicked three points from in front to bring some reward for the early dominance.

That lead became eight points five minutes later when, following a Canadian being caught in their own in-goal, Scotland set a scrum and went wide to McGuigan who finished on the left thanks to a long pass from James Lang.  Hidalgo-Clyne was wide with his conversion in the wind.

Canada did manage to get on the board on 14 minutes as Shane O’Leary punished David Denton for not rolling away on the floor, 8-3 the score.

But Scotland, with a one man advantage after Noah Barker was yellow carded on 16 minutes for an off-the-ball tackle on rival prop Allan Dell, almost responded shortly after as fly-half Jackson reached out for the whitewash.  He was however denied due to losing his grip on the ball.

Scotland and Jackson would not be denied six minutes from the break though as a line-out drive led to Jackson having a run in for the try.

The second period began in ideal style for the Scots too as hooker Turner was given an easy ride to the whitewash at the back of a driving maul.

But 22-3 soon became 22-10 as on 47 minutes Canada were awarded a penalty try after Jackson slapped down a pass.  He also went to the bin.

That numerical disadvantage did not stop Scotland though as Bradbury was next to go over, making it a 29-10 cushion from five metres out before Turner grabbed his second try of the game as he went over once again at the tail of a dominant driving maul.  That made it 34-10.

Turner and Scotland sensed blood at the set-piece and it was no surprise to see the keen hooker complete his hat-trick eight minutes from time.

Scotland would still add one further try before the end, with excellent replacement Carmichael racing through a gap for his team’s seventh score.

The scorers:

For Canada:
Try:  Penalty try
Pen:  O’Leary
Yellow Card:  Barker

For Scotland:
Tries:  McGuigan, Jackson, Turner 3, Bradbury, Carmichael
Cons:  Hidalgo-Clyne 2, Kinghorn 3
Pen:  Hidalgo-Clyne
Yellow Card:  Jackson

Canada:  15 Pat Parfrey, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Ben LeSage, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 DTH van der Merwe (c), 10 Shane O’Leary, 9 Phil Mack (cc), 8 Luke Campbell, 7 Matt Heaton, 6 Lucas Rumball, 5 Evan Olmstead, 4 Paul Ciulini, 3 Jake Ilnicki, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Noah Barker
Replacements:  16 Eric Howard, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Cole Keith, 19 Conor Keys, 20 Dustin Dobravsky, 21 Andrew Ferguson, 22 Cole Davis, 23 Theo Sauder

Scotland:  15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Chris Harris, 12 James Lang, 11 Byron McGuigan, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 David Denton, 7 Jamie Ritchie, 6 Magnus Bradbury, 5 Grant Gilchrist (c), 4 Ben Toolis, 3 Simon Berghan, 2 Fraser Brown, 1 Allan Dell
Replacements:  16 George Turner, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Lewis Carmichael, 20 Luke Hamilton, 21 Ali Price, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Mark Bennett

Referee:  Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
Assistant referees:  George Clancy (Ireland), Derek Summers (USA)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Maori All Blacks put 50 past Canada

The Maori All Blacks made a superb start to their end-of-year campaign when they claimed a 51-9 victory over Canada in Vancouver on Friday.

The visitors were full value for their win and outscored their hosts seven tries to none with Ihaia West contributing 14 points courtesy of four conversions and two penalties.

West put the Maori All Blacks in front when he landed a penalty in the third minute but Canada drew level when Brock Staller added a three-pointer off the kicking tee two minutes later.

Canada took a 6-3 lead in the 15th minute courtesy of another Staller penalty, after Dan Pryor was blown up for a dangerous tackle which also resulted in him spending the next 10 minutes in the sin bin.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, the Maori All Blacks took the lead shortly afterwards — Ambrose Curtis crossing for the opening try after Charlie Ngatai, Brad Weber and Rob Thompson did well in the build-up.

West added the extras but midway through the half Staller slotted another penalty which meant the Maori All Blacks held a slender 10-9 lead after 20 minutes.

The rest of the half saw Akira Ioane and Tom Franklin scoring converted tries and West also kicked a penalty in the 34th minute which meant the visitors led 27-9 at half-time.

The Maori All Blacks continued to dominate in the second half although they were dealt a blow shortly after the restart when Tim Bateman also received a yellow card for a high tackle.

Despite that setback, Ngatai crossed for their fourth try in the 52nd minute before Canada lock Josh Larsen was also sin-binned for a dangerous challenge on Weber on the hour-mark.

The rest of the match was a one-sided affair and the Maori All Blacks sealed their win in the game's latter stages thanks to well-taken tries from Shaun Stevenson, Jackson Garden-Bachop and Sean Wainui.

The scorers:

For Canada:
Pens:  Staller 3
Yellow Card:  Larsen

For Maori All Blacks:
Tries:  Curtis, Ioane, Franklin, Ngatai, Stevenson, Garden-Bachop, Wainui
Cons:  West 4, Garden-Bachop
Pens:  West 2
Yellow Cards:  Pryor, Bateman

Canada:  15 Andrew Coe, 14 Brock Staller, 13 Ben LeSage, 12 Guiseppe du Toit, 11 Dan Moor, 10 Patrick Parfrey, 9 Phil Mack (c), 8 Tyler Ardron, 7 Matt Heaton, 6 Dustin Dobravsky, 5 Josh Larsen, 4 Kyle Baillie, 3 Matt Tierney, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Hubert Buydens
Replacements:  16 Eric Howard, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Ryan Kotlewski, 19 Lucas Rumball, 20 Evan Olmstead, 21 Andrew Ferguson, 22 Robbie Povey, 23 Kainoa Lloyd

Maori All Blacks:  15 Charlie Ngatai, 14 Sean Wainui, 13 Tim Bateman, 12 Rob Thompson, 11 Ambrose Curtis, 10 Ihaia West, 9 Brad Weber, 8 Akira Ioane, 7 Dan Pryor, 6 Tom Franklin, 5 Jarrad Hoeata, 4 Jackson Hemopo, 3 Marcel Renata, 2 Ash Dixon (c), 1 Chris Eves
Replacements:  16 Liam Polwart, 17 Ross Wright, 18 Tyrel Lomax, 19 Jordan Manihere, 20 Sam Henwood, 21 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22 Jackson Garden-Bachop, 23 Shaun Stevenson

Referee:  Kurt Weaver (USA)

Romania claim win over Canada

Canada were beaten 25-9 by Romania in Edmonton on Saturday in their final Test match before their 2019 Rugby World Cup qualifying series.

Canada kicked three penalties from Gordon McRorie but also had two tries disallowed in a fierce game that saw a red card and two yellows.

The hosts went 3-0 up through McRorie in the 12th minute but Romania hit back with their first try, coming from back-row Viorel Lucaci.

However, the 23rd minute saw a red card for Romania's Otar Turashvili after punching Canada's Tyler Ardron.  On the same play, Ardron saw yellow.  From the ensuing penalty, McRorie cut the Romania lead to 7-6, a lead the visiting team would take into the half-time turnaround.

It was an exceptional start to the second half for Romania as they scored less than a minute in through Fonovai Tangimana before McRorie hit back with another penalty to make it 14-9.

Florin Vlaicu's penalty made it 17-9 before controversy struck again.  Van der Merwe seemed to win a high ball from a cross-field kick and a few phases later Ardron had scored for Canada.  But after another TMO review, the try was ruled off and Van der Merwe was sent to the sin bin for contesting a high ball and making contact above the shoulders.

Tangimana would grab his second try of the day in the 62nd minute before a late Vlaicu penalty sealed the result.

The scorers:

For Canada:
Pens:  McRorie 3
Yellow Cards:  Ardron, Van der Merwe

For Romania:
Tries:  Lucaci, Tangimana 2
Cons:  Vlaicu 2
Pens:  Vlaicu 2
Red Card:  Turashvili

Canada:  15 Ciaran Hearn, 14 DTH van der Merwe (cc), 13 Conor Trainor, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 Sean Duke, 10 Connor Braid, 9 Gordon McRorie, 8 Aaron Carpenter, 7 Matt Heaton, 6 Tyler Ardron, 5 Evan Olmstead, 4 Brett Beukeboom (cc), 3 Matt Tierney, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Anthony Luca
Replacements:  16 Benoit Piffero, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Ryan Ackerman, 19 Conor Keys, 20 Kyle Baillie, 21 Phil Mack, 22 Shane O'Leary, 23 Andrew Coe

Romania:  15 Luke Samoa, 14 Fonovai Tangimana, 13 Paula Kinikinilau, 12 Sione Fakaosilea, 11 Ionut Dumitru, 10 Florin Vlaicu, 9 Florin Surugiu, 8 Mihai Macovei (c), 7 Viorel Lucaci, 6 Vlad Nistor, 5 Valentin Poparlan, 4 Johannes Van Heerden, 3 Andrei Ursache, 2 Otar Turashvili, 1 Ionel Badiu
Replacements:  16 Constantin Pristavita, 17 Andrei Radoi, 18 Alexandru Tarus, 19 Marius Antonescu, 20 Andrei Gorcioaia, 21 Tudorel Bratu, 22 Vladut Popa, 23 Marius Simionescu

Referee:  Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
Assistant Referees:  Andrew Brace (Ireland), Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Georgia blank Canada in Calgary

Georgia full-back Merab Kvirkashvili scored all the points of the match in his side's 13-0 victory over Canada in Calgary on Saturday.

The game was played in extremely windy and rainy conditions and served as a precursor to the Rugby World Cup qualifiers later this month.

Georgia's dogged defence ensured the Canadians went tryless in this game as Georgia continue to make a name for themselves in World Rugby.

Canada's Aaron Carpenter became the most-capped Canadian player ever, tied alongside Al Charron with 76 caps to his name.

The first-half saw both sides employing conservative gameplans, taking the ball up through the forwards around the fringes of the ruck.

As a result, the opening 40 minutes was a largely scoreless affair, except for Kvirkashvili's early penalty which saw Georgia take a 3-0 lead in to the interval.

Kvirkashvili added three points to double the away side's lead in the 46th minutes.  However, he failed to further double their lead when he missed two more opportunities before the hour mark.

The veteran number 15 made up for this when he pounced on a wayward Canadian pass to score the only try of the match which he converted himself.

The scorers:

For Georgia:
Try:  Kvirkashvili
Con:  Kvirkashvili
Pens:  Kvirkashvili 2

Canada:  15 Andrew Coe, 14 Dan Moor, 13 Conor Trainor, 12 Guiseppe Du Toit, 11 Sean Duke, 10 Shane O'Leary, 9 Phil Mack, 8 Admir Cejvanovic, 7 Matt Heaton, 6 Kyle Baillie, 5 Conor Keys, 4 Brett Beukeboom (c), 3 Jake Ilnicki, 2 Benoit Piffero, 1 Djustice Sears-Duru
Replacements:  16 Eric Howard, 17 Anthony Luca, 18 Matt Tierney, 19 Liam Chisholm, 20 Aaron Carpenter, 21 Andrew Ferguson, 22 Gradyn Bowd, 23 Ciaran Hearn

Georgia:  15 Merab Kvirikashvili, 14 Soso Matiashvili, 13 David Kacharava, 12 Merab Sharikadze (c), 11 Sandro Todua, 10 Lasha Khmaladze, 9 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 8 Beka Bitsadze, 7 Giorgi Tkhilaishvili, 6 Lasha Lomidze, 5 Kote Mikautadze, 4 Giorgi Nemsadze, 3 Anton Peikrishvili, 2 Jaba Bregvadze, 1 Mikheil Nariashvili
Replacements:  16 Badri Alkhazashvili, 17 Kakha Asieshvili, 18 Soso Bekoshvili, 19 Nodar Cheishvili, 20 Otar Giorgadze, 21 Giorgi Begadze, 22 Lasha Malaghiradze, 23 Giorgi Chkhaidze

Referee:  Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  Shuhei Kubo (Japan), Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Samoa see off Canada

D'Angelo Leuila's impressive night with the boot helped Samoa to defeat Canada 25-23 at the Stade des Alpes in Grenoble on Friday.

Canada outscored Samoa by three tries to one, including a double for in-form wing DTH van der Merwe, but the boot of Leuila, on his first start for his country, proved to be the difference.

Paul Perez opened the scoring for Samoa with a converted try after eight minutes, and once Leuila had knocked over a drop goal not long afterwards Samoa held a commanding 10-0 lead.

Leuila and Canada fly-half Connor Braid then traded two penalties each, as Samoa went into half-time ahead 16-6.

The Samoa number ten kept up the pressure with another penalties on 52 minutes but his side were then reduced to 14 men, with Taiasina Tuifua sent to the sin-bin, as Canada capitalised on their numerical advantage by scoring through Evan Olmstead.

Canada were soon down to 14 themselves once Jamie Cudmore saw yellow but Van der Merwe's try helped Canada close the gap to 19-16.

Samoa rallied through another Leuila drop goal and penalty to make it 25-16, before Van der Merwe's second score came all too late to change the outcome.

The scorers:

For Samoa:
Try:  Perez
Con:  Leuila
Pens:  Leuila 4
Drop Goals:  Leuila 2
Yellow Card:  Tuifua

For Canada:
Tries:  Olmstead, Van der Merwe 2
Con:  Braid
Pens:  Braid 2
Yellow Card:  Cudmore

Samoa:  15 Albert Nikoro, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 Paul Perez, 12 Winston Stanley, 11 David Lemi (c), 10 D'Angelo Leuila, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Genesis Mamea-Lemalu, 7 Greg Foe, 6 Alafoti Faosiliva, 5 Chris Vui, 4 Taiasina Tuifua, 3 Logovii Mulipola, 2 Elia Elia, 1 Sakaria Taulafo
Replacements:  16 Seilala Lam, 17 Nephi Leatigaga, 18 Census Johnston, 19 Jeff Lepa , 20 Oneone Faafou, 21 Danny Tusitala, 22 Opetera Peleseuma, 23 Ahsee Tuala

Canada:  15 Matt Evans, 14 DTH van der Merwe, 13 Ciaran Hearn, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 Conor Trainor, 10 Connor Braid, 9 Phil Mack, 8 Admir Cejvanovic, 7 Matt Heaton, 6 Evan Olmstead, 5 Brett Beukeboom, 4 Jamie Cudmore, 3 Jake Ilnicki, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Rob Brouwer
Replacements:  16 Eric Howard, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Matt Tierney, 19 Conor Keys, 20 Clay Panga, 21 Andrew Ferguson, 22 Pat Parfrey, 23 Ben Lesage

Referee:  Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees:  David Wilkinson (Ireland), Gary Conway (Ireland)

Romania see off Canada

Romania picked up a 21-16 victory over Canada in their November international fixture at Stadionul Arcul de Triumf on Saturday.

Canada led early on thanks to a penalty from scrum-half Gordon McRorie but on five minutes Florin Vlaicu responded to level in Bucharest.

Six minutes later the Romanians moved in front when fly-half Vlaicu crossed for a try which he converted, putting them 10-3 in the clear.

McRorie reduced matters down to four points on 15 minutes but when wing Ionu Dumitru scored Romania's second try the hosts were 15-6 ahead, before Vlaicu added another three points off the tee on 31 minutes.  That was how things ended going into the dressing rooms at the break.

It took 15 minutes from the resumption before the next score and it was via a Vlaicu penalty.  But McRorie responded soon after for 21-9.

Then came a morale-boosting try from Canada as replacement scrum-half Phil Mack crossed with Connor Braid's extras making it 21-16.  But Romania managed to see out the closing five minutes to claim the win.

The scorers:

For Romania:
Tries:  Vlaicu, Dumitru
Con:  Vlaicu
Pens:  Vlaicu 3

For Canada:
Try:  Mack
Con:  Braid
Pens:  McRorie 3

Romania:  15 Catalin Fercu, 14 Fonovai Tangimana, 13 Jack Umaga, 12 Vladut Popa, 11 Ionu Dumitru, 10 Florin Vlaicu, 9 Florin Surugiu, 8 Andrei Gorcioaia, 7 Stelian Burcea (c), 6 Viorel Lucaci, 5 Marius Antonescu, 4 Johannes Van Heerden, 3 Alexandru Tarus, 2 Eugen Capatana, 1 Mihaita Lazar
Replacements:  16 Andrei Radoi, 17 Ionel Badiu, 18 Alexandru Gordas, 19 Valentin Poparlan, 20 Cristian Chirica, 21 Valentin Calafeteanu, 22 Nicolas Onutu, 23 Stephen Shennan

Canada:  15 Matt Evans, 14 DTH van der Merwe (c), 13 Conor Trainor, 12 Ben Lesage, 11 Taylor Paris, 10 Connor Braid, 9 Gordon McRorie, 8 Admir Cejvanovic, 7 Matt Heaton, 6 Kyle Baillie, 5 Evan Olmstead, 4 Brett Beukeboom, 3 Jake Ilnicki, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Djustice Sears-Duru
Replacements:  16 Eric Howard, 17 Rob Brouwer, 18 Ryan Kotlewski, 19 Conor Keys, 20 Clay Panga, 21 Phil Mack, 22 Pat Parfrey, 23 Ciaran Hearn

Referee:  Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
Assistant Referees:  Luke Pearce (England), Gary Conway (Ireland)
TMO:  Stefano Pennè (Italy)

Ireland see off plucky Canada

Ireland continued their winning run with a 52-21 win over Canada in Dublin on Saturday, with Tiernan O'Halloran scoring twice.

It was a hard-fought win for the home side as the Canadians shocked the Irish with a perfectly timed interception from Canada winger DTH van der Merwe and a roll over try from Taylor Paris to make the 14-14 half an hour into the game.

Despite Canada's emergence, Ireland kept control of the game after they went into the break with a 21-14 lead.

It was an incredibly positive performance for both coaches as Ireland's youngsters showed there is a lot of potential for the future for Irish rugby while Canada, regarded as a minnow nation, displayed an incredibly gusty performance.

Ireland scored the first points of the game after they set up a maul on the Canada five-metre line before passing out to Keith Earls, who had no one in front of him, to score.

Ireland then drove home their lead when Marshall went over, after some great running rugby which led to Earls straightening the line and finding Jackson, who set released a long pass for Marshall to score.

Canada got their first points of the game when Marshall threw a loose pass inside his own 22, and Van der Merwe showed some impeccable athleticism to intercept the pass and score.  They scored their second try moments after when Paris took it over the line from the maul.

Ireland restored their lead when Tiernan O'Halloran took the ball from a fantastic offload from Finlay Bealham to out sprint the cover defence for the hosts' third try.

Ireland were then given a penalty try after they opted for the scrum, with Man of the Match Ultan Dillane impressing as they went through the phases, ending with a penalty right in front of the posts when Canada failed to release.

Canada scored another try through full-back Matt Evans which brought down the deficit to nine points.  It was a fantastic defensive effort from Ireland as the ball looked to be held up, but was eventually called by the referee.

Ireland replied immediately after Earls was able to beat Van der Merwe on the one-on-one to claim the restart before the forwards took over and Dillane marked a superb personal display by crashing over.

Joe Schmidt's side then went wide from a lineout and Ringrose sliced his way through the line with a swerving run before finding Earls.  They recycled quickly while the Canadian defence was badly stretched which allowed O'Halloran to score and wrap up a half century of points on the scoreboard.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Earls, Marshall, O’Halloran 2, Penalty Try, Dillane, Marmion, Tracy
Cons:  Jackson 6

For Canada:
Tries:  Van der Merwe, Paris, Evans
Cons:  McRorie 3

Ireland:  15 Tiernan O’Halloran, 14 Craig Gilroy, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Jack O’Donoghue, 7 Sean O’Brien, 6 Peter O’Mahony (c), 5 Billy Holland, 4 Ultan Dillane, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements:  16 James Tracy, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 John Ryan, 19 Donnacha Ryan, 20 Dan Leavy, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Niyi Adeolokun

Canada:  15 Matt Evans, 14 DTH van der Merwe, 13 Conor Trainor, 12 Ciaran Hearn, 11 Taylor Paris, 10 Connor Braid, 9 Gordon McRorie, 8 Aaron Carpenter, 7 Lucas Rumball, 6 Kyle Baillie, 5 Evan Olmstead, 4 Brett Beukeboom, 3 Jake Ilnicki, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Djustice Sears
Replacements:  16 Eric Howard, 17 Rob Brouwer, 18 Matt Tierney, 19 Admir Cejvanovic, 20 Matt Heaton, 21 Phil Mack, 22 Patrick Parfrey, 23 Nick Blevins

Referee:  Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)

Italy edge past a spirited Canada

A second half penalty from replacement playmaker Carlo Canna saw Italy snatch an emphatic 20-18 victory over Canada on Sunday in Toronto.

The replacement fly-half kicked one of five Italy penalties which saw the visitors outscore Canada by one try to zero.

Scrum-half Gordon McRorie scored the home side's only points via six penalty conversions while hooker Ornel Gega scored the only try of the match.

The win extends Azzuri's unbeaten streak over the Canucks to six consecutive wins with their last victory against Italy coming back in 2000.

The second half performance from the visitors saw them edge past their hosts as the scores were tied on 9-all as the players headed into the tunnel.

Azzuri's forwards laid the platform for a powerful display of rolling mauls that could not be contained by the home side.

Canna's penalty kick was the difference in the end but it was the fly-half who put in a dangerous tackle on Dan Moor, a few minutes from the final whistle, which meant the visitors finished the match with just 14 men.

This one man advantage seemed to have given Canada the confidence boost needed, but it was the 13th ranked Italy that held on for a two-point win.

Conor O'Shea's men finished their June international window with two wins, last week's 24-20 victory over the USA and the 20-18 win over Canada, and a 30-24 loss to Argentina while Canada finished their June Test period with two losses – one against Azzuri and a 26-22 loss to Japan – while they outclassed Russia and claimed a 46-21 victory last week.

The scorers:

For Canada:
Pens:  McRorie 6
Yellow Card:  Hearn

For Italy:
Try:  Gega
Pens:  Allan 4, Canna
Yellow Cards:  Canna

Canada:  15 Matt Evans, 14 Dan Moor, 13 Ciaran Hearn, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 Taylor Paris, 10 Pat Parfrey, 9 Gordon McRorie, 8 Aaron Carpenter, 7 Lucas Rumball, 6 Kyle Baillie, 5 Evan Olmstead, 4 Jamie Cudmore (c), 3 Jake Ilnicki, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Djustice Sears-Duru
Replacements:  16 Eric Howard, 17 Tom Dolezel, 18 Matt Tierney, 19 Paul Ciulini, 20 Matt Heaton, 21 Jamie Mackenzie, 22 Liam Underwood, 23 Brock Staller

Italy:  15 David Odiete, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Tommaso Boni, 11 Giovanbattista Venditti, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Edoardo Gori (c), 8 Andries Van Schalkwyk, 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Maxime Mbanda’, 5 Marco Fuser, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Ornel Gega, 1 Andrea Lovotti
Replacements:  16 Tommaso D’Apice, 17 Sami Panico, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Sebastian Negri Da Oleggio, 20 Jacopo Sarto, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Carlo Canna, 23 Giulio Bisegni

Referee:  Alexandre Ruiz (France)
Assistant Referees:  Shuhei Kubo (Japan), Kurt Weaver (USA)

Six-try Canada thrash Russia

Canada returned to the victory trail when they claimed a deserved 46-21 win over Russia in Calgary on Saturday.

The Canucks, who lost narrowly against Japan last weekend, outscored their visitors six tries to three with Gordon McRorie leading the way with a 26 point haul via a brace of tries, five conversions and two penalties.

Russia battled throughout and couldn't match the pace and intensity of the home side who went into this clash ranked one place higher than them, in 18th place, on the World Rugby rankings.

Canada made the brighter start and raced into a 19-0 lead inside the opening quarter after McRorie, Taylor Paris and Matt Evans crossed for tries.

They continued to dominate and in the 24th minute Pat Parfrey scored their fourth try after gathering a skip pass from Evans.

To their credit, Russia ddin't surrender and in the 31st minute front-row Innokentiy Zykov barged over for their opening try which Yury Kushnarev converted to cut the lead to 26-7 at half-time.

A McRorie penalty in the 43rd minute made it 29-7 and shortly afterwards he combined with Djustice Sears-Duru before dotting down under the posts to give the Canucks a commanding 36-7 lead.

Midway through the half, Jordan Wilson-Ross sealed victory when he crossed for Canada'a sixth try and although Russia added some respectability to the score with two consolation tries from Evgeny Elgin and Evgeny Matveev, McRorie slotted a late penalty to add the final nail in the visitors' coffin.

The scorers:

For Canada:
Tries:  McRorie 2, Paris, Evans, Parfrey, Wilson-Ross
Cons:  McRorie 5
Pens:  McRorie 2

For Russia:
Tries:  Zykov, Elvin, Matveev
Cons:  Kushnarev 3

Canada:  15 Matt Evans, 14 Dan Moor, 13 Mozac Samson, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 Taylor Paris, 10 Pat Parfrey, 9 Gordon McRorie, 8 Aaron Carpenter, 7 Lucas Rumball, 6 Kyle Baillie, 5 Evan Olmstead, 4 Jamie Cudmore (c), 3 Jake Ilnicki, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Djustice Sears-Duru
Replacements:  16 Eric Howard, 17 Tom Dolezel, 18 Matt Tierney, 19 Cam Pierce, 20 Alistair Clark, 21 Jamie Mackenzie, 22 Liam Underwood, 23 Jordan Wilson-Ross

Russia:  15 Artemyev Vasily (c), 14 Uzunov Konstantin, 13 Gerasimov Dmitry, 12 Rudenko Vladimir, 11 Kolomiytsev Evgeny, 10 Kushnarev Yury, 9 Shcherban Alexey, 8 Rudoi Anton, 7 Temnov Andrey, 6 Gresev Viktor, 5 Antonov Denis, 4 Garbuzov Andrei, 3 Zykov Innokentiy, 2 Gasanov Nazir, 1 Bitiev Azamat
Replacements:  16 Matveev Evgeny 17 Volkov Alexey 18 Podrezov Vladimir 19 Elgin Evgeny 20 Butenko Pavel 21 Iagudin Rushan 22 Ianiushkin Sergei 23 Ryabov Anton

Referee:  Shuhei Kubo (Japan)

Japan edge out Canada

Japan recorded a 26-22 victory over Canada at BC Place in Vancouver on Saturday to kick off their June international account with a triumph.

Despite being 0-5 adrift when Taylor Paris scored for Canada, Japan bounced back with a penalty from fly-half Yu Tamura that made it 3-5.

Canada added the second try of the match via hooker Ray Barkwill that scrum-half Gordon McRorie converted to push his side 3-12 ahead.

Just before the break Japan responded through hooker Takeshi Kizu to close the gap to 10-12 before Tamura kicked a penalty for the lead.

At 13-12 Japan were just ahead at the turnaround but it was Canada who struck first after the break when Jamie Cudmore made it 13-17.

But when Aaron Carpenter was yellow carded, Tamura made Canada pay with three points before the number eight returned to the action.

Japan crucially were the next scorer on 70 minutes through Kotaro Matsushima, converted by Tamura, which pushed them 23-17 ahead.

So when Tamura made it 26-17 Canada needed two scores and could only muster one via Carpenter as their June opener ended in defeat.

The scorers:

For Canada:
Tries:  Paris, Barkwill, Cudmore, Carpenter
Con:  McRorie

For Japan:
Tries:  Kizu, Matsushima
Con:  Tamura 2
Pen:  Tamura 4

Canada:  15 Matt Evans, 14 Dan Moor, 13 Brock Staller, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 Taylor Paris, 10 Pat Parfrey, 9 Gordon McRorie, 8 Aaron Carpenter, 7 Lucas Rumball, 6 Kyle Baillie, 5 Evan Olmstead, 4 Jamie Cudmore (c), 3 Jake Ilnicki, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Djustice Sears-Duru
Replacements:  16 Eric Howard, 17 Tom Dolezel, 18 Matt Tierney, 19 Paul Ciulini, 20 Matt Heaton, 21 Alistair Clark, 22 Jamie Mackenzie, 23 Mozac Samson

Japan:  15 Kotaro Matsushima, 14 Mifiposeti Paea, 13 Tim Bennetts, 12 Harumichi Tatekawa, 11 Yasutaka Sasakura, 10 Yu Tamura, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Kyosuke Horie, 7 Taiyo Ando, 6 Yoshiya Hosoda, 5 Naohiro Kotaki, 4 Kazuhiko Usami, 3 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 2 Takeshi Kizu, 1 Keita Inagaki
Replacements:  16 Futoshi Mori, 17 Masataka Mikami, 18 Shinnosuke Kakinaga, 19 Kotaro Yatabe, 20 Shokei Kin, 21 Kaito Shigeno, 22 Kosei Ono, 23 Rikiya Matsuda

Referee:  Federico Anselmi (Argentina)

Japan edge out Canada

Japan recorded a 26-22 victory over Canada at BC Place in Vancouver on Saturday to kick off their June international account with a triumph.

Despite being 0-5 adrift when Taylor Paris scored for Canada, Japan bounced back with a penalty from fly-half Yu Tamura that made it 3-5.

Canada added the second try of the match via hooker Ray Barkwill that scrum-half Gordon McRorie converted to push his side 3-12 ahead.

Just before the break Japan responded through hooker Takeshi Kizu to close the gap to 10-12 before Tamura kicked a penalty for the lead.

At 13-12 Japan were just ahead at the turnaround but it was Canada who struck first after the break when Jamie Cudmore made it 13-17.

But when Aaron Carpenter was yellow carded, Tamura made Canada pay with three points before the number eight returned to the action.

Japan crucially were the next scorer on 70 minutes through Kotaro Matsushima, converted by Tamura, which pushed them 23-17 ahead.

So when Tamura made it 26-17 Canada needed two scores and could only muster one via Carpenter as their June opener ended in defeat.

The scorers:

For Canada:
Tries:  Paris, Barkwill, Cudmore, Carpenter
Con:  McRorie

For Japan:
Tries:  Kizu, Matsushima
Con:  Tamura 2
Pen:  Tamura 4

Canada:  15 Matt Evans, 14 Dan Moor, 13 Brock Staller, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 Taylor Paris, 10 Pat Parfrey, 9 Gordon McRorie, 8 Aaron Carpenter, 7 Lucas Rumball, 6 Kyle Baillie, 5 Evan Olmstead, 4 Jamie Cudmore (c), 3 Jake Ilnicki, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Djustice Sears-Duru
Replacements:  16 Eric Howard, 17 Tom Dolezel, 18 Matt Tierney, 19 Paul Ciulini, 20 Matt Heaton, 21 Alistair Clark, 22 Jamie Mackenzie, 23 Mozac Samson

Japan:  15 Kotaro Matsushima, 14 Mifiposeti Paea, 13 Tim Bennetts, 12 Harumichi Tatekawa, 11 Yasutaka Sasakura, 10 Yu Tamura, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Kyosuke Horie, 7 Taiyo Ando, 6 Yoshiya Hosoda, 5 Naohiro Kotaki, 4 Kazuhiko Usami, 3 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 2 Takeshi Kizu, 1 Keita Inagaki
Replacements:  16 Futoshi Mori, 17 Masataka Mikami, 18 Shinnosuke Kakinaga, 19 Kotaro Yatabe, 20 Shokei Kin, 21 Kaito Shigeno, 22 Kosei Ono, 23 Rikiya Matsuda

Referee:  Federico Anselmi (Argentina)

Romania fight back to edge Canada

Romania overturned a 15-point deficit to bag their first win at Rugby World Cup 2015 via a 17-15 victory over Pool D rivals Canada in Leicester on Tuesday.

Having trailed 15-0 early in the second half, Romania launched an impressive comeback, with the power of their forwards turning the tables on a Canadian side that had controlled the game for the first 50 minutes.

Tries from Canadian wingers DTH van der Merwe and Jeff Hassler either side of half-time looked to have secured the result in a game played in difficult conditions.

But Romanian skipper Mihai Macovei scored twice in the last half hour before Florin Vlaicu slotted a late, long-range penalty to snatch a thrilling win for the Oaks.

The result ends a eight-game RWC losing streak for Romania and leaves Canada to harbour a number of regrets after their narrow loss to Italy earlier in the tournament.

Heavy rain showers before kick-off and then intermittently during the match made running rugby tricky but Canada's more expansive approach nevertheless paid dividends as they built a handy lead.

Canada led 8-0 at the interval thanks to a well-taken try just before the break from Van der Merwe, who has now scored in four consecutive RWC games.

Despite the slippery surface the Canucks played with plenty of width with their back three especially prominent, but were met by a well-organised and resolute Romanian defence.

A soft yellow card for full-back Catalin Fercu after his mid-air collision with Nick Blevins didn't help the Romanian cause.

The Oaks used their powerful pack as their main weapon but crucially missed out on points after choosing a five-metre scrum only to be penalised.

Hassler stretched the lead early in the second half with a barnstorming run to score after a break by Nathan Hirayama put Canada on the attack.  Hirayama also provided the conversion to give Canada a 15-0 lead.

Romania didn't go down quietly though as a pushover try on the 50-minute mark kept the game alive with Macovei touching down and Florin Vlaicu adding the conversion.

There was late drama to come as Jebb Sinclair was sin-binned for coming into the side of maul and Romania used their extra man to lay the platform for Macovei to break off a wheeling scrum, stretching out an arm to score.

Vlaicu hit the conversion to cut the gap to single point and set up a grandstand finish.

Cruelly for Canada, long-time servant and skipper Jamie Cudmore was the man to give away the penalty that would cost them victory, as Vlaicu hit the target from 45 metres out in the 78th minute.

Man of the match:  Having scored both his team's tries, captain Mihai Macovei has to get the gong as he continued his impressive form in the World Cup.

Moment of the match:  It wasn't an easy kick, but Florin Vlaicu help his nerve to slot the winner after a couple of earlier misses.

Villain of the match:  Nothing rough enough to mention.

The scorers:

For Canada:
Tries:  Van der Merwe, Hassler
Con:  Hirayama
Pen:  McRorie
Yellow Card:  Sinclair

For Romania:
Tries:  Macovei 2
Cons:  Vlaicu 2
Pen:  Vlaicu
Yellow Card:  Fercu

Canada:  15 Harry Jones, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Ciaran Hearn, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Nathan Hirayama, 9 Gordon McRorie, 8 Aaron Carpenter, 7 John Moonlight, 6 Jebb Sinclair, 5 Jamie Cudmore (c), 4 Brett Beukeboom, 3 Doug Wooldridge, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Hubert Buydens.
Replacements:  16 Benoit Piffero, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Jake Ilnicki, 19 Kyle Gilmour, 20 Nanyak Dala, 21 Phil Mack, 22 Conor Trainor, 23 James Pritchard

Romania:  15 Catalin Fercu, 14 Madalin Lemnaru, 13 Paula Kinikinilau, 12 Florin Vlaicu, 11 Ionut Botezatu, 10 Michael Wiringi, 9 Florin Surugiu, 8 Mihai Macovei (c), 7 Viorel Lucaci, 6 Valentin Ursache, 5 Johannes van Heerden, 4 Valentin Poparlan, 3 Paulica Ion, 2 Otar Turashvili, 1 Mihaita Lazar.
Replacements:  16 Andrei Radoi, 17 Andrei Ursache, 18 Alexandru Tarus, 19 Daniel Carpo, 20 Stelian Burcea, 21 Valentin Calafeteanu, 22 Adrian Apostol, 23 Csaba Gal.

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Marius Mitrea (Italy)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

France made to work by Canada

France were the second team in a week to find Canada a tough pool opponent before they came through to win 41-18 at Stadium MK on Thursday.

28,145 fans were packed into the venue for a record crowd and they were treated to another entertaining 80 minutes as the underdog once again stood up tall.

But France's power would eventually tell as they won thanks to tries from Wesley Fofana, Guilhem Guirado, Rabah Slimani, Pascal Papé and Rémy Grosso.

In reply Canada's try-scorers were the in-form DTH van der Merwe and Aaron Carpenter and they can take plenty of confidence into facing Romania next week.

Conditions were perfect and it didn't take long for France to break the Canadian defence and the architect was man of the match Frédéric Michalak, as he stepped through some weak tackling from scrum-half Phil Mack before sending out a back-handed offload to his centre Fofana for the score.  Michalak's conversion made it a 7-0 buffer.

Canada settled admirably after that error on three minutes and would enjoy a decent slice of territory for ten minutes until les Bleus struck again, this time from the boot of Michalak after Canada were pinged for illegal scrummaging.  Michalak looked full of confidence at this point.

In contrast Canada lost their inspirational captain Tyler Ardron to a knee injury before the 20-minute mark and they will hope he recovers in time for Tuesday's fixture against Romania in Leicester, a game targeted as must-win as they look to finish fourth in what's been a tough pool.

Back to the action and France sensed blood and flexed their muscle but it was again the class of Michalak coming to the fore, as he rolled back the years with another break before chipping inside for Fofana.  Unfortunately for the duo this time their combination did not bear another try.

The second try wasn't too far in coming and this time it was the power of France that created it, with Guirado at the back of a maul for 17-0.

Canada however showed real fighting spirit and hit back from the restart as Ciaran Hearn leapt highest before recycled ball found Van der Merwe wide on the left.  The wing ran closer to the posts in the in-goal to hand Nathan Hirayama a simpler conversion, which he made to make it 17-7.

On 34 minutes, it was game on as Canada further reduced the deficit to just five points as hooker Carpenter powered over from five metres out, with Stadium MK rocking as the tries kept coming, this time from France tighthead prop Slimani from another maul to make it a 24-12 advantage.

Canada would not go away after the break and were wise to the take the points on 42 minutes after a scrum offence from France, Hirayama cutting the gap to 24-15, before they kept France well out of striking range for a long spell.  In fact, it was they who were in the opposition red zone.

France looked out of sorts and it mirrored Michalak's performance as being starved of decent ball meant les Bleus were a shadow of their first-half showing, with Canada continuing to chip away at the scoreline.  This time their points came following an offside, with Hirayama on target.

Michalak finally managed to open his side's second-half account off the tee on the hour mark after a breakdown offence, with that decision to kick for posts instead of the corner a clear sign from captain Thierry Dusautoir that he feared that Canada might just pull off a major shock.

At 27-18 he wasn't quite so conservative and with seventeen minutes remaining the French looked to apply the squeeze in the Canadian 22.  Kieran Crowley's men were tenacious in defence however and spirited tackling on their try-line denied centre Mathieu Bastareaud the bonus-point score.

It only delayed the inevitable.  Brute force from France won through and it was second-row Papé reaching out to complete the job before Grosso went over wide out ahead of facing Ireland at Millennium Stadium in what is likely to be the pool decider.  French supporters will hope they have saved plenty in the tank for that one.

Man of the match:  The first-half performance of Frédéric Michalak sees him edge this ahead of his centre colleague Wesley Fofana, who looks sharp ahead of that Irish showdown.  Michalak was in top form in that opening stanza before, like his team, taking a dip in their form in the second-half.

Moment of the match:  The game's first try was something special.  Frédéric Michalak set up Wesley Fofana for a lovely score that set France on their way.  When he plays like that, France are a different beast.

Villain of the match:  Another World Cup game with little needle.  It was played hard but fair.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Fofana, Guirado, Slimani, Pape, Grosso
Cons:  Michalak 4, Parra
Pens:  Michalak 2

For Canada:
Tries:  Van der Merwe, Carpenter
Con:  Hirayama
Pens:  Hirayama 2
Yellow Card:  Dala

France:  15 Scott Spedding, 14 Rémy Grosso, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Brice Dulin, 10 Frédéric Michalak, 9 Sebastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Pascal Pape, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Eddy Ben Arous.
Replacements:  16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Nicolas Mas, 19 Yannick Nyanga, 20 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 21 Morgan Parra, 22 Remi Tales, 23 Alexandre Dumoulin.

Canada:  15 Matt Evans, 14 Phil Mackenzie, 13 Ciaran Hearn, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Nathan Hirayama, 9 Phil Mack, 8 Tyler Ardron (c), 7 Richard Thorpe, 6 Kyle Gilmour, 5 Jamie Cudmore, 4 Brett Beukeboom, 3 Doug Wooldridge, 2 Aaron Carpenter, 1 Hubert Buydens.
Replacements:  16 Ray Barkwill, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Andrew Tiedemann, 19 Evan Olmstead, 20 Nanyak Dala, 21 Gordon McRorie, 22 Harry Jones, 23 Conor Trainor.

Referee:  JP Doyle (England)
Assistant Referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Angus Gardner (Australia)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)