The Canadian U17 program is pleased to announce the
final squad selected to travel to the United Kingdom to compete at the
RFU’s Wellington Festival being held in Crowthorne Berkshire. The final
selection process has been extensive for program coaches and Rugby
Canada’s high performance staff.    


Jim Delaney has this to say, “Well here we are, after many months of
player identification from all over the country and hundreds of hours of
video analysis, we have selected what we feel is the best team.”


“After an intense week of final selections, we have a team.  The players
know each other very well but they will now have to face the fact the
hardest work is about to begin. They need to come together even more to
face the challenges ahead. We are no longer considered a Tier 2 team at
this festival and there can be no excuses from the athletes for not
stepping up the work rate, effort and physicality that good performances
demand.”


“During our preparation week, we will spend a lot of time preparing the
athletes mentally to compete against the best rugby players in Europe. 
We have proven in the past we are able to play well and win against
these teams but it takes a special effort and one I know this group
possesses. I look forward to seeing them perform and fulfilling our
expectations.”


The squad heads to England on March 29th and will spend a preparation
week at the premier English Rugby Academy, Hartpury College in
Gloucester.  The preliminary festival games for the squad include their
first game against Gloucester U17s and will wrap-up at the end of the
first week with a fixture at Newport Dragons Rodney Parade against Wales
U16. The fixture is a warm-up for the Wales team in preparation for
their U16 Four Nations game the following week.


Assistant Coach Dean Murtens, had this to say about the selection
process, “The selection process for the tour has been a long intense
process with lots of considerations made to get it right.  The good
thing is many coaches provided input into the selection, so all the
athletes had a fair chance to show their talents to a variety of coaches
from all parts of Canada.”


“This will be my first time at the RFU Wellington Festival, but from
what I have seen from previous years, this looks like a very strong
team.  I am excited to see this great group of players go out and
express themselves while playing for their country.  This team has a
great balance of pace, power and physicality so it should be a great
festival.”


Assistant Coach Francois Ratier had this to say, "We started our
selection process last summer at the Eastern Canada Championships and
Nationals. After three camps we selected the best twenty-six players for
the UK tour.  This tour and the Wellington festival will be the first
international experience for these young players, and with five games in
fifteen days, they will have the opportunity to express themselves
against the best teams in Europe.  They know the level of their
opponents and I am sure they are excited to meet the challenge."


Congratulations to all the players who worked so hard at the U17 camps. 
The program would like to thank all the individuals and groups who have
supported the program with special thanks going to Shawnigan Lake
School, British Columbia Rugby Union, Rugby Canada High Performance
staff and the many coaches from across the country that have volunteered
their time.




The selected players and non travelling reserves are:

PLAYER NAME/ CLUB/ CITY/PROVINCE
Nicholas Andrews – Lords Tweedsmuir SS (Surrey, BC)
Randall Barton – Shawnigan Lake (Duncan, BC)
Lucas Bradley – Alberni D SS (Port Alberni, BC)
Paul Ciulini – St Joan of Arc, Aurora Barbarians (Maple, ON)
Thomas Chan – Lakefield College (Peterborough, ON)
Andrew Coe – Bill Crothers, Markham Irish (Markham ON)
Peter John Collins – St. Michael’s College, Oakville Crusaders (Mississauga, ON)
Michael Douros – Senator O’Connor, Balmy Beach (Toronto, ON)
Giuseppe DuToit – Shawnigan Lake (Mapleridge, BC)
Marshall Fuller – Collingwood, Capilano (West Vancouver, BC)
Harjun Gill – St Georges School, Meralomas (Vancouver, BC)
Tristan Hooey – Glebe, Bytown (Ottawa, ON)
George Jeavons-Fellows – The Kings School, Worcester Warriors (Bricklehampton, UK)
Winston Jin – St Georges School, Meralomas (Vancouver, BC)
Kiera Lacey – Holy Heart of Mary, Swilers (St Johns, NL)
Jordan Marsh – Stoufville D.S.S, Markham Irish (Stouffville, ON)
Calixto Martinez – Earl Marriott, Bayside (Langley, BC)
Connor McRae – Collingwood, Capilano (West Vancouver, BC)
Christopher Miles – Shawnigan Lake, Velox (North Saanich, BC)
Spencer Miller – Yale, Abbotsford (Abbotsford, BC)
Oliver Nott – Shawnigan Lake, Cowichan (Cowichan, BC)
Rupert Peers – Elgin Park, Bayside (Surrey, BC)
Lucas Rumball – Senator O’Connor, Balmy Beach (Toronto, ON)
Mitchell Santilli – St.John’s College, Brantford Harlequins (Brantford, ON)
John Shaw – St. Peter CHS, Bytown Blues (Orleans, ON)
Brandon Waeyen – Henry Wisewood HS, Hornets (Calgary, AB)


NON TRAVELLING RESERVES:
Louis Retief – Sardis SS, Abbotsford (Chilliwack, BC)
Kieran Washburn – Beaumont composite, Edmonton NoeWesters (Beaumont, AB)
Thomas MacDougall – Chateauguay Valley, Ormstown (Ormstown, QC)
Devin King –Uxbridge SS, Oshawa Vikings (Stouffville, ON)
Tobin Sydney-Smith – Sentinel, Capilano (West Vancouver, BC)
Spencer Loughlin – Yale, Abbotsford (Abbotsford, BC)

Canada selection camp (BC)

Canada U17s Defeat Lower Mainland Selects 48-12

from Andrew Smith 

BCRUposted Feb 25 2012 Vancouver, BC:

The Under-17 Canadian men's national team produced an impressive eight-try performance to defeat the Lower Mainland Selects 48-12 on Saturday, posting their second straight win over a BC representative side. The Canadian U17s had previously defeated the Vancouver Island Selects by a score of 33-10 on Thursday evening in Langford.Saturday's match in Vancouver wrapped up a week-long trial for the national program, as the coaches will now have to make their selections for the 26-man roster headed to England for the annual Wellington Festival.

Canada U17: 48Tries: Shane Dagg x2, Paul Ciulini, Brandon Ho, PJ Collins, Connor Plumpton, Spencer Miller, Randy BartonConversions: Giuseppe Du Toit x3, Michael Douros

Lower Mainland Selects: 12Tries: Ryan Lan, Karsten LeitnerConversions: Nick Collett

Canada U17 West Camp

The next stage of this year's Canada U17 Men's Team identification process takes place at Shawnigan Lake School on Vancouver Island with the Western Selection camp running November 3rd-6th.

The camp begins on Thursday afternoon and will culminate with a trial game on Sunday afternoon. Close to 50 athletes from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario will gather to participate in the camp.

The camp will be led by coaches Jim Delaney and Francois Ratier along with guest coaches to help with talent identification.

Jim Delaney expects the camp to provide an opportunity for these athletes to test themselves against some of the best young rugby players in the country.

"I am looking forward to seeing these athletes in action. I have been monitoring most of these players since the BC Regional Championships in July. I watched many of them in Calgary at the National Festival and have a good idea of their potential.

"We will put them into situations where they can express their talent. There are a number of returning players from last years' camps including Oliver Knott who was with the Canada U17 team in Wellington last year. I am anxious to see the progress these players have made in their fitness and strength development. There are also a number of younger players that will be given equal opportunity to impress the coaches."

Delaney continued "after the camp we will select players to travel to the USA to play at least two games against the All American High School squad. We will also be holding a second selection event in BC in February 2012. Although this event will primarily be a development event for younger players, the purpose is to replicate a high performance environment where we hope to establish some fitness and strength targets. The players will also be exposed to some of the techniques that they would need to play at an international level. We hope to set some expectations for these players so when they return to their U16 provincial programs in the summer of 2012 they have completed six months of the right sort of training."

La peau de l'ours...

Les quelques médias français que j'ai parcouru ces derniers jours ne donnent pas très cher de notre peau contre la France dimanche prochain, quand je dis notre peau je parle de celle du Canada bien entendu.

On ne peut pas leur donner vraiment tort tant cette équipe de France sur le papier est composée de joueurs talentueux,entièrement professionnels et avec une profondeur de banc qui ferait le bonheur de bien d'autres nations.

Seulement voilà, le Canada vient de battre le Tonga dans un match, certes, qui peut décevoir les amoureux du jeu au large, mais qui a montré aux autres nations que cette équipe avait du coeur, une défense organisée et qu'elle était capable d'exploiter la moindre opportunité qui lui était offerte sur des ballons de "turn-over".

Cette jeune équipe, encadrée par quelques "papa", avec qui j'ai déjà voyagé, a depuis quatre ans su tissé des liens d'amitié et de solidarité qui détonnent parfois dans un monde professionnel un peu tourné sur lui-même...

Cette état d'esprit, elle le doit en grande partie à son entraîneur l'ancien All Black champion du monde Kieran Crowley, qui dans la plus grande tradition Néo-Zélandaise, a su trouver les axes de travail sur et en dehors du terrain, qui on fait de cette équipe de véritables frères d'armes.

Ce match contre la France se sera une histoire de résistance, une France blessée après les critiques de leur match contre le Japon (qui fut tout de même gagné 47-21) et qui dans ces moment là est encore plus dangereuse.

Combien de temps notre défense restera consistante ? Sera-t-elle capable de "cabosser" ces français quatre jours après avoir envoyé plus de cent plaquages contre le Tonga ?

Comment s'adaptera-t-elle à la gestion de Para et Trihn-Duc, ces deux jeunes et talentueux meneurs de jeu?

Combien de temps pourra-t-elle faire face à Servat et son rouleau compresseur ?

Poser la question c'est un peu y répondre et finalement l'important n'est pas vraiment là.

Ce que veut cette équipe Canadienne c'est regagner le respect du monde du rugby et vivre une belle aventure humaine...et c'est ce qu'elle a déjà commencé à faire mercredi soir en battant les guerriers du Pacifique.

Dimanche sur le pré ce sera David contre Goliath, le SCA contre Perpignan...comment? ah les deux avait gagné? Alors tout est possible...

Gilou, Jerome et les autres, je vous embrasse.

Le Canada prêt au combat

Au classement IRB, deux petites places séparent le Canada (14e) du Tonga (12e). Au niveau médiatique, la sélection du Pacifique semble également avoir un léger avantage avec dans ses rangs quelques éléments habitués au haut niveau européen tels que Vainikolo, Iongi, Pulu ou même l'ancien toulousain Finau Maka, contre les seuls Cudmore et van der Merwe pour les Nord-Américains.

Bref, pas de quoi en faire une montagne pour les forgerons qui disposent d'arguments crédibles pour prétendre gagner ce premier match. Tout d'abord, les récents tests, où ils sont venus deux fois à bout des Etats-Unis, se sont avérés encourageants. De plus, la dernière défaite des Canadiens contre le Tonga remonte au millénaire dernier (en 1999, 18-10), eux qui ont gagné trois des cinq confrontations entre les deux nations depuis 1974. Enfin, dernier argument et non des moindres, les "Aigles des mers" n'ont eu que quatre jours de repos depuis leur premier match éprouvant contre les All Blacks, ce qui a certainement contraint l'entraineur Isitolo Maka à faire tourner et procéder à onze changements dans le XV de départ.

Crowley : "très impatients"

Le coach des Canucks Kieran Crowley connait néanmoins l'ampleur de la tâche qui l'attend demain, et redoute grandement son adversaire : "Défensivement, ils sont très bons. Ils ont fait deux erreurs techniques dont les Blacks ont profité, mais leur jeu direct en "pick-and-go" est excellent et leur mêlée est vraiment une des meilleures du monde." Mais le technicien néo-zélandais affirme que son équipe est prête à relever le défi : "Si on regarde les premières rencontres comme France-Japon ou Roumanie-Ecosse, on s'aperçoit que la décision s'est faite dans les dix dernières minutes et que le fossé qui existait entre les nations majeures et mineures a diminué. Ainsi une équipe dite de "deuxième zone" peut inquiéter une autre mieux classée à l'IRB. C'est ce qui nous donne confiance et nous motive. A vrai dire on est très impatients de montrer nous aussi de quoi on est capables." Il s'agit certainement aussi, avec le Japon, d'une des deux réelles opportunités pour le Canada de ramener un succès dans ce mondial.

U17 EASTERN CANADA CAMP SET FOR THIS WEEKEND

The Eastern Selection camp for Canada's U17 team concluded in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec this past weekend, providing some keen insights for coaches Jim Delaney and François Ratier on the talent pool he has available for selection across the country. While it is a valuable experience with team coaches - for the players the learning that comes from such an environment is very instrumental to development. "This camp is exactly what I expected and more," said Nova Scotia's Timothy Hart. "The level of play and tempo all exceeded my thoughts of what it was going to be. It is really enjoyable to be playing at such a high level because it forces me to play to the best of my ability." Newfoundland's Kyle Stanley says the trip to Quebec was well worth the effort. "I learned how to have better body position and how to attack with the ball harder and more direct," he explains. "I also made new friends that I will be keeping in touch with and I will be seeing them at nationals and easterns in the years to follow." The identification cycle for this year is well under way for the Canada U17's for the 2012 Wellington Festival with coaches attending some of the provincial selection events around the country. Also National coaches attended the Eastern Canadian Championships in New Brunswick and the recent National Festival in Calgary. From these events 45 athletes where invited and 39 were able to accept the invitation to this Eastern Canadian identification camp. "We have identified a good group of players from across Eastern Canada including for the first time in 4 years players from eastern Ontario and a couple of athletes from Nova Scotia and they are worthy of their selection," said Delaney. "We have worked this group for two days with two sessions a day. "Introducing the philosophies and techniques that will help them perform at the next level," he says. "The players have reacted very positively to the new information they have received. In the final day of the camp the players demonstrated the techniques they have learnt over the two days with a trail game consisting of three 20 minute periods. Next on the schedule for the Canada U17's is a Western Canadian identification camp in November where up to 40 athletes will go through the same process and be given the same information as these athletes have in Montreal. From these two identification events a squad will be selected for a final 2012 Wellington selection event later in 2011.

Victoire vs Montreal Irish 36-19