RICHMOND HILL, Ont. (March 8, 2010) -
Liam Underwood and
Matt Kelly, both of Toronto, have been named to Canada's U20 rugby team that will compete at the Junior World Trophy (JWT) in Moscow.
The tournament, which takes place in May, sees Canada take on Zimbabwe in their opening match on the 18th. The Canadians will then take on the host Russians on May 22nd, followed by Japan on the 26th.
For Coach Tim Murdy, the 2010 edition of the team has seen a progression since the new age category was created in 2008 to replace the U21 and U19 age grade world championships.
"I have been seeing progression with the program and the athletes and what we are trying to achieve," said Murdy - who is at the helm of his third U20 team. "We have a very balanced team with good forwards, our tight five and back row are very good, and we have play makers in the 9 through 12 area - plus some great speed on the outside."
While the team experienced relegation after a tough 2009 Junior World Championships in Japan, Murdy says the JWT is probably a better place for his team to participate in terms of competition structure.
"There is no question the Junior World Cup is a higher competition, but even the Junior World Trophy has a fine line between success and failure. Our ultimate goal is to win the tournament," he said.
"In this tournament, if we play very well, we can win any game on the day," affirmed Murdy.
The rugby is obviously paramount in terms of preparation, but the destination is not far from the minds of the players and staff alike. Russia, while more open to Western visitors in the past decade or so, is still not a place most people would visit as a tourist destination. Being able to tour to a country that has a great sporting history with Canada on the ice, and now to a certain extent, on the pitch, is a great opportunity for all involved says Murdy.
"This is definitely one of the rewards of making a national team," said Murdy. "Being able to see a country like Russia will give us a great historical perspective and also will give the players an appreciation of what they have at home.
"We would obviously like to play on that history between Canada and Russia in terms of hockey as well and carry on that tradition of sporting competition."
There will be one more preparation camp on Vancouver Island prior to the team's departure in May - so Murdy says there will be a lot of pressure on the players to really bear down and get the hard work done in terms of conditioning and extra skill work.
"Players definitely need to get stuck in now in the next month," says Murdy. "working on their own in the weight room, at the track and on the field.
"There is no question rugby in Canada is held hostage by our vast geography," he continued. "Our specialist positions will have to do extra work as well, from kicking to fielding and all those extra things players need to pay attention to in order to succeed.
"A lot of onus is on these guys individually - and we will be refining our defensive and attacking strategies."
Junior World Trophy - May 18th - 30th, 2010
Pool A
Italy
Papua New Guinea
Romania
Uruguay
Pool B
Canada
Japan
Russia
Zimbabwe
2010 – Junior World Trophy Squad
Forwards:
Tyler Ardon (Peterborough Pagans/Lakefield, ON)
Brett Beukeboom (Lindsay RFC/UVic Vikes/Lindsay, ON)
Admir Cejanovic (Burnaby Lake RFC/BCIT)
Andrew Crow – Captain (Castaway Wanderers/Victoria, BC)
Casey Cavers (Cowichan RFC/Ladysmith, BC)
Ryan Fried (Wilmot Warthogs/Waterloo Oxford)
Alex Kam (UBC T-Birds/Richmond, BC)
Matt Kelly (Toronto Nomads/Toronto, ON)
Scott MacDonald (Oshawa Vikings/Port Perry)
Jeff McKinnon (Capilanos RFC/North Vancouver)
Scott McLeod (Duncan,BC)
Liam Murray (Capilanos RFC/UVic Vikes)
Dakota Poole (Kelowna RFC/Kelowna, BC)
Adam Zaruba (Capilano RFC/North Vancouver)
Backs
Kurtis Appledorn (Abbotsford RFC/Abbotsford, BC)
Kyle Armstrong (Ajax Wanderers/Whitby, ON)
Conor Braid (James Bay AA/Victoria, BC)
Josh Dufresne (Nor'westers RFC/Edmonton, AB)
Sean Ferguson (UBC T-Birds/Vancouver, BC)
Pat Fraser (Cowichan RFC/Cowichan, BC)
Tye Hamblin (Cowichan RFC/Cowichan, BC)
Jeff Hassler (Calgary, AB)
Patrick Parfrey (Swilers RFC/The Rock/St. John's RFC)
Beau Parker (UVic Vikes/Victoria, BC)
Keaton Styles (UVic Vikes, Surrey, BC)
Liam Underwood (Balmy Beach RFC/Toronto, ON)
Staff
Head Coach: Tim Murdy (BC)
Assistants: Tony Healy (BC), Quentin Fyffe (Alberta)
Strength and Conditioning: Joe McCullum (BC)
Ben Suen (BC)
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with files from Rugby Canada