When it comes to the current Pacific Nations Cup for Rugby Canada, the results don’t really matter. But there’s also no denying that wins are nice.
When Canada hits the field Friday against Tonga in Lautoka, Fiji (live 11 p.m. ET Thursday, TSN.ca/TSN app, delayed TSN2 Friday, 2 p.m. ET and 11 p.m. ET) , they’ll hit the midway point in their Rugby World Cup preparations.
After two games in Pacific Nations Cup action, the Canadians are winless. Losses to both the United States and Fiji exposed issues first at the lineout, then at scrum time. Both are fixable and could be blamed on a lack of playing time together.
And that, more than anything, is the purpose of these games, says Nathan Hirayama.
The veteran flyhalf, who has specialized in sevens for the past three years and hasn’t been called in for the current Rugby World Cup build-up campaign, knows all about RWC prep from four years ago.
He was a key figure in the Kieran Crowley-coached squad, one that showed great promise but ultimately came away winless from the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
In the 2015 Pacific Nations Cup, the Canadians went 0-4, but could easily have finished 2-2. Two games, in pool play against Samoa in Toronto and in a fifth-place game against the U.S. in Burnaby, were settled in the game’s waning moments.
“The Samoa game, we were heartbroken,” Hirayama admitted. The Samoans won the game on a last-play try after the Canadians fumbled a lineout near their goal-line.
And the loss to the Americans stung as well, he said. The visitors won on a final-minute drop goal.
But there was also some perspective required, he said.
“At the end of the day, I don’t think anyone is really looking at these games,” he said. “It’s about seeing what combinations work. Everyone’s on display, everyone’s trying out.”
The Canadians also lost in pool play to Tonga and Japan.
“The feel going into that Samoa game was this is our tryout, this is our shot,” he said.
And while one reporter put forth the notion that maybe a win or two in that PNC might have set up the team better for RWC wins over Italy and Romania, they weren’t a factor, Hirayama said.
His coach agreed, too.
“No I don’t think losing to Samoa and USA had a bearing on the World Cup games. After those games we beat both Glasgow and Georgia,” Crowley wrote in an email.
“We played well in both the Italy and Romania games — and had chances to win both — Italy in the end were too good for us and against Romania we made a couple of errors that cost us late in the game.”
Canada, of course, gets another shot at Italy at next month’s RWC when they open their campaign on Sept. 26. Tough games against South Africa and New Zealand follow, before Canada closes against a beatable Namibia side on Oct. 13.
This week’s final PNC game against Tonga should be viewed with this team-building lens, Hirayama argued. A win would be good for the Canadian psyche, but there are still three games to be played — against Leinster Aug. 24 in Hamilton, against B.C. Aug. 30 in Langford and against the U.S. Sept. 7 in Vancouver — and plenty of roster decisions to be made.
The Canadian lineup that will face Tonga is pretty close to what most would consider first choice. Captain Tyler Ardron returns at No. 8, joined by Lucas Rumball and Kyle Baillie on the flanks. Evan Olmstead and Mike Sheppard are the grittiest second-row pairing Canada has, while the front row features young tighthead Matt Tierney, likely first-choice hooker Eric Howard and veteran loosehead Djustice Sears-Duru.
The backline features really only one remaining question mark: will Gord McRorie go into the World Cup as first-choice flyhalf? The rest of the backline screams first choice, though Taylor Paris could conceivably start over Jeff Hassler on right wing at some point.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
