IRB Junior Rugby World Trophy

Canadian U20 Team names squad for Russia

The coaching staff of the Canadian U20 men's rugby team have named the 27 man squad that will travel to Moscow in May to play in rugby's Junior World Trophy.

The decisions came following a final weekend camp on Vancouver Island, that saw intense workouts, physical testing and unit work that culminated the four previous camps.

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 at 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."

Canada opens the tournament on May 18th against Moscow. Then Canada will play the hosts Russia on May 22nd, followed by Japan on May 26th. From there play-off games for final placement take place.

Junior World Trophy - May 18th - 30th

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 (Ontario)

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Moscow match officials named for Junior World Rugby Trophy

The match official panel for biggest rugby tournament to be held in Russia has been confirmed, with 12 referees named for the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy (JWRT) to be held in Moscow from May 18-30th, 2010. The panel sees numerous firsts, with Marcin Zeszutek named, the first referee from Poland ever to be selected in an IRB panel. There are officials from 11 member unions in total, with two senior referees – Canada’s Bryan Arciero and Japan’s Akihisa Aso – blended with a group that is a genuine representation of the world’s rugby nations. IRB Referee manager Paddy O’Brien said that the JWRT was crucial for young talent to gain exposure on an international stage. But it was also to identify up and coming talent in the officials ranks, as well as enabling growing rugby nations to gain experience in hosting global rugby championships. This will be Russia’s biggest rugby event, after last year’s JWRT was Kenya’s biggest. "From an officiating perspective, the aim of the 2010 tournament is to identify and develop talent that has the potential to take the next step up the international ladder. This group of match officials will benefit from working in an environment that through education, training and assessment hones skills and promotes excellence which will assist their future refereeing careers," said O’Brien. "The IRB and its Member Unions invest considerable resources in developing the next generation of international match officials with tournaments including the IRB Junior World Championship and IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy essential in the development pathway of many senior officials.” The selection of two officials from Russia shows that rising talent within the country, on and off the field, and shows the IRB’s commitment to leaving a legacy within the nation. There will also be a special workshop where local match officials and managers can benefit from access to international training and education programmes. Russia is growing as a rugby nation, with the event the first fifteen side tournament to be held within the nation. The Union is also one of three unions to express interest in hosting the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens, and their national team is still eligible to qualify for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The panel is: Mauro Rivera (Argentina), Bryan Arciero (Canada), Naipolione Locoloco (Fiji), Gia Amirkhanashvili (Georgia), Marius Mitrea (Italy), Akihisa Aso (Japan), Andrew Karani (Kenya), Marcin Zeszutek (Poland), Joao Mourinha (Portugal), Igor Nikolaichuk and Vladimir Volovik (Russia) and Aruna Ranaweera (USA). 2009 JWRT Results 7th place Cayman Islands 12 – 62 South Korea @ Impala Ground, Nairobi 5th place Namibia 48 – 43 Papua New Guinea @ RFUEA Grounds, Nairobi 3rd place Kenya 17 – 19 Chile @ RFUEA Grounds, Nairobi Final United States 13 – 25 @ Romania @ RFUEA Grounds, Nairobi

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CAYMAN U20 JWRT 2009 ROUND UP

We made it to Kenya and we made it home. We played four full internationals and we learned many lessons about the game at this level.

ROMANIA WIN 2009 WORLD JUNIOR RUGBY TROPHY

The IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy 2009 final lived up to expectations with end to end play, scything breaks through midfield, near misses and a tense finale as Romania scored 19 unanswered points in the second half to beat USA 25-13 at the RFUEA Grounds in Nairobi on Sunday.