Things get tougher for Canada
France next opponent after disappointing loss to Italy
Still rueing missed chances against Italy, Canada has little time to regroup ahead of what could be a long night Thursday against seventh-ranked France at the Rugby World Cup.
The 18th-ranked Canadians led No. 14 Italy 10-0 in the first half Saturday and 15-13 in the second and controlled play for stretches. But mistakes caught up with them and the Italians survived the Canadian onslaught to win 23-18.
“To be honest it was pretty gutting afterwards. They were pretty down for a fair while — which is natural,” Canadian coach Kieran Crowley said of his players.
“It’s not so much disappointment now but just the realization that it was there for us if we had performed a little bit better in a couple of areas,” he added. “I think we’re starting to get over the hump and hopefully come game time against France, we’ll be excited about getting back out there.”
As a Tier II nation, Canada rarely gets a chance to play elite teams other than at the World Cup.
So a Tier I scalp would have been a handsome prize.
Instead the weekend game in Leeds get filed under the “What might have been” category.
Things only get more difficult at Stadium mk in Milton Keynes against France, which is 7-1 alltime against Canada and has won the last six meetings between the two, outscoring Canada 239-70 along the way.
Canada’s lone win, an 18-16 decision, came 21 years ago in Ottawa.
France (2-0-0, nine points) currently stands second in Pool D behind fourth-ranked Ireland (2-00, 10 points).
Canada (0-2-0, one point) is fourth in the five-team group.
“This is basically, I think, a dress rehearsal for them for Ireland,” Crowley said of the French. “They’ve got just about their strongest team out there. You could probably have a debate about a couple of positions.”
The top two teams in each pool advance to the quarter-finals while the third secures automatic qualification for the next World Cup.
France opened with a 32-10 win over Italy before dumping Romania 38-11. Canada opened with a 50-7 loss to Ireland.
For France, Crowley has made four changes in the forward pack and two in the backs.
Aaron Carpenter comes in for Ray Barkwill at hooker with Brett Beukeboom replacing Jebb Sinclair at lock.
There are two changes in the back row with Kyle Gilmour and Richard Thorpe coming in for Nanyak Dala and John Moonlight.
Crowley says Barkwill and Moonlight are being given a rest after a heavy workload, with the more physical Thorpe coming in to help combat the French drive up the middle.
Beukeboom, rested against Italy, gets another start after excelling in the opening game against Ireland.
After the Canada game, France doesn’t play again until Oct. 11 when it faces Ireland.
Canada wraps up Oct. 5 against No. 17 Romania.