Even the vets are young as Canada takes on the U.S.
Brock Staller can’t quite believe he’s already being described as a “veteran.”
“It’s weird to hear that,” he said Thursday after the idea was presented to him. “I’ve only been around one year.”
But what a year it has been for the 24-yearold UBC grad. He made his debut for Canada against Brazil a year ago. He played just twice more in 2016 — against Chile and Japan — before injuries kept him from getting back into a full test for the red and white until last week’s match in Langford against Chile, their second of the 2017 Americas Rugby Championship campaign (they lost the week before to a second-string Argentina side).
But when he’s been healthy, Staller has been an easy choice for Rugby Canada head coach Mark Anscombe.
Saturday afternoon at Swangard Stadium against the United States, he’s starting at full back. Anscombe has picked him to play in the centre as well. At the club level he’s been a winger, too.
It’s his versatility, his hard running style, and his big kicking foot that puts him in the lineup.
Staller still says he’s got so much more to bring to the table and he knows there’s a big opportunity in front of him. Regular first-choice full back Matt Evans is out until next fall with a severe knee injury and there doesn’t appear to be any other real contenders for the number 15 full back jersey.
“I definitely think about it,” Staller admitted about the chance to put a lock on the spot. “It’s a massive opportunity.”
This is what he wants to be: a pro rugby player. He’s been with Rugby Canada’s Langford-based centralized training group since it was launched last summer. That program sets him up for a better performance with Team Canada, which means there’s also a chance to catch the eyes of pro scouts.
“That’s better than going back to school,” he said with a chuckle.
For Saturday’s 5 p.m. tilt, Anscombe hasn’t named many players older than Staller. It’s a team with a clear view to the future, featuring just a dash of grizzled experience.
“He’s put a lot of thought into how we want to play,” Staller said of the coach. “It’s about having to play what’s in front of you.”
One of the “grizzled” is 24-year-old winger Taylor Paris, who scored three tries last week to lead the Canadians to a 36-15 win. Paris made his debut at age 18 and hasn’t looked back. He’s a player to emulate, Staller said. “He’s always looking for (ball-carrying) work, at seeing what’s in front of him.”
This “play what’s in front of you” ethos pushed by Anscombe has already been scooped up by a pair of Staller’s young teammates: flanker Ollie Nott, 21, and lock Reegan O’Gorman, 20. Both made their debuts last weekend, and both will start Saturday.
“Everyone’s a leader,” O’Gorman said, noting that was the first thing he realized upon joining the squad earlier this month. “You’ve got to step up.”
O’Gorman, a Vancouver native who has been playing rugby in New Zealand, said the other thing Anscombe has pressed on him is that he’s not just here because of his size, but because the coach wants to see “what sets me apart from guys my size.”
His time playing in New Zealand has been worthwhile. He played school rugby for Winston Churchill, club rugby for the Vancouver Rowing Club and was involved in plenty of age grade rep teams for B.C. and Canada, but across the ocean he found out “everyone’s that much smarter and quicker, no matter the level.”
Nott said he’s already seen “the importance of knowing your roles. How to transition from being just an individual to working as part of the overall team.”
Nott said you can get used to being the biggest, the strongest, the fastest guy on the team while coming up through the ranks. But at the international level, everyone was the “best” growing up.
He points to his time at Shawnigan Lake School, where he landed at age 15 when his family moved from the U.K. His dad, an engineer, had taken a job at B.C. Hydro.
“I was pretty lucky to have Tim Murdy as a coach,” he said. “I learned about being disciplined on the field, about not doing anything half-heartedly.”