Canada’s senior men’s head coach Mark Anscombe has named his squad for this month’s crucial test matches, including their 2019 Rugby World Cup qualifying series with the USA.
Named to Canada’s June Series Squad is Williams Lake’s Jake Ilnicki.
The 32 man squad – which will be trimmed down to 26 for the final two matches – features a wealth of test experience as Canada seeks to collect wins over Georgia and Romania before battling the USA in their Rugby World Cup qualifiers.
“This Summer we’ve got different types of games: the first two in Alberta against Georgia and Romania, two big, physical teams, where we’re going to have to take care of our ball and play to our strengths,” said Anscombe from Calgary.
“And then the two games against the USA are obviously hugely important as we look to qualify for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. We want to be on the front foot when we go down to San Diego and we know the public support across Canada, and especially in Alberta and Hamilton, will be a massive boost for us,” added Anscombe.
Canada will face Georgia on June 10 at Calgary Rugby Park before battling Romania on June 17 in Edmonton at Ellerslie Rugby Park.
Canada will then return to Ontario as they tackle the USA on June 24 at Hamilton’s Tim Hortons Field in the first leg of their Rugby World Cup qualifier before heading to San Diego for the second leg on July 1.
The two teams will be playing for the right to be Americas 1 in the 2019 Rugby World Cup where they have been drawn into a pool with England, France, Argentina and Oceanic 2.
(Files from Rugby Canada)