CANADA TO PLAY FOR 7TH PLACE AFTER LOSS TO CHILE

PUNTA DEL ESTE, URUGUAY – Canada’s men’s U20 team will play for seventh place at the World Rugby U20 Trophy after losing 45-28 to Chile in their final match of pool play Wednesday at Estadio Domingo Burgueño.

The seventh place match is on Sunday (9am ET/6am PT). Canada’s opponent has yet to be determined.

The setback drops Canada to 0-3 in the tournament, having also lost against Namibia and Japan.

While Canada earned its first bonus point of the tournament with their four-try effort, it wasn’t enough against a Chilean side that put up six converted tries and a penalty.

A try from captain George Barton late in the opening frame gave Canada their first lead of the tournament and sent them into halftime up 14-10. However, Chile retook the lead just two minutes after the break and never looked back, scoring five second-half tries en route to a convincing victory. The win puts Chile into the fifth-place match.

Canada’s Aidan McMullan scored his first two tries of the tournament, while Niko Clironomos, who made his first start of the event, also touched down for his first score of the U20 Trophy. Will Kelly and Brennig Prevost knocked through two converts each for the Canadians.

Lucas Avelli scored two tries for Chile, while Tomas Salas, Martin De Oto, Piero Zunino and Rodrigo Manzano each tallied once. Salas also converted all six tries and added a penalty to finish with 20 points.
Canada qualified for the U20 Trophy after beating the USA in a two-game qualifying series in Edmonton. Canada cruised to a 46-12 victory in Game 1 and, despite a 27-25 defeat in Game 2, Canada qualified by virtue of a 71-39 aggregate win.

Match Report:
Chile pressed early on and for the third straight game, Canada fell behind within the first 10 minutes. Off a missed Chilean penalty attempt, Chile’s Tomas Salas corralled the ball inside Canada’s in-goal area to notch his team’s first score of the contest. With Salas also converting, Chile took a seven-point lead.

After Canadian lock Matt Beukeboom had been sent off with a yellow card in the 16th minute, Chile extended their lead to 10-0 when Salas slotted a penalty from right in front of the sticks.

However, despite playing down a man, the Canadians surged back. Niko Clironomos, who was making his first start in the tournament, took a quick offload from captain George Barton and the inside centre took the ball 50 metres for a try. Will Kelly converted to make it 10-7.

With Canada stealing momentum, Barton scored to give his team a lead for the first time in the tournament. From five metres out, a hard-charging Barton took a quick pass from Fraser Hurst and crashed in for the try. Kelly’s second conversion of the half gave Canada a 14-10 lead, which they took into halftime.

Just two minutes into the second half, Chilean flyhalf Martin De Oto showed a quick dummy before slipping through the Canadian line and running nearly half the field for the try. A Salas conversion sent Chile ahead 17-14.

With the lead back in hand, Chile went on the offensive, with Lucas Avelli leading the way and scoring twice in the span of three minutes to help open a 31-14 advantage.

Canada’s Aidan McMullan responded with his first try of the tournament, breaking through the Chilean line from 15 metres out and scoring, but the effort only closed the gap momentarily.

After Canadian scrumhalf Hurst was given a red card in the 64th minute for what was deemed to be a punch to the face of a Chilean player, it took only two minutes for Chile’s Piero Zunino to score to put his team up 38-21.

The teams traded converted tries in the final five minutes, with Chiles Rodrigo Manzano scoring before McMullan added his second of the match.

Canada Scoring
Tries: McMullan (2), Clironomos (1), Barton (1)
Conversions: Kelly (2), Prevost (2)
Penalties:

Chile Scoring:
Tries: Avelli (2), De Oto (1), Zunino (1), Salas (1), Manzano (1)
Conversions: Salas (6)
Penalties: Salas (1)

Scoring Summary:
First Half
Try – Tomas Salas (CHI) – 5’
Conversion – Tomas Salas (CHI) – 6’
Penalty – Tomas Salas (CHI) – 18’
Try – Niko Clironomos (CAN) – 19’
Conversion – Will Kelly (CAN) – 20’
Try – George Barton (CAN) – 33’
Conversion – Will Kelly (CAN) – 33’

Second Half
Try – Martin De Oto (CHI) – 42’
Conversion – Tomas Salas (CHI) – 43’
Try – Lucas Avelli (CHI) – 49’
Conversion – Tomas Salas (CHI) – 50’
Try – Lucas Avelli (CHI) – 52’
Conversion – Tomas Salas (CHI) – 53’
Try – Aidan McMullan (CAN) – 58’
Conversion – Brennig Prevost (CAN) – 59’
Try – Piero Zunino (CHI) – 66’
Conversion – Tomas Salas (CHI) – 67’
Try – Rodrigo Manzano (CHI) – 76’
Conversion – Tomas Salas (CHI) – 76’
Try – Aidan McMullan (CAN) – 78’
Conversion – Brennig Prevost (CAN) – 79’

Yellow Cards
Canada – Matt Beukeboom (16’)

Red Cards
Canada – Fraser Hurst (64’)

Canada’s Roster to Face Chile:
1. Connor Sampson (UBC Thunderbirds) Vancouver, BC
2. Steven Ng (Capilano RFC) Ottawa, ON
3. Cole Keith (James Bay AA) Sussex, NB    
4. Liam Doll (UBC Thunderbirds) North Vancouver, BC
5. Matt Beukeboom (Section Paloise) Lindsay, ON
6. Lachlan Currie (Bond University) Gold Coast, Australia
7. Jamie McNaughton Carleton Place, ON
8. Jake Thiel (Abbotsford RFC) Abbotsford, BC
9. Fraser Hurst (UBC Thunderbirds) Vancouver, BC
10. Will Kelly (Brantford Harlequins) Ancaster, ON
11. Cole Davis (Canberra Royals) Calgary, AB
12. Niko Clironomos (UBC Thunderbirds) Burnaby, BC
13. George Barton (Clermont) Duncan, BC (captain)
14. Anton Ngongo (Castaway Wanderers) Victoria, BC
15. Aidan McMullan (Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC), Montreal, QC

16. Dewald Kotze (UBCOB Ravens) Edmonton, AB
17. Liam Murray (Langley) Langley, BC
18. Nick Frost (UBC Thunderbirds) Vancouver, BC
19. Josh Thiel (Bishop Burton College) Abbotsford, BC
20. Jack McRogers (Aurora Barbarians) Newmarket, ON
21. William McDougall-Percillier (Cowichan Piggies) Mill Bay, Victoria
22. Brennig Prevost (UVic Vikes) Victoria, BC

2017 World Rugby U20 Trophy Staff:
Head Coach – Jeff Williams
Assistant Coach – Sean McDonaugh
Strength & Conditioning Coach – Jeff Watson
Athletic Therapist – Kiyomi Thompson
Analyst – Derek Pue
Team Physician – Shelby Karpman
Team Manager – Alana Gattinger

Canada’s 2017 World Rugby U20 Trophy 2017 Schedule:
Canada 16 Namibia 31 – Estadio Charrua (Montevideo)
Canada 12 Japan 50 – Estadio Charrua (Montevideo)
Canada 28 Chile 45 – Estadio Domingo Burgueño Miguel (Punta del Este)
7th Place Match – Estadio Charrua (Montevideo)

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