MEN'S UNDER-19 TEAM NAMED FOR NORTHERN IRELAND TOUR

LANGFORD, BC – Canada men’s under-19 head coach Dean Murten has announced his 30-player travelling roster for next month’s tour to Northern Ireland.

The tour includes three fixtures between December 29^th and January 2^nd against development sides, with the 30 selected players scheduled to get as much game time as possible to prepare for their tour in March to face Ireland.

“The purpose of the tour is to give the coaches and athletes a great opportunity to assess where we are at going into the March tour, where we will be playing two games against Ireland.  After the December tour the coaching staff can provide the athletes with a clear individual performance plan, and provide support to the athlete’s preparation for March,” said Murten.

“We’re expecting all three teams to play to play some well-structured fast-open rugby, depending on the Ulster weather.  If the weather is poor I am sure all three teams will have a great kicking game; something that our athletes don’t come across too often. We have some powerful ball carrying forwards that will get us over the gain line, after that we will be looking to move the ball to the speed we have out wide,” added Murten.

Both age-grade tours are a part of Rugby Canada’s High Performance pathway program, designed to provide a higher level of competition to help prepare athletes for the next step in the national age-grade pathway. The 30 athletes selected for this tour have been identified through four regional camps and a West & East camp earlier this year.

Murten will be assisted by Tony LaCarte, John Lavery and Dan Meikle as Assistant Coaches, along with Conan Cooper, Ben Motum and Des Lynch as support staff. Lynch, a qualified Mental Skills Coach, will also be working with the athletes to assess their current mental conditions and work to continue their preparation.

The games will not be streamed live, but highlights will be made available after each game. Stay tuned on Rugby Canada’s social media pages for updates throughout the tour.

Canada’s Under-19 Team for tour to Ireland:

Jared Andrews Almack – Capilano RFC (North Vancouver, BC)
John Buck – Calgary Canucks (Calgary, AB)
Dalton Campbell – Calgary Hornets (Calgary, AB)
Gabriel Casey – Bytown Blues RFC (Ottawa, ON
Petros Chountalos – Bayside (Delta, BC)
Campbell Clarke – Swilers RFC (St. John’s, NL)
Reid Davis – Bayside RFC (Surrey, BC)
Kaden Duguid – Nor’Westers (Edmonton AB)
Robert Eliadis – Oshawa Vikings (Oshawa, ON)
Hunter Grant – Westshore Valhallians (Victoria, BC)
Max Goodwin – Aurora Barbarians (Newmarket, ON)
Harrison Hooke – Unattached (Fort St. James, BC)
Samuel Kahn – Castaway Wanderers (Victoria, BC)
Lachlan Kratz – Castaway Wanderers (Victoria, BC)
Nathan Lake – Windsor Machine RFC (Windsor, ON)
Aurélien Muller – Beaconfield RFC (Montreal, QC)
Austin Pinnell – Nor’Westers (Edmonton AB)
Cameron Pope – Belleisle Rovers (Belleisle Creek, NB)
Max Radcliffe – Bayside RFC (Surrey, BC)
Von Richardson – G. W. Graham Secondary School (Chilliwack, BC)
Johnathon Rose – Abbies (Summerside, PEI)
Tyler Rowland – Toronto Nomads (Mississauga, ON)
Sief El Din Sanad – Tars RFC (Halifax NS)
Jackson Scott – Norfolk Harvesters RFC
David Stoltz – Barrhaven Scottish (Stittsville, ON)
Kyle Tremblay – Bayside RFC (Surrey, BC)
Reece Tudor-Jones – Cowichan RFC (Shawnigan Lake, BC)
Lucas Tuffin – Castaway Wanderers (Victoria, BC)
Kris Uschold – U of M Wombats (Winnipeg, MB)
Tyler Wong – UVIC Vikes (North Vancouver, BC)

Coaches

Dean Murten – Head Coach
Tony LaCarte – Assistant Coach
John Lavery – Assistant Coach
Dan Meikle – Assistant Coach
Conan Cooper – Strength and Conditioning Coach
Ben Motum – Therapist
Des Lynch – Manager and Mental skills coach

Canada Under-19 Tour schedule:

Canada U19 vs. Royal Belfast Academical Institution 1^st XV
December 29, 2017

Canada U19 vs. Ards RFC Select
December 30, 2018

Canada U19 vs. Ulster 19 Development
January 2, 2018