Canada goes with youth for November Test matches
Canada has named its rugby side for their upcoming series of Tests in November. And while some teams load up their squads with the most experienced players they have, Canada is taking the opposite approach, naming five uncapped players to the squad.
Winger Taylor Paris, 18, will be among the five. Fly half Connor Braid, Jeremy Kyne, and locks Mitch Gudgeon and Jon Phelan are also included in the list of new arrivals for the squad.
Canada have some tough matches up ahead of them. At number 14 in the world, Canada is set to take on Belgium (26th), Spain(23rd ), Georgia (17th), and Portugal (22nd), which are all teams looking for a win against
Canada in order to climb up the rankings.
Coach Kieran Crowley said the experience the uncapped players will get would only help to improve his squad, which is lacking in top-level experience.
"You only get better and [are] then able to make better decisions the better level of rugby you play in.
"Yes, some of our players are professionals overseas, but they're in first division clubs, which is a tier down from the real highest stuff, which is faster and more intense and working under a bit more pressure. So it is a concern moving forward."
Braid, Kyne, Gudgeon and Phelan play in the Canadian Rugby Championship, which isn’t the same level as some of the top European leagues like the Top 14, the Premiership and the Magners League. With the World Cup coming up in 2011, Canada will need its young
talent to get more time against top-level opponents.
"Players are not being put under the pressure they need to (be) for international rugby, so that is a concern. But we just need to work with it and just keep trying to make our systems better."
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