Canada vs Germany Repechage
Canada defeated Germany 29-10 in the second round of World Rugby Repechage matches in Marseille, France on Saturday. Preceding the match, Hong Kong’s strong second half resulted in a 42-17 win over Kenya.
Canada now has the inside track to advance to the 2019 Rugby World Cup next Friday with a win over Hong Kong. Germany will face Kenya in the other match. It is still possible for a three-way tie to exist with a Hong Kong and Germany win. Should that occur, Hong Kong would need a bonus point win, while denying a bonus point to Canada. A bonus point for Germany gives them 9 points and they will not advance but could help Canada advance should Canada lose to Hong Kong.
The World Rugby Repechage winner will advance to the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan in Pool B alongside defending champions New Zealand, South Africa, Italy, and Namibia.
Match Recap
Canada and Germany opened the match each playing a physical style of rugby with no team gaining the early advantage. Canada then had a sustained attack advancing to within meters of the line before a Mike Sheppard knock on resulted in a 5-meter scrum to Germany.
Germany was penalized for collapsing the scrum and Gordon McRorie slotted the penalty for a 3-0 Canada lead.
Canada continued with another sustained attack and was repelled by Germany’s defensive stand on the line. Canada had four consecutive 5-meter scrums with Lucas Rumball driving over the line for a try. McRorie then added the conversion for a 10-0 lead.
Germany hooker Kurt Haupt was asked to leave the pitch by the referee after a collision for a head assessment protocol with Dasch Barber entering. Soon after, Dasch Barber reached over the line for a try, after a TMO. Raynor Parkinson slotted the kick to cut the lead to 10-7.
The fierce battle between the teams continued with neither team scoring again prior to the break. Canada controlled 65% of the possession and 75% of the territory during the first half.
Second Half
Canada controlled the restart and Tyler Ardron powered his way over the line scoring in the right corner. McRorie’s conversion from touch went through the uprights for a 17-7 lead.
After a penalty by Canada, Raynor Parkinson slotted the kick and cut the lead to 17-10. Germany immediately put Canada under pressure, advancing to near Canada’s 22-meter line before losing the ball forward.
Canada had the next scoring opportunity with the team advancing to within meters of the line before a knock on gave Germany a 5-meter scrum. Germany survived this assault and then another as Canada advanced to within 3-meters of the line before a penalty thwarted the attack.
It was then Germany’s turn as they advanced to within 2-meters of the line before losing the ball forward and Canada cleared. Germany attacked again, but the ball went into touch. The ensuing Canada lineout throw was long and Germany recovered, but soon after were penalized and lost a valuable possession.
Canada answered back with strong runs by Baillie, Olmstead, and Barkwill. They then swung the ball left with Matt Evans scoring. McRorie missed the kick just right of the posts, but the lead was 22-10.
Canada began another attack from a lineout with Gordon McRorie barrelling over the line and then slotting the conversion to seal the match with a 29-10 lead. The try also gave the team a bonus point for their fourth try.
Germany had a final attack and reached near the Canada 22-meters before Canada controlled play after a lineout and closed out the match with a 29-10 win.
Canada now controls its destiny to advance to the 2019 Rugby World Cup as the Repechage winner. They are 2-0 and have 10 points in the standings. The team plays Hong Kong next Friday, while Germany faces Kenya.
Even if Canada should lose to Hong Kong, while Germany beats Kenya, there would be a three-way tie and Hong Kong would need a bonus point win and a better point differential than Canada, without Canada gaining a bonus point.
The matches must be played, but Canada will go into the match as the favorite to advance and not break their streak of appearing in every Rugby World Cup.
Standings
Pool
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | BP | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 94 | 29 | 65 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 10 |
| 2 | Hong Kong | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 51 | 43 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 | Germany | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 38 | -2 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Kenya | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 36 | 107 | -71 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
Squads
Canada: 1. Hubert Buydens 2. Ray Barkwill 3. Matt Tierney 4. Mike Sheppard 5. Evan Olmstead 6. Kyle Baillie 7. Lucas Rumball 8. Tyler Ardron 9. Phil Mack – Captain 10. Gordon McRorie 11. DTH van der Merwe 12. Ciaran Hearn 13. Ben LeSage 14. Matt Evans 15. Theo Sauder 16. Eric Howard 17. Djustice Sears-Duru 18. Jake Ilnicki 19. Brett Beukeboom 20. Matt Heaton 21. Jamie Mackenzie 22. Nick Blevins 23. Conor Trainor
Germany: 1 Julius Nostadt, 2 Kurt Haupt, 3 Samy Füchsel, 4 Michael Poppmeier (capt.), 5 Eric Marks, 6 Sebastian Ferreira, 7 Jaco Otto, 8 Jarrid Els, 9 Sean Armstrong, 10 Raynor Parkinson, 11 Carlos Soteras-Merz 12 Jamie Murphy, 13 Wynston Cameron-Dow, 14 Marcel Coetzee, 15 Christopher Hilsenbeck 16 Dasch Barber, 17 Jörn Schröder 18 Matthias Schösser, 19 Timo Vollenkemper, 20 Ayron Schramm, 21 Tim Menzel, 22 Hagen Schulte 23 Harris Aounallah
2019 Repechage Matches
November 11 (Sunday)
November 17 (Saturday)
November 23 (Friday)
- Kenya vs Germany 18:00 local (12:00 p.m. ET)
- Hong Kong vs Canada 21:00 local (15:00 ET)
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