Canada national under-20 rugby union team
Introduction The '''Canada under 20 rugby team''' is the junior national rugby union team from Canada. It replaced the two former age grade teams, the under 19s and under 21s, in 2008.The team competed at the IRB Junior World Championship in 2008 and 2009 but were relegated to the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy for 2010.The team has yet to make their way back to the top competition.
History ===2008 and 2009 IRB Junior World Championships===In June 2008 Canada participated in the 2008 IRB Junior World Championships held in Wales. The team competed in Pool C with all of their pool games being played at Rodney Parade in Newport. Canada lost their matches to Australia 81–12 and to England 60–18 but were able to earn a 17–10 win against Fiji which placed them 3rd in their pool. Canada would go on to lose their next two games to Scotland 15–10 and to Italy 33–10.The team ended the tournament in 12th place.The following year Canada competed in the 2009 IRB Junior World Championships hosted by Japan. Canada began pool play with an 86–0 loss to Australia. The team went on to lose their next two pool play matches to Wales 51–15 and to Tonga 36–20.Canada then went into the play off stages and beat Uruguay 29–11 but suffered a 32–22 loss in their final match. Canada's final position was 14th and therefore the team was relegated to the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy for 2010.===2010 and 2011 IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy===Canada went into the 2010 IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy as one of the favourites to play in the final. However, Canada suffered a 17–15 loss to Russia and another loss to Japan, 38–17.Canada's only win came from a 22–6 defeat of Zimbabwe placing them 3rd in Pool B. The team eventually lost in a dramatic 5th place final 13–11 to Uruguay giving Canada the final position of 6th.On May 24, 2011, under new head coach Mike Shelley, Canada took on the 2011 IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy hosts Georgia to begin pool play. The Canadians were outmatched by the formidable Georgians and lost their opening match 38–9.Canada played their next game four days later against a Japanese team who had previously defeated Zimbabwe four days earlier. The Canadians showed improvement upping their offensive production to 15 points. However, The Japanese proved to be too much for Canada winning the match 30 points to 15.Canada then played their final pool match versus Zimbabwe on June 1, 2011.Canada defeated Zimbabwe 49-23 to record their first Pool B win. Canada would go on to defeat Russia 49–24 in the 5th-place playoff, improving their ranking one spot from last year.===2012 Junior World Rugby Trophy===Prior to the 2012 Junior World Rugby Trophy, Rugby Canada announced an unprecedented series of matches against fellow under-20 national squads from Romania and the United States.March 2012 saw Canada match up against a formidable Romanian side for two matches the first being played at Shawnigan Lake School. The Romanians had just missed qualification for the 2012 Junior World Rugby Trophy by placing third behind Georgia and Russia in the European qualifiers and so had much to prove. Romania came out firing with physical play, out-muscling the Canadians in the forwards and secured a 30–22 victory. The Canadians and Romanians came together on 10 March for a rematch, and again the Romanian forward pack proved dominant over the Canadians. Romania completed the sweep with a 23–6 defeat over an outworked Canadian squad.Canada then met traditional rivals U.S.A. on 23 May 2012 at Shawnigan Lake School for the first of a two-match series. Both squads contained players still vying for spots on their respective nation's final roster for the 2012 IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy. The game proved to be a back-and-forth affair as the Canadians and Americans traded scores. At the end of the first half, the Canadians led the Junior All-Americans by a score of 15–8.Early substitutions at the beginning of the second half proved fruitful for the United States as they scored off a quick tap from an American front row reserve. Quickly after the United States struck again off a counter-attack, taking an important 20–15 lead. Canada would hit back soon after with a try from replacement centre Michael Fuailefau which was well converted by Conor McCann; however, the Americans would find time to score one more try, finishing the match with a 27–22 victory. The teams would meet three days later. Canada would come out with 21 unanswered points before the United States completed the comeback and picked up a 34–28 win.Canada would play one more preparation game against a touring university side from Scotland, St. Andrews University. The Scottish university side proved to be a mismatch with the Canadian under-20s coming out 118-0 winners. Canada's preparation would conclude with a 1–4 record.Canada's pre-tournament matches would prove prophetic as Canada struggled throughout, losing their first game 31–17 at the hands of a very physical Georgia side. Four days later, on 22 June 2012, the young Canadians would once again go down in defeat, this time losing to a rising Japan team, 38–35.Canada would end pool play on a positive note, picking up a 66–45 win in a high-scoring affair against Zimbabwe. The fifth-place decider saw the Canadian team face a spirited Chile side. Once again the Canadian defense was lacking, and the Chileans would take a 20-point lead in the second half of the match. Canada came back with a series of tries but ultimately came up short, the game finishing 43–31 in the Chileans' favour. With the loss to Chile, Canada finished 6th in the tournament. Taylor Paris would finish the tournament with 5 tries, the second most in the tournament.===2013–2015 Junior World Rugby Trophy===During this period, the Canadian junior team saw highs and lows which included two second-place finishes in the 2013 and 2015 Junior World Rugby Trophies and a dismal seventh-place finish in the 2014 edition of the tournament. Canada would go a perfect 3–0 in pool play in 2013, beating out formidable opponents in Tonga, Japan, and Uruguay. The team would eventually fall heavily, 45–23, in the final to a very strong Italian side. This second-place finish, however, would be Canada's best result in the second-tier tournament.Unable to match their successes of the 2014 tournament, the 2014 Junior World Rugby Trophy saw Canada finish with two losses and a tie against Uruguay. They finished the tournament on a high note, defeating hosts Hong Kong 33–30 to finish seventh overall. Following the tournament Mike Shelley was relieved of his head coaching duties of the Canada U20 team.With a brand-new head coach in former Canadian national player, Jeff Williams, Canada seemed revitalized, going through pool play of the 2015 tournament with a 3–0 record, knocking off Namibia, Hong Kong, and a close win against Tonga. However, Canada would yet again miss out on promotion to the Junior World Rugby Championship as the team were unable to get by a powerful Georgian side. Canada lost the final match 49–24.
Results and statistics + '''Junior World Championship/Trophy''' Year  Competition  P  W  D  L  PF  PA  Diff  BP  Pts  Pool place  Playoffs  Final position 2023''Did not qualify'' 2022''Cancelled'' 2021''Cancelled'' 2020''Cancelled'' 2019  Trophy 3  1  0  2  124  101  +23  3  7  3rd  (5th Final) Beat Kenya 52 – 13  5th 2018  Trophy 3  0  0  3  78  111  -33  2  1  4th  (7th Final) Beat Romania 71 – 14  7th 2017  Trophy 3  0  0  3  56  126  -70  1  1  4th  (7th Final) Beat Hong Kong 38 – 0  7th 2016''Did not qualify'' 2015  Trophy 3  3  0  0  72  46  26  1  13  1st  (Final) Lost to Georgia 49 – 24  2nd 2014  Trophy 3  0  1  2  55  92  -37  0  2  4th  (7th Final) Beat Hong Kong 33 – 30  7th 2013  Trophy 3  3  0  0  99  36  63  2  14  1st  (Final) Lost to Italy 45 – 23  2nd 2012  Trophy 3  1  0  2  118  114  4  3  7  3rd  (5th Final) Lost to Chile 43 - 31  6th 2011  Trophy 3  1  0  2  73  91  −18  1  5  3rd  (5th Final) Beat Russia 49 - 24  5th 2010  Trophy 3  1  0  2  54  61  −7  1  5  3rd  (5th Final) Lost to Uruguay 13 – 11  6th 2009  Championship 3  0  0  3  35  173  −138  0  0  4th  (13th–16th Semifinals) Beat Uruguay 29 – 11(13th Final) Lost to Italy 32 – 22  14th 2008  Championship 3  1  0  2  47  151  −104  0  4  3rd  (9th–12th Semifinals) Lost to Scotland 15 – 10 (11th Final) Lost to Italy 33 – 10  12th   - 46  17  1  28  1091  1354  -263  14  59  -  -  -===Overall=== Canadian U-20 rugby record against other U-20 national teams. *Updated as of 21 July 2019 Opponent Played Won Lost Drawn Win % For Aga Diff   2  0  2  0  0.00%  12  167  -155   2  0  2  0  0.00%  59  88  -29   1  0  1  0  0.00%  18  60  -42   1  1  1  0  50.00%  43  63  -20   3  0  3  0  0.00%  50  118  -68   4  4  0  0  100.00%  173  71  +102   3  0  3  0  0.00%  55  110  -55   6  1  5  0  16.67%  130  208  -78   1  1  0  0  100.00%  52  13  +39   3  1  2  0  33.33%  76  88  -12   3  0  3  0  0.00%  65  117  -52   2  1  2  0  33.33%  99  67  +32   2  1  1  0  50.00%  64  41  +23   1  0  1  0  0.00%  10  15  -5   4  2  2  0  50%  82  79  +3   13  8  5  0  61.53%  411  283  +128   5  2  2  1  50.00%  117  84  +33   1   0  1  0  0.00%  15  51  -36   3   3  0  0  100.00%  137  74  +63 Total  60  25  36  1  42.50%  1668  1797  -129
Personnel ===Current squad===Canada's squad for the 2023 World Rugby Under 20 Trophy North American Qualifier two-match series in Spartanburg, South Carolina.+ Backs '''Player''' '''Position''' '''Club''' Stephen Webb Scrum-half Brady White Scrum-half Brenden Black Fly-half  Guelph University James Webb Fly-half  Queen's University Marcus D'Acre Centre  Queen's University Noah Flesch Centre Liam Poulton  Centre Josh Eustache Wing Alastair Marshall Wing  Wing James Thiel Wing James Clarke Full-back  Full-back+ Forwards '''Player''' '''Position''' '''Club''' Jordan Auger Hooker  Hooker  Guelph University Jeffrey Young Hooker Aaron Clark Prop Cole Kelly Prop  Trinity College Dublin Evan Roy Prop Charles Trollip Prop Muiredach Casey Lock Jaiden John* Lock Joe McNulty Lock Caden Wilson Lock  University of British Columbia * Back row  University of British Columbia Taine Clague Back row Sol Jacques Back row  Back row  University of Bath Grant Meadows Back row Olly Wiseman Back row* Players were included in the tour games versus Uruguay U20 and Spain U20 but not in the North American Qualifier matches.===Former head coaches===*  Tim Murdy (2008–10)*  Mike Shelley (2011–14)*  Jeff Williams (2015-21)===Notable former players===
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References
External links *  Rugby Canada's Home Page