Canada Get the Win over Zimbabwe in Winnipeg

Canada secured victory at home on Saturday. The Maple Leafs were 23-19 winners over Zimbabwe in Winnipeg. Mason Flesch and Calixto Martinez were try scorers for the home side and Peter Nelson kicked 13 points.

The scoring took a long time to get underway. Peter Nelson opened the scoring on 28 minutes with a penalty for Canada. The fullback from Ireland added a second five minutes later to give Canada a 6-0 lead.

Canada continued to have the upper hand throughout the remainder of the opening half. Mason Flesch continued his excellent year by scoring the only try of the half. The Canadian flanker went over with time up in the half.

The try came from a kick from Cooper Coats which Matthew McNab attempted to run out only to be stopped by two defenders. Canada won a penalty for not releasing. Nelson took a quick tap and kicked for Flesch to score in the left corner.

The second-half scoring began with Nelson adding three more points for the North Americans. His 53rd minute strike took Canada past a two score lead.

 

Zimbabwe responded to open their scoring late in the third quarter. From a lineout to maul, the Sables pushed forward with replacement Liam Larkan breaking off to score in the left corner. Former Australian U20 player, Ian Prior converted from the sideline.

Canada’s responded swiftly, doing so by capitalizing on a Sables mistake. Zimbabwe tried to run the ball from deep inside their own half only to fumble the ball from a loose pass. Hot on attack, Cali Martinez scored from a carry to the left of the posts. Nelson converted for a 23-7 lead in Canada’s last score of the match.

Zimbabwe ended on a high with tries to replacements Cleopas Kundiona and Dion Khumalo. Prior converted the first of the two for the Sables.

Both Canada and Zimbabwe entered the match looking for their first wins in the World Rugby Nations Cup. Canada entered the match following a 43-43 draw against Spain and a 38-14 loss against Portugal. Both matches were played in Edmonton.

The Zimbabwe Sables fell to the USA Eagles 31-15 in Charlotte, North Carolina and were beaten 36-26 by Tonga at the neutral venue of Denver, Colorado. The African team proved competitive against both teams and was also competitive against Canada in Winnipeg.

The match was 23rd (Canada) vs 25th (Zimbabwe) in the world. The outcome means Canada will gain 0.91 rating points, increasing their total to 60.37.

 

MATCH NOTES

• The match officially began international competition between Canada and Zimbabwe.
• Tijde Visser made his first test start for Zimbabwe.
• Farai Mudariki earned his first cap since 2018.

 

SCORING

CANADA (23)
TRY – M Flesch (40′), C Martinez (58′)
CON – P Nelson (42′, 58′)
PEN – P Nelson 3 (28′, 33′, 53′)

ZIMBABWE (19)
TRY – L Larkan (56′), C Kundiona (70′), D Khumalo (80′)
CON – I Prier 2 (57′, 71′)

 

LINE-UPS

CANADA
1 Cali Martinez, 2 Andrew Quattrin (capt.), 3 Cole Keith, 4 Evan Olmstead, 5 Izzak Kelly, 6 Mason Flesch, 7 Sion Parry, 8 Lucas Rumball, 9 Jason Higgins, 10 Cooper Coats, 11 Noah Flesch, 12 Jacob Ince, 13 Spencer Jones, 14 Kyle Tremblay, 15 Peter Nelson

Replacements: 16 Foster DeWitt, 17 Sam Miller, 18 Kyle Steeves, 19 Daragh Doyle, 20 Cody Nhanala, 21 Stephen Webb, 22 Lockie Kratz, 23 Liam James

ZIMBABWE
1 Tijde Visser, 2 Bryan Chiang, 3 Farai Mudariki, 4 Gary Porter, 5 Godfrey Muzanargwo, 6 Tino Mavesere (capt.), 7 Tadiwa Gwashu, 8 Aiden Burnett, 9 Tyrone Gombe, 10 Bruce Houston, 11 Edward Sigauke, 12 Kudzai Mashawi, 13 Brandon Mudzekenyedzi, 14 Matthew McNab, 15 Tapiwa Mafura

Replacements: 16 Liam Larkan, 17 Victor Mupunga, 18 Cleopas Kundiona, 19 Jason Fraser, 20 Simba Siraha, 21 Dion Khumalo, 22 Keegan Joubert, 23 Ian Prior

 

MATCH HIGHLIGHTS

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Tomás Bertazza (Argentina)
Assistants:  Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy) & Mike Lawrenson (USA)
TMO: Aled Griffiths (Wales)