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Canada claimed third place in the Pacific Nations Cup with a 19-16 victory over the USA in Tokyo on Saturday. While the Eagles had their own chances to win, the Maple Leafs outscored their opponents three tries to one and saw several opportunities squandered by handling errors at key moments.
The opening minutes were dominated by the Canadians. An early long-range shot at goal from Takoda McMullin fell just short, but the Eagles were still stuck in their end. A simple lineout play saw Ben LeSage taking a short ball from Foster DeWitt, the angle catching the USA defense unawares for a clean run-in from 40 meters.
Another advance from Canada landed a second try. Cooper Coats danced through the midfield and after a quick recycle, DeWitt again turned playmaker. This time the hooker send a wide pass to Mason Flesch, who was loitering on the left wing. Two backs weren’t enough to stop the big flanker from ground the ball in the corner and though McMullin’s conversion attempt sailed wide, the score was 12 points to the good for the Canucks.
The first score from the Eagles came just after the 20-minute mark. A scrum penalty earned forward momentum, and more came from the hard-running debutant Cassh Maluia in the midfield. His repeated charges softened the defense until Faka’osi Pifeleti picked a smart line to crash in for a seven-pointer.
McMullin was just off target with a penalty attempt after a Daragh Doyle turnover. The fullback looked to make amends with a line break but the final pass didn’t quite go to hand. Instead Luke Carty landed a three-pointer just ahead of the hooter. He had another shot from further out with the clock in the red, but it didn’t quite have the legs. At the end of the half the score stood 12-10 in favor of the Canadians
Carty opened the second half with a straightforward penalty to give the Eagles an unlikely lead, Now building confidence the USA turned down what looked an easy shot for three in favor of a lineout, but Flesch got to the ball first and the Maple Leafs cleared their lines. Nathan Den Hoedt matched the lineout steal at the other end to foil a promising Canadian attack.
A raking kick by McMullin from well inside his own half found grass and won a 50-22 at rain began to fall from the skies. Canada poured on the pressure and Coats nearly slipped over himself, but was felled short by a desperate Dom Besag. There was no stopping Jesse Kilgour, however, the diminutive scrumhalf on hand to pick and fall over for his first international try. The extras went in from McMullin and Canada were now up 19-13 with 20 minutes to play.
The Canadian loose forwards continued to prove a nuisance at the breakdown. Ethan Fryer won a turnover deep in his own end, but then conceded a penalty for not rolling away at another tackle. Carty bounced the ball over off the right upright to set up a grandstand finish. With time all but expired the USA won a penalty but opted for a 5-meter attacking scrum. Makeen Alikhan tore off the back and made headway, but on the next carry Lucas Rumball dislodged the ball and Canada kicked the ball dead to bring the contest to a close.
Both sides now turn their eyes towards Europe for the second round of Nations Cup tests in November. A group of USA players will stay on in Japan for two games against top tier Japanese club sides with an eye to earning a spot on the senior tour coming in two months.
| SCORING |
USA 16
Tries (1) – F. Pifeleti (21′)
Cons (1) – L. Carty 1/1 (22′)
Pens (3) – L. Carty 3/4 (39′, 42′, 72′)
CANADA 19
Tries (3) – B. LeSage (10′), M. Flesch (16′), J. Kilgour (59′)
Cons (2) – T. McMullin 2/3 (11′, 60′)
Pens (0) – T. McMullin 0/2
| TEAMS |
USA
1 Faka’osi Pifeleti (17 Payton Telea-Ilalio 46′), 2 Shilo Klein (16 Joe Taufete’e 51′-79′), 3 Tonga Kofe (18 Mason Pedersen 46′), 4 Jason Damm (capt.), 5 Nathan Den Hoedt (19 Sam Golla 61′), 6 Marno Redelinghuys, 7 Lance Williams (20 Benjamín Bonasso 35′), 8 Makeen Alikhan, 9 Ruben de Haas, 10 Luke Carty, 11 Julian Roberts, 12 Cassh Maluia (23 Tavite Lopeti 54′), 13 Dom Besag, 14 Noah Brown, 15 Mitch Wilson
Not used: 21 Michael Baska, 22 Chris Hilsenbeck
CANADA
1 Sam Miller (17 Emerson Prior 52′), 2 Foster DeWitt (16 Dewald Kotze 51′), 3 Kyle Steeves (18 Bryce Worden 76′), 4 Daragh Doyle, 5 Izzak Kelly (19 Barnaby Waddell 54′), 6 Mason Flesch, 7 Ethan Fryer (20 Cody Nhanala 74′), 8 Lucas Rumball (capt.), 9 Jesse Kilgour (21 Stephen Webb 68′), 10 Cooper Coats, 11 Jamie Armstrong (23 Liam James 20′), 12 Ben LeSage, 13 Jacob Ince, 14 Kyle Tremblay, 15 Takoda McMullin
Not used: 22 Spencer Jones
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, September 19
Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, Tokyo
Kickoff: 16:00 local
Weather: cloudy, 77°F (25°C), wind NE 9-14mph (15-22km/h)
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Katsuki Furuse (Japan)
Assistants: Koki Yamauchi (Japan) & Ibuki Tetsuka (Japan)
TMO: Matthew Rodden (Hong Kong)
