Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Jones sends message from Fiji on what MLR can do for game in Canada

Canada players look on at the end of their 2015 RWC match after losing to Italy in Leeds (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

Canada head coach Kingsley Jones believes the success of Major League Rugby in North America will ensure his team becomes stronger on the world stage with players getting regular professional rugby experience rather than being ignored by their overseas clubs.

ADVERTISEMENT

Toronto Arrows and a heavily Canadian-influenced Seattle Seawolves squad are part of an expanding MLR competition in North America and while Canada’s 47-19 beating by the USA last weekend suggests there is still a lot of work to be done, Jones remains optimistic about the future.

Canada were the last team to qualify for the Rugby World Cup and their reward was to join a pool including New Zealand, South Africa, Italy and Namibia and they are currently in Fiji for their two remaining Pacific Nations Cup matches with Fiji and Tonga.

Jones told the Fiji Sun: “We did have 10 players operating overseas but only Jeff Hassler (Ospreys) was getting picked regularly. We had three players at Newcastle who never got a game and now all our guys have been playing rugby. 

“Tyler Adron (Chiefs) is doing well in Super Rugby and Evan Olmstead has played at Auckland. Just go back 18 months and think of the number of Canadian players who weren’t getting exposed to daily training environments.

“Now, there is probably 45 players in the MLR who weren’t in daily training back then and they were working daytime jobs.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Jones has taken a squad of 31 players to Fiji, including nine front row forwards in an attempt to identify the players who will make the final World Cup squad. 

A dozen players have been left behind at Canada’s training base to continue their preparation programme and Jones knows the pressure on everyone. “There are two games in a short space of time and so we will see a few different faces.”

Captain Adron is trying to find positives from the heavy beating by their American neighbours and expects a reaction against Fiji in their next match. 

He explained: “It’s probably one of the best things that can happen early in this competition. I have never questioned the effort of these guys but the technique and some of the execution can be a bit suspect at times.”

ADVERTISEMENT

WATCH: The latest RugbyPass documentary, Foden – Stateside, looks at how ex-England international Ben Foden is settling into Major League Rugby in New York

Video Spacer
ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

B
Bull Shark 3 hours ago
Rassie Erasmus' Boks selection policy is becoming bizarre

To be fair, the only thing that drives engagement on this site is over the top critiques of Southern Hemisphere teams.


Or articles about people on podcasts criticizing southern hemisphere teams.


Articles regarding the Northern Hemisphere tend to be more positive than critical. I guess to also rile up kiwis and Saffers who seem to be the majority of followers in the comments section. There seems to be a whole department dedicated to Ireland’s world ranking news.


Despite being dialled into the Northern edition - I know sweet fokall about what’s going on in France.


And even less than fokall about what’s cutting in Japan - which has a fast growing, increasingly premium League competition emerging.


And let’s not talk about the pacific. Do they even play rugby Down there.


Oh and the Americas. I’ve read more articles about a young, stargazing Welshman’s foray into NFL than I have anything related to either the north and south continents of the Americas.


I will give credit that the women’s game is getting decent airtime. But for the rest and the above; it’s just pathetic coming from a World Rugby website.


Just consider the innovation emerging in Japan with the pedigree of coaches over there.


There’s so much good we could be reading.


Instead it’s unimaginative “critical for the sake of feigning controversial”. Which is lazy, because in order to pull that off all you need to be really good at is:


1. Being a doos;

2. Having an opinion.


No prior experience needed.


Which is not journalism. That’s like all or most of us in the comments section. People like Finn (who I believe is a RP contributor).


Anyway. Hopefully it will get better. The game is growing and the interest in the game is growing. Maybe it will attract more qualified journalists over time.

18 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING Joe Marler has sold England down the river – Andy Goode Joe Marler has sold England down the river – Andy Goode
Search