It was a near-perfect start for Canada saw multiple waves of forwards piling into the Americans until a penalty from in front of the sticks gave Connor Braid an easy three points just two minutes after kickoff. A silly penalty just a couple minutes later gave Zach Pangelinan a long range penalty kick and allowed the Americans right back into the game.
After the frenetic beginning the game seemed to meander a bit, as both teams struggled to get through more than a couple phases before making errors and turning the ball over. Canada finally managed to work their way down to the American goal line but after getting the ascendency at the scrum and winning first a tighthead and then a penalty, captain Tyler Ardron strangely opted for a kick at goal instead of going for the penalty try. Braid duly missed the easy opportunity and the Americans cleared, only for Canada to immediately get back to within range again. This time Braid converted and they were back in the lead.
With the momentum firmly in their favour the Canadians started to pick up the pace and drove deep into the heart of US territory once again. They were nearly over but Taylor Mokate killed the ball and was promptly yellow carded for the professional foul. This time Canada chose to keep the pressure on and were rewarded with a penalty try when again the ball was killed at the goal line. Conversion by Braid and the lead was now ten points.
Despite being a man down American captain Cameron Dolan inspired his troops back into the game before Dean Gericke made a big break through the midfield. Canada immediately killed the ball at the subsequent ruck but somehow escaped a yellow card and a frustrated Dolan gave Pangelinan a shot at goal. This time he missed, but Canada couldn’t get out of their zone and were penalised for going off their feet. Amazingly Pangelinan missed the kickable penalty again and let Canada off the hook heading into the break.
The second half was virtually all Canada’s, and only constant errors at crucial moments prevented them from putting on multiple scores. In the end it was two tries, one each from wingers Jordan Wilson-Ross and Clayton Meeres, that made the final 23-3 for the northerners. The former’s came from an Ardron pick and pass off a scrum, while the latter’s was the result of some textbook passing through the backline.
The match got a bit chippy at the end as first Meeres was shown yellow for playing Mokate in the air, and then a slightly nasty hair-pulling incident saw the tournament’s first red card handed out to John Quill. While red seemed harsh, the IRB directive from last December suggests that the correct call was made and Quill may yet see himself suspended. His ARC, at least, is certainly over.
There will be mixed emotions from the Canadians as they controlled much of the play and dominated the scrums but failed to capitalise on many more scoring opportunities and they will know that such a performance won’t be good enough against Argentina. The USA will be disappointed once again as they were outplayed up front and made numerous unforced errors. Their kicking was again an issue and they will have to find a quick fix if they are to find a way to win against an improved Uruguayan side on Saturday.
SCORING
02 mins – Connor Braid pen 3-0
06 mins – Zach Pangelinan pen 3-3
29 mins – Connor Braid pen 6-3
35 mins – Canada Penalty try 11-3
35 mins – Connor Braid con 13-3
58 mins – Jordan Wilson-Ross try 18-3
63 mins – Clayton Meeres try 23-3
CARDS
34 mins – Taylor Mokate yellow (killing the ball)
65 mins – Clayton Meeres yellow (playing the man in the air)
67 mins – John Quill red (tackling by the hair)
CANADA
Connor Braid; Jordan Wilson-Ross, Nick Blevins, Patrick Parfrey, Clayton Meeres; Liam Underwood, Kyle Armstrong; Creag Johnston, Ray Barkwill (Owen Parfrey 65), Doug Wooldridge (Hubert Buydens 65); Aaron Flagg (Chris Long 65), Jon Phelan; Toni Wodzicki (Seb Pearson 47), Alistair Clark (Zac Coughlan 54), Tyler Ardron (capt.).
UNITED STATES
Zach Pangelinan (Joe Cowley 72); Miles Craigwell, Dean Gericke (Casey Clark 72), Jack Tracy, Chris Chapman; Gearoid McDonald, Shaun Davies; Nick Wallace, Stan Moa’ali’i (Zach Fenoglio 54), Tony Purpura (Tim Paulsen 72); Nick Civetta (Eric Duechle 59), Graham Harriman; Taylor Mokate, John Quill, Cameron Dolan (capt.) (Kris Headlee 49).
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Juan Sylvestre (Argentina)
Assistant Referee: Joaquin Montes (Uruguay)
Assistant Referee: Chris Assmus (Canada)
