Jorden Best (L) and Quinton Willms (R) - 2012 U18 National Champs
SHAWNIGAN LAKE, BC - 44 of Canada’s top U-20 prospects will gather for a four-day training camp this weekend on Vancouver Island at Shawnigan Lake School and the Centre of Excellence as Rugby Canada’s High Performance staff look to begin preparation for the 2013 Junior World Rugby Trophy in Chile in May. A total of 17 BC players were selected for the camp including returning U20 standouts Mike Dalsin and Pat Kay.
“The players that have been invited to the camp have been selected through their play in 2012 domestic tournaments, regional academies, and the CRC U-19 Tournament,” says Mike Shelley, one of the main coaches running this weekend’s camp.
Canadian National Men’s head coach Kieran Crowley will run the training camp, with assistance from Mike Shelley and other national level coaches. As well, the U-20 men will be in for a treat on Monday and Tuesday, as New Zealand Scrum “Doctor” Mike Cron will be working with the U-20 players after his coaching clinic with BC Rugby.
“This weekend is an assessment camp where we will be ranking players based on their positions that we will use to make our selections for our training camp in March,” said Shelley from the COE in Langford.
Only 30 players from this weekend’s assessment camp will be called back for the following training camp in March. From there, 26 players will be named for the team that will travel to the USA in May for a series of Test matches, and will then participate in a 12-day training camp at the Rugby Canada Centre of Excellence in Langford before the team flies to Antafagosta, Chile on May 23 to represent Canada at the 2013 JWRT.
The IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy will take place from May 28 to June 9, 2013. The tournament will consist of 8 teams (Canada, Italy, Chile, Japan, Namibia, Portugal, Tonga, and Uruguay) split up into two separate pools ,and the winner of the JWRT will earn a spot in the Junior World Rugby Championship in New Zealand in 2014.
Canada’s preliminary pool games at the JWRT in Chile will take place on May 28, June 1, June 5, and June 9.
BC Players attending this weekend’s Camp on Vancouver Island:
Jordan Best (UBC Thunderbirds)
Mike Dalsin (Castaway Wanderers RFC)
Justin Douglas (Abbotsford RFC)
Haydn Evans (UVic VIkes)
Fergus Hall (UVic Vikes)
Connor Hamilton (UBC Thunderbirds)
Jordan Harvey (Capilano RFC)
Pat Kay (UVic Vikes)
Ryan March (Abbotsford RFC)
Alex Mascott (UBC Thunderbirds)
Liam Murphy Burke (UBC Thunderbirds)
James Pitblado (UVic Vikes)
Evan Seale (Castaway Wanderers RFC)
Charlie Thorpe (UBC Thunderbirds)
Tua Vaa (Velox RFC)
Quinton Wilms (Western Washington University)
Nathan Yanagiya (UVic Vikes)
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