Canada shows grit in 40-15 rugby loss to New Zealand Maori All Blacks

TORONTO – The New Zealand Maori All Blacks scored six tries, with Jamison Gibson-Park accounting for two, en route to a 40-15 win over Canada in international rugby play Sunday.

Gibson-Park, a 21-year-old scrum half who plays Super Rugby for the Auckland Blues, started in place of veteran Piri Weepu (71 caps). The veteran New Zealander injured his knee in training Friday.

Both sides made more than their share of errors on a sunny, crisp six-degree day before a sellout crowd of 22,566 at BMO Field.

Canada started well and took an early 5-0 lead but the Maori began to turn the screws as a mistake-filled first half wore on. While the Canadian scrum withstood the New Zealand challenge, the visitors’ edge in skills began to take its toll and Canada trailed 19-5 at the half.

The Canadians continued to show grit in the second half but Maori pressure eventually paid dividends as the visitors piled on the score with 14 points in the last 10 minutes.

Zac Guildford, Robbie Robinson, Matt Proctor and Nick Barrett also scored tries for the Maori. Andre Taylor and Robinson each kicked two conversions with Ihaia West contributing another conversion. Guildford was named man of the match.

Jeff Hassler and captain Aaron Carpenter scored tries for Canada. Liam Underwood added a penalty and a conversion.

The Maori are not to be confused with the world champion All Blacks, New Zealand’s national team which opened its November Northern Hemisphere tour Saturday with a 54-6 win over No. 15 Japan. The Maori side has added All Blacks to its name for branding reasons.

The invitational squad, which has a rich winning tradition against international sides, features New Zealanders of Maori descent. And it’s a team closely monitored by the All Blacks, whose braintrust now plays a role in selection.

“From top to bottom, the Maori’s roster features a strong mix of the past, present and future for New Zealand rugby,” noted the All Blacks’ official website

The Maori starting 15 Sunday featured four All Blacks in winger Guildford (19), prop Ben Afeaki (1), hooker Hikawera Elliot (3) and lock Jarrad Hoeata (3). Elliot left midway through the first half due to injury.

Outside of the Rugby World Cup, Sunday’s match was about as high-profile as it gets for Canadian rugby. In addition to the sellout crowd, the game was televised live in Canada and New Zealand (where the kickoff was 7 a.m. local time) and streamed live on the International Rugby Board’s website.

Unfortunately for coach Kieran Crowley, a former New Zealand international, Canada’s starting 15 was nowhere near its strongest.

Because of injuries, personal commitments and the fact that the match falls outside the IRB’s international window, Canada was without such key players as Jebb Sinclair, Jamie Cudmore, James Pritchard, Phil Mackenzie and DTH van Der Merwe.

Another half-dozen players were also missing, with Crowley forced to assemble a forward pack missing four of his top second-rowers. Canada’s bench was also green, while the Maori had plenty of fully professional weapons.

An example of the disparity between the two lineups was at fly half. Canada’s Underwood was originally slated to start Saturday for Queen’s against Western in the OUA championship. Instead the fourth-year economics student collected his sixth Canada cap (third start) opposite Maori captain Tim Bateman, a veteran of 50-plus Super Rugby games.

Underwood was crunched in a 14th-minute tackle but got back up.

As a Tier 2 nation, Canada no longer plays rugby’s elite outside of the World Cup. The last time they met, at the 2011 world championship, New Zealand thumped the Canadians 79-15.

The Maori have their own haka, distinct from those of the All Blacks. Called Timatanga, it was written especially for the team by elders.

Weepu led the challenge, with the Maori arranged in an arrowhead, while the Canadians looked on from the halfway line.

Canada started well and went ahead on the Hassler try in the sixth minute after a Maori scrum breakdown. An error by Canadian scrum half Phil Mack at the base of the scrum put Canada under pressure and Guildford finished off the ensuring attack in the corner in the 12th minute to tie it at 5-5.

Both teams made handling errors in the early going.

The Maori put Canada under pressure and went ahead on the 23rd on a Gibson-Park try. Robinson then bulled his way over in the 35th minute.

Gibson-Park scored again in the second half as the Maori cut open the Canadian defence. Underwood kicked a penalty to make it 26-8.

The Canadians cut the margin to 26-15 in the 60th minute, driving over for a Carpenter try from a lineout after Hassler and Matt Evans attacked down the left flank. Proctor scored in the corner in the 70th after some prolonged Maori pressure. Barrett then added a converted try after intercepting a Canadian ball in the corner to up the lead to 40-15.

The 14th-ranked Canadians leave Monday for a European tour for test matches against No. 16 Georgia in Tbilisi on Saturday, No. 17 Romania in Bucharest on Nov. 16 and No. 22 Portugal in Lisbon on Nov. 23. They will be reinforced by several of their European-based pros.

The Maori head to Philadelphia to play the 18th-ranked U.S. Eagles on Saturday.

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Canada

Hubert Buydens, Manawatu Turbos (New Zealand), Saskatoon, Ray Barkwill, Niagara Wasps, Niagara Falls, Ont.; Doug Wooldridge, Lindsay RFC, Lindsay, Ont,; Jon Phelan, Lille Metropole Rugby (France) Montreal; Tyler Ardron Ospreys (Wales), Lakefield, Ont.; Nanyak Dala, Castaway Wanderers, Saskatoon; John Moonlight, James Bay AA, Pickering, Ont.;Aaron Carpenter (capt.), Cornish Pirates (England), Brantford, Ont.; Phil Mack, James Bay AA, Victoria; Liam Underwood, Queen’s University, Toronto; Conor Trainor, UBCOB Ravens, Vancouver; Harry Jones, Capilano RFC, West Vancouver; Ciaran Hearn, Castaway Wanderers, Conception Bay, N.L.; Jeff Hassler, Ospreys (Wales), Okotoks, Alta.; Matt Evans, Cornish Pirates (England), Maple Bay, B.C.

Reserves

Jake Ilnicki, Williams Lake Rustlers, Williams Lake, B.C.; Ryan March, Abbotsford RFC, Abbotsford, B.C.; Aaron Flagg, Abbotsford RFC, Abbotsford, B.C.; Kyle Gilmour, St. Albert Rugby Club, Edmonton; Adam Kleeberger, Castaway Wanderers, White Rock, B.C.; Jamie Mackenzie, UVIC Vikes, Oakville, Ont.; Pat Parfrey, Swilers RFC, St. John’s, N.L.; Connor Braid, James Bay AA, Victoria.

Maori All Blacks

Kane Hames, Hikawera Elliot, Ben Afeaki,Jarrad Hoeata, Joe Wheeler, Liam Squire, Luke Braid, Elliot Dixon, Jamison Gibson-Park, Tim Bateman (capt.), Zac Guildford, Jackson Willison, Charlie Ngatai, Andre Taylor, Robbie Robinson.

Reserves

Chris Eves, Nick Barrett, Ash Dixon, Piri Weepu, Blade Thomson, Shane Christie,Ihaia West, Matt Proctor.