Preview: Wales v Canada
Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:04
It would be harsh to call this the battle of the 'losers', but Wales and Canada are both coming off extended losing streaks.
The Canucks would be more familiar with such an environment, but Wales will be desperate to end their slump with a convincing victory over Canada at the Millennium Stadium on Friday.
The Six Nations champions swept all before them at the start of the year on their way to a Grand Slam under new coach Warren Gatland.
However, three successive defeats - both at home and away to World Cup winners South Africa - have left Wales in desperate need of not only a result, but also a performance that will lift morale and confidence with the daunting prospect of New Zealand and Australia still to come later this month.
Admittedly it was not Wales' best available selection that travelled to the Republic in June. But 17-43 and 21-37 defeats were hardly inspiring stuff. Back on home turf, last week, they showed significant improvement - not to mention the fact that almost all their first-choice stars were back - to narrowly go down 15-20.
But still, three successive defeats will have hurt them.
Canada can't bank on any past silverware to soften their blow of a long losing streak - with just one win in six outings this year not making for good reading. Other than a 26-10 win over the United States in the Churchill Cup tournament in June, there is nothing to show for new coach Kieran Crowley.
Last week's 0-55 whitewash at the hands of Ireland would also not have installed confidence in a team that still have to face Wales (this week) and Scotland on their year-end tour.
Wales will be fully expected to deliver both against an inexperienced Canadian team still smarting from that humiliating defeat to Ireland in Limerick last week, though Wales admit this is a 'must-win' game following those defeats to the world champion Springboks.
Gatland said: "We've got a chance to put defeat against South Africa behind us and try to build some momentum, but the expectation will be there for us to perform.
"Canada will be hurting from their defeat against the Irish and we're expecting a bit of a backlash. But for these players there's a great opportunity and if I was a player selected against Canada I would think there's a good chance I'll be playing against the All Blacks if I play well."
Much responsibility will lie on the shoulders of experienced campaigners such as captain Ryan Jones, British * Irish Lion Tom Shanklin and fit again wing Mark Jones in a shadow Wales team that shows 12 changes from last weekend.
However Gatland has warned his players that places are up for grabs ahead of the Tests with the All Blacks and Wallabies.
Gatland said: "This game offers a great chance for many of the players to go and make a mark for themselves, especially with New Zealand coming the week after. It's a great incentive and great motivation for them.
"The players must go out there, put their hand up and put us under pressure as coaches.
"Obviously there are a couple of experienced players that we've left out of this game that would feel that they're going to get the nod to start against New Zealand, but the pleasing thing is that it's the younger players who are making the most of their opportunities."
Canada came close to upsetting Wales in the opening game of last year's World Cup in Nantes, France, before falling away in the final 20 minutes, though are once again blooding new players in the build up to 2011.
The Canucks coach, New Zealander Crowley, has made two changes to his pack with lock Tyler Hotson and blindside flank Jebb Sinclair both making rare starts as they aim to recover from the defeat in Ireland.
"That loss has dented our pride but we are determined to bounce back," he said.
"We only have eight professional players so a lot of young guys are on
tour for the first time. They're not at the standard of
international rugby yet, but we want to give them the opportunity to see high level performance, take the experience on board and learn.
"Then the next time we meet up next May against Wales the players will have confidence and we won't have to start from scratch."
Players to watch:
For Wales: Twelve changes means a lot of new faces from last week. But after getting very few chances against the Springboks last week, Leigh Halfpenny will relish the opportunity to put his full range of skills on display in a Test of less intensity and show the world what all the hype is about. You will also look towards the experience of a Tom Shanklin, the qualities of James Hook and Ryan Jones's leadership.
For Canada: The 'experienced' players in the Canadian side are fullback James Pritchard, loose forward Adam Kleeberger, along with props Jon Thiel and Kevin Tkachuk. And if Canada are to make inroads into the Welsh team, then their tight five - Josh Jackson, Tyler Hotson, Thiel, captain Pat Riordan and Tkachuk - will have to step up to the plate.
Head to head: This games is likely to have lots of movements and the backs will be involved more frequently, which will put the pace and power of new Welsh sensation Leigh Halfpenny up against Canadian Sevens specialist Justin Mensah-Coker. Then you can also look to the pivotal duel between Welsh star James Hook and Canadian Ander Monro, who has only just established himself as a regular starter this year.
Recent results:
2007: Wales won 42-17, Nantes (World Cup)
2006: Wales won 61-26, Cardiff
2005: Wales won 60-3, Toronto
2003: Wales won 41-10, Melbourne (World Cup)
2002: Wales won 32-21, Cardiff
1999: Wales won 33-19, Cardiff
1997: Wales won 28-25, Markham
1994: Wales won 33-15, Markham
1993: Canada won 26-24, Cardiff
1987: Wales won 40-9, Invercargill (World Cup)
Prediction: Logic tells you that Wales should win and win comfortably. But this is not the Welsh's first-choice team and complacency could play a role. However, we'll go for the safe bet and predict Wales to win by 30 points or more.
Teams:
Wales: 15 Morgan Stoddard, 14 Leigh Halfpenny, 13 Tom Shanklin, 12 Andrew Bishop, 11 Mark Jones, 10 James Hook, 9 Martin Roberts, 8 Ryan Jones (captain), 7 Robin Sowden-Taylor, 6 Dafydd Jones, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Ian Gough, 3 Rhys Thomas, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 John Yapp.
Replacements: 16 Matthew Rees, 17 Eifion Lewis Roberts, 18 Alun-Wyn Jones, 19 Andy
Powell, 20 Dwayne Peel, 21 Dan Biggar, 22 Jamie Roberts.
Canada: 15 James Pritchard, 14 Ciaran Hearn, 13 Bryn Keys, 12 Ryan Smith, 11 Justin Mensah-Coker, 10 Ander Monro, 9 Ed Fairhurst, 8 Aaron Carpenter, 7 Adam Kleeberger, 6 Jebb Sinclair, 5 Josh Jackson, 4 Tyler Hotson, 3 Jon Thiel, 2 Pat Riordan (captain), 1 Kevin Tkachuk
Replacements: 16 Mike Pletch, 17 Frank Walsh, 18 Mike Burak, 19 Sean Michael Stephen, 20 Morgan Williams, 21 Matt Evans, 22 Dean van Camp
Date: Friday 14 November
Venue: Millennium Stadium
Time: 19:30 (19:30 GMT)
Weather: Predominantly cloudy. High of 12°C, which is also the low.
Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Touch judges: Matt Goddard (Australia), David Changleng (Scotland)
TMO: Geoff Warren (England)
Additional reporting by AFP
