Canada out to sink Scots
Canada’s young guns believe they can shoot down Scotland in flames when they take on the tourists this evening in the scenic surroundings of Vancouver Island.
Coach Paul Horan says there is a mood of real confidence in his camp as they prepare to pit their amateur enthusiasm against Scots’ professionalism.
‘‘We are trying to prepare a lot of players,’’ he said.
‘‘We have come together only for this game with the hope of getting a victory. The guys are confident about the preparation and feel good about what we have done leading up to the game.’’
In terms of international experience, there is nothing much to choose between the teams with Scotland fielding four capped players while Canada have five and both sides are using this game to blood a lot of youngsters, who will be the future stars in their respective countries.
The huge contrast between the teams is on the bench where Ian McGeechan, the Scotland coach, has the option of bringing on two British & Irish Lions and some of his most experienced players while Canada have even more inexperienced and even younger players waiting in the wings.
McGeechan sees this game as a chance to cement the good work that has already been running through the tour with two wins in their opening two games and he expects a number of his own young guns to start to put pressure on the men in possession of the Test team places.
While his suggestion that up to seven could be in contention may owe more to psychology than reality, there are certainly three or four who could make a strong case for getting into Saturday’s 22.
The west coast is usually seen as the hotbed of Canadian rugby, and Victoria, the town where the game is being played, houses the Pacific Institute, Canada’s rugby academy, so this team should be stronger than the one the Scots defeated a week ago.
Like Scotland, they are trying to use recent success at junior level. Skipper Mark Lawson led the under-19s to fourth in the world just three years ago, a better ranking than Scotland have ever achieved at that level, and is one of a number of 21 and 22-year-olds to emerge from that side to challenge for national honours.
Many, if not most, of tonight’s team are expected to reach cap level within a couple of years at the outside.
And Canada’s youth are not short of confidence that they can achieve what their seniors have so far failed to achieve this tour and defeat the Scots.
