Anscombe names Canada squad

Editor

Canada head coach Mark Anscombe has announced his 28-man squad for next month's international matches against Ireland, Romania and Samoa.

The squad features a wealth of experience but also a blend of youth including Admir Cejvanovic, Ben LeSage and Conor Keys who could all earn their first Test caps on tour. Brett Beukeboom, Connor Braid, Phil Mack, Conor Trainor and DTH van der Merwe also rejoin the squad having not featured for Canada since last year's Rugby World Cup.

"We’ve picked the best squad we can from the players available," Anscombe said.

"It’s unfortunate we've still got some guys out injured but we've brought back some quality players."

Canada, ranked 18th in the world, will face sixth ranked Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on November 12 before tackling 16th ranked Romania a week later in Bucharest. Canada concludes its tour against 14th ranked Samoa on November 25 in Grenoble, France.

"Theses games are extremely vital," Anscombe said. "We're playing a Tier 1 nation in Dublin in front of a full house and we don't get to do that very often so it's a great opportunity for the guys to show what they are capable of. With ranking points on the line, the other two games are critical if we want to move up in the world rankings."

Canada's squad for November: Kyle Baillie, Ray Barkwill, Brett Beukeboom, Nick Blevins, Connor Braid, Rob Brouwer, Aaron Carpenter, Admir Cejvanovic, Matt Evans, Ciaran Hearn, Matt Heaton, Eric Howard, Jake Ilnicki, Conor Keys, Ryan Kotlewski, Ben LeSage, Phil Mack, Gordon McRorie, Evan Olmstead, Clay Panga, Patrick Parfrey, Taylor Paris, Lucas Rumball, Djustice Sears-Duru, Brock Staller, Matt Tierney, Conor Trainor, DTH van Der Merwe