Crowley upset with tough schedule

Editor

Canada head coach Kieran Crowley has slammed his side's tough schedule that will see them play three Rugby World Cup pool games in eleven days.

The New Zealander was speaking after his outfit battled hard against France but eventually succumbed to a 41-18 loss at Stadium MK on Thursday.

But he could not hide his anger at the lack of recovery days for his men.

"When I look at the dressing room, there are four or five injuries. We will have three games in eleven days, and you wouldn't ask Ireland to do it, and you wouldn't ask France to do it. It's a real challenge for the coaches, but we have to deal with it," he told the press after the game.

Crowley was however full of praise for his side as on the hour mark they were only 24-18 down.

"I'm really proud of the performance of the guys. They gave it everything and couldn't ask for anymore. We got within six points but then made a couple of basic mistakes and we gave away a couple of penalties and we were under the gun again so you can't afford to do that and so we keep learning from it," he added.

"The guys are gutted. We competed for large periods of the game and just didn't get the result but I'm very very proud of the team."

Canada's team manager Gareth Rees also had his say after the game and was passionate about his views for the future.

"This team has benefited from two and a half months together and I believe they will put on a show wherever they go and they could put bums on seats which is so important in the modern game," he said.

"We'd love to have the opportunity to play bigger games and these boys deserve it on tonight's performance."