Canada’s Under-20 Men’s Team is having another Training Camp this weekend at Shawnigan Lake School in Victoria. The Training Camp is designed to finalize the team’s offence and defensive strategies with less than one month before the team travels to Moscow for the Junior World Trophy.

The four day camp takes place in Victoria and will test player’s dedication with fitness and skill testing along with in-class team system work.

Canada’s Head Coach Tim Murdy knows that the World Trophy is going to be a difficult test for his team and believes his players need to be ready for it.

“There’s a short turn-around between the games in Moscow so we need to work on some different combinations and establish some different roles and responsibilities throughout the team” says Murdy.

One potential set-back that Canada could be facing is the loss of Canadian carded scrum-half Kyle Armstrong who is unavailable for Moscow due to injury. Murdy knows that it’s a tough loss for his team, but isn’t worried about his replacements.

“It’s tough losing a player like Kyle (Armstrong) because he brings a level of competiveness and leadership which will be missed,” says Murdy. “But we have asked two very skilled and capable players in Matt Yanagiya and Sam Skulsky to return and compete for the final position on the team.”

The Camp will also feature a fair amount of contact and elements of live games in hopes of preparing the team for Moscow.

“Were definitely going to be increasing the amount of contact and live game scenarios this weekend and I’m hoping that the players will respond positively,” says Murdy. “We know that they are all good athletes, but it’s time to see if they are really ready for Moscow.”

Canada’s Under-20 Men’s team is hugely sponsored by the Canadian Rugby Foundation. The Canadian Rugby Foundation raises money to sponsor members of Canada’s Under-20 team which helps Coach Murdy get the best players available.

“Our entire staff and all the players are well aware and very grateful of the support received by the Canadian Rugby Foundation,” says Murdy. “ As the Head Coach I think it’s undeniable that the support we receive from the CRF is directly linked to the success our Under-20 Team has had and will have in the future.”

If you would like to learn more about the Canadian Rugby Foundation’s sponsorship work please go to canadianrugbyfoundation.ca

Players attending April Camp in Victoria:

Forwards:

• Tyler Ardon (Peterborough Pagans/Lakefield, ON)
• Brett Beukeboom (Lindsay RFC/UVic Vikes/Lindsay, ON)
• Admir Cejvanovic (Burnaby Lake RFC/BCIT)
• Andrew Crow –(Castaway Wanderers/Victoria, BC)-(Not available for Camp)
• Casey Cavers (Cowichan RFC/Ladysmith, BC)
• Ryan Fried (Wilmot Warthogs/Waterloo-Oxford, ON)
• Alex Kam (UBC T-Birds/Richmond, BC)
• Matt Kelly (Toronto Nomads/Toronto, ON)
• Scott MacDonald (Oshawa Vikings/Port Perry)
• Jeff McKinnon  (Capilano RFC/North Vancouver)
• Scott McLeod (Cowichan RFC/Duncan, BC)
• Liam Murray (Capilano RFC/UVic Vikes)
• Dakota Poole  (Kelowna RFC/Kelowna, BC)
• Adam Zaruba (Capilano RFC/North Vancouver)

Backs

• Kurtis Appledorn  (Abbotsford RFC/Abbotsford, BC)
• Connor Braid (James Bay AA/Victoria, BC)
• Josh Dufresne (Nor'westers RFC/Edmonton, AB)
• Sean Ferguson (UBC T-Birds/Vancouver, BC)
• Pat Fraser (Cowichan RFC/Cowichan, BC)
• Tye Hamblin (Cowichan RFC/Cowichan, BC)
• Jeff Hassler (Calgary, AB)
• Patrick Parfrey(Swilers RFC/The Rock/St. John's RFC)-(Not available for Camp)
• Beau Parker (UVic Vikes/Victoria, BC)
• Sam Skulsky (Castaway Wanderers/Victoria, BC)
• Keaton Styles (UVic Vikes, Surrey, BC)
• Liam Underwood (Balmy Beach RFC/Toronto, ON)
• Matt Yanagiya (Capilano RFC/Vancouver, BC)