The Canadian men’s soccer team played 45 players in the two-year process to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the men’s basketball team used 33 players in the qualification process to get to the 2024 Paris Olympics, which included a regional round victory in 2022 over Argentina at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
Although the next men’s Rugby World Cup isn’t until 2027 in Australia, the qualifying process begins next year, and ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ head coach Kingsley Jones of Sooke knows he needs to build up the bench strength that will be needed for the two-year qualification period.
“We talk about depth a lot. We are going to need 50-plus players to get us there to 2027,” Jones told the ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½. “We need to be three players deep at every position, at minimum. It’s a tough challenge but we are excited for that challenge.”
Putting emerging prospective players in Test situations ahead of World Cup qualifying was a big part of this year’s Pacific Nations Cup, which concluded with ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ losing 30-17 to world No. 16 Tonga in the fifth-sixth place game in Tokyo on Saturday.
An important component of laying the groundwork to get world No. 22 ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ to the 2027 World Cup, and beyond to the 2031 World Cup in the U.S., is the Pacific Pride development program based at Starlight Stadium in Langford. So it’s key when players such as Pride graduate Tyler Matchem, a 20-year-old prop, came off the bench Saturday to earn his first cap.
“What we’ve looked at in the last six months is how we build strong foundations,” Jones said in a statement following the game. “This bunch is diligent, they work hard. I’m pleased with them today. I think it’s a step forward. Real opportunities were created.”
ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ captain Lucas Rumball said: “I’m hugely excited. If you look at the results, even against Tonga from last year to this year, it’s a lot closer. We’re building and I take it as a step forward.”
In earlier Pacific Nations Cup games this summer, ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ lost 28-15 to world No. 19 USA and 55-28 to No. 14 Japan. In the semifinals on Saturday, world No. 10 Fiji defeated the U.S. 22-3 and No. 13 Samoa was playing Japan in a late game.
ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ will play Tests against world No. 21 Chile on Nov. 9 and No. 20 Romania on Nov. 16 with venues to be announced. ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ beat Romania 35-22 in July in Ottawa. Chile and Romania, as well as the U.S. and Tonga, are in the range of nations ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ should be beating in order to get back into the World Cup conversation after missing the last World Cup in 2023 in France after having qualified for the previous nine World Cups.
