The sun finally shone on the Irish tourists in Toronto yesterday as the pre-match build-up warmed up with a joint press conference. Held in a basement pub called the Duke of York, it wasn't exactly prize-fight stuff. Both camps endeavoured to kill each other with kindness, even though a record 7,000 crowd, swollen by ex-pats, is expected at Fletcher's Field in Markham.
Even in the light of Canada's narrow defeat to the USA last Saturday week, the feeling in the Irish camp has been that the Canadians will present a trickier banana skin in the tour finale this Saturday. The events of last Saturday, when Ireland gave the USA a good old whupping and Canada averted a similar fate away to the Springboks, have not dissuaded them from that notion, either.
Scoring two tries and losing 5118 in East London was a creditable effort in itself, made more so by the fact the Canadians outscored South Africa by 5-0 over the last 28 minutes. Furthermore, all of this was achieved with a largely remodelled side and without the bedrock of their scrum, the experienced Rod Snow, who was forced to cry off before the game with a fever.
Snow returns to the team against Ireland, although this is offset by the loss of their most capped player ever with 57 Tests, captain Al Charron, who is best man at a wedding on Saturday. Winger Fred Asselin, who fractured a collarbone in being denied a try late on against the Springboks, is also ruled out.
"We were pleased with that performance," said recently installed coach Dave Clark, "and the quantum leap in their experience of the international stage is very significant for them in the way they prepare this week for the game against Ireland."
That said, he admitted that the 23-hour journey home from South Africa was "pretty wearing" and less than ideal "but the resolve and the commitment is there and will wash away the tiredness."
Canada are pleased, and with good reason, that Ireland vented their frustration over Buenos Aires in such emphatic manner against the Eagles. That said, Clark's view of the men in green seemed surprisingly cliched, just stopping short of the trite old pride and passion.
"Well, it was Ollie Campbell who said to Jake Howard some years ago when he was asked `how's the preparation of the team going Ollie?' - `Jake, it's just about complete and we've just about got it sorted out. It's going to be organised mayhem.' And that's exactly what it'll be, that's the way they play the game. They swarm, they're at you all the time, they never back down and it's difficult to get any structure and rhythm into your game when you're being harassed unmercifully for 80 minutes, but that's the way the game will be played."
Canada are in the teeth of an eight-match programme in eight weeks and, as with the Eagles, are at the beginning of a four-year cycle, blooding a number of products from their rugby academy, which Clark has run for the last three years. Few are better qualified than Clark, who was the supremo of the rugby section of Australia's famed Institute of Sport for a decade. He takes understandable pride in pointing out that 28 of Australia's World Cup-winning squad attended the institute.
Now though, he is in the firing line and has to stand by his results. Clark, a typically amiable and chatty Aussie, reckons it will take another two cycles, or six years, for Canada to start reaping a real dividend from their academy and is pleading with the Canadian public for patience as a new team takes shape.
Amongst the newcomers to their ranks over the last three games is 23-year-old lock Philip Murphy, who was born in Newfoundland, but played for the Irish Schools' team five times when attending Methody, in Belfast. He scored a try on his debut against Tonga three weeks ago and should be partnered by the experienced 26-year-old John Tait, who played with Jeremy Davidson, his direct opposite on Saturday, for the University of Ulster in 1993 and also played for the Irish Colleges and the Ulster under-23s.
