Rugby Canada announced the return of international men’s rugby to Canada’s West Coast at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby on June 7.
The full international test match will be the first game of the 2014 Pacific Nations Cup, where 15th-ranked Canada will take on both No.14 Japan and the No. 18 United States in June.
Canada is sure to be keen to take on the Japanese squad that was responsible for this country’s only defeat at last year’s series. Canada and Japan have a storied rivalry that dates back to an international tournament in 1932.
Extra seats will be added to the 4,500-seat stadium in Burnaby to accommodate the expected large crowd. Canada has not played Japan on home turf since 2000 in Markham, Ont.
Canada’s back row forward Jebb Sinclair knows the intense rivalry that exists between Canada and the Japanese team well. The two nations fought each other to a draw at the last two World Cups. He is looking forward to the opportunity to take on the high-flying Japanese on home soil.
“Well, Japan has had our number over the last four or five tests. We've tied them twice at the last two World Cups. In 2011, we had to play some of our best rugby in the last 15 minutes or so to come back to tie them. Sadly though, they've beat us twice as well. I'm looking forward to a long-awaited return fixture,” said Sinclair in a Rugby Canada press release.
“With the time change and travel, Japan is a tough place to go and win and we haven't played particularly well when we've gone there. I wasn't part of the team that went to Japan last summer, but that loss cost us the Pacific Nations Cup title, so it was a tough pill to swallow. We've been a very different beast when playing in Canada and it'll be exciting to get back to the Vancouver area and play a game on the West Coast. There's been quite a rivalry building over the years with Japan, so it'll be good to get our first win against them in a while on home soil.”
The Pacific Nations Cup is an important part of the International Rugby Board’s strategic development program for emerging rugby nations like Canada, Fiji Samoa and Japan, and this summer’s match at Swangard promises to be a hugely important moment for Canada, in the lead-up to the 2015 World Cup.
