Canada will count on the experience of Coventry centre John Cannon; Grenoble flanker Jamie Cudmore; Leonessa #8/flanker Josh Jackson; Agen lock/flanker Colin Yukes and Saracen scrum-half Morgan Williams to bolster its team against a Wales team fresh from winning the 2005 Six Nations Championship. Together they bring over 100 caps worth of talent to the table with Morgan Williams having amassed 37 caps, six of them in the 1999 and 2003 World Cups.
Add to these players the return of 37-cap winning hooker Pat Dunkley, who last played against Argentina in 2003 and who tragically injured himself in training prior to the first game of the World Cup in Australia, and hasn’t played an international game since. Five professionals: Glasgow’s Kevin Tkachuk, Benevento’s Garth Cooke, Edinburgh’s Mike Pyke, Trinity’s Forrest Gainer and Swansea-Neath’s Luke Tait retained from the Super Cup, gives Suggitt plenty of options.
Coming back into the squad after being unavailable for the Japan tour, lock Mike Burak, who won seven caps last year. Two players join the Canada squad for the first time: New Brunswick Black Spruce centre Simon Pacey and Toronto Xtreme outside-half Simon Rodgers.
Canada’s weekend Super Cup win in Tokyo over Japan will bolster spirits and though the Wales team, denied the services of nine of its top players to the British and Irish Lions tour just off to New Zealand, Canada will be under no delusion that this will be anything but the usual tough encounter against the “Men from the Valleys”. In full tests Canada has only one win, the famous 1993 26-24 win in Cardiff, to boast in the eight encounters between the two nations since 1973.
Wales begins its North American tour against the USA in Hartford on June 4 before flying to Toronto to play Canada at York University Stadium at 3 pm on June 11.
The Canada squad will arrive in Toronto on June 5 to begin preparations for the match.
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