Canada coach Kingsley Jones has named five uncapped players in his 32-man roster for next month’s La Vila International Rugby Cup in Spain.
The five are forwards: Zephyr Melnyk and Dewald Kotze and backs Ciaran Breen, Jamin Hodgkins and Reid Watkins.
Breen and Melynk, graduates of the Pacific Pride academy, were part of the Canadian team that travelled to Fiji and Tonga in August. Kotze, another former Pacific Pride player, and Hodgkins come from the under-20 team. Watkins is with the MLR’s Seattle Seawolves.
Canada, currently ranked 23rd in the world, opens the four-team tournament against No. 19 Spain on Nov. 11 at the El Pantano stadium in the coastal town of Villajoyosa, some 365 kilometres southeast of Madrid, after the 18th-ranked Americans take on No. 26 Brazil.
The winners of those games will face off Nov. 18 in the final with the losers meeting for third place.
Kyle Baillie, Tyler Rowland and Andrew Coe return to the fold after missing out on the Pacific Islands tour. Canada lost 36-12 and 28-3 to the 16th-ranked Tongans in its first action since a 43-37 loss to No. 21 Namibia in November.