Canada - The Canucks

Team Preview

Coach:
Ric Suggitt

Previous World Cups:
1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003

Best Performance:
Quarter-Finals 1991

Played:
17 - 6 wins, 11 losses

World Ranking:
No.13

Fixtures:
v Wales, Nantes, September 9
v Fiji, Cardiff, September 16
v Japan, Bordeaux, September 25
v Australia, Bordeaux, September 29

Facts:
1. The Canadians do not have a national stadium and play home games at a variety of venues.
2. The 70-0 defeat by England in 2004 was the biggest defeat in Canada's history.
3. Canada is one of only two 'tier-two' nations with an IRB executive council seat.
4. The Canucks' best performance in a World Cup came in 1991 when they were quarter-finalists.
5. They beat Tonga 37-4 in their first World Cup match.

Key Players:

MORGAN WILLIAMS
Agile halfback Morgan Williams captains Canada in what will be his third World Cup.

Williams plies his trade in France's Top 14 with Albi, who he joined after his second spell with top-flight rivals Stade Francais in the summer of 2006. The 31-year old had returned to the Paris club, for whom he had played in the 2001 Heineken Cup final, after a spell with London-based side Saracens.

Williams burst onto the international scene in the 1999 World Cup when he scored two tries in Canada's 33-20 Pool C defeat to eventual runner-up France.

The performance came only three months after his Canada debut in the Epson Cup against Tonga and earnt him a move to Begles-Bordeaux from where he joined Stade.

The Kingston-born No.9 has been an ever-present for Canada since the 1999 tournament and played in three of Canada's four 2003 World Cup matches. He captained his country for the first time in the impressive 22-15 win over Argentina in July 2005. Williams continued to lead the side in the World Cup qualifying wins over Barbados and USA last year.

JAMIE CUDMORE
Nicknamed 'Cuddles' by his Canada team-mates, combative second row Jamie Cudmore is anything but gentle on the playing field. He plays for French high-flyer Clermont Auvergne and was part of the side which won the 2006-07 European Challenge Cup.

The 27-year-old only took up rugby 10 years ago, before which he was a track and field athlete, as well as a downhill and slalom skier.

Cudmore made his Canada debut as a replacement in the 36-13 victory against fierce rivals USA in July 2002.

The lock played in all four of Canada's 2003 World Cup matches in Australia and signed his first professional contract with Welsh outfit Llanelli in the same year. The lock moved to France initially to play for Grenoble in 2004 before moving to Clermont a season later. He is well established at the Top 14 club and has signed a contract that will keep him at the Parc des Sports into 2009.

MIKE JAMES
Standing at 1.98m and weighing in at 112kg, Mike James is an imposing figure in Canada's powerful second row. He is one of the Canucks' most experienced players with a half-century of caps for his country and has also appeared for the French Barbarians.

The Vancouver-born lock has played in France for a decade, initially joining Perpignan in 1997, where he played for three seasons before moving to Paris giants Stade Francais. He was a title-winner in 2003 and 2004 and a European Cup runner-up in 2005.

James was instrumental in the emphatic 56-7 World Cup qualifying win over the USA in August last year and has captained his country on several occasions.

KEVIN TKACHUK
Glasgow Warriors prop Kevin Tkachuk was a gridiron and wrestling star in Regina, Saskatchewan, before focusing on rugby. Tkachuk has established himself in Canada's front row since his debut against Tonga in 2000.

Tkachuk played for Oxford University where he studied history and won three 'Blues' by playing in the Varsity match against Cambridge University at Twickenham each year from 2001-3. He even managed a try for the Dark Blues against a touring Australia side in 2001.

During his university years Tkachuk continued playing for Canada and went on to feature in all four of his country's games in the 2003 World Cup. The prop got on the scoresheet in his side's opening game, a 41-10 defeat to Wales in Melbourne.

Tkachuk, who turns 31 on September 11, captained the Canucks on five occasions in 2004 and against Wales in 2005. Glasgow's player of the year in 2006 brings great experience to Canada's pack and has not ruled out the possibility of playing in the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.

JAMES PRITCHARD
Canada's goal-kicking metronome James Pritchard began his professional career by playing rugby league for Parramatta Eels in Australia before switching to union in 2000. Born in Sydney, Pritchard qualifies to play for Canada thanks to his grandfather from Ruthilda, Saskatchewan.

The versatile back, who can play on the wing or at fullback, made his Canada debut against New Zealand Maori a couple of months ahead of the 2003 World Cup.
He then played in the tournament against Wales and Tonga, kicking a conversion in each game.

Pritchard, who plays for Bedford Blues in England's second tier, was recalled to the national set-up in 2006 after a period out in the cold.

He set a new Canadian scoring record of 29 points in the Canucks' first World Cup qualifier against Barbados and surpassed that in the second qualifier against the USA in Newfoundland.

His tally of 36 points, including three tries, three penalties and six conversions, ensured qualification for the 2007 tournament.