Canada did not enter the fray for Rugby World Cup 2003 until the final round of the Americas zone qualifiers, which pitched them into a round robin with Uruguay, Chile and the United States for two automatic places and one in the Repechage.
The Canucks, as the national team are known, started brightly with comfortable victories over the USA Eagles, both home and away, Chile and Uruguay to all but book their place on the plane to Australia.
Canada did come unstuck in Montevideo against a Uruguayan side clinging desperately to their hopes of a second Rugby World Cup appearance, but recovered to beat Chile in their final game and finish top of the Pool.
This preserved Canada’s ever-present record in Rugby’s showpiece event with their highlight unquestionably their passage to the quarter-finals in 1991, beating Fiji and Romania before narrowly losing 19-13 to France in the Pool stage.
Defending champions New Zealand proved too strong in the last eight, but the Canadians did outscore their more celebrated opponents in the second half. In any case, by reaching that stage in the tournament the game was been given a welcome boost in the region.
Apart from this quarter-final appearance, Canada have managed only three Rugby World Cup wins, against Tonga on their debut in 1987, Romania eight years later and Namibia in 1999.
Canada can boast the only player to have appeared in all four of the RWC tournaments thus far. Fly-half Gareth Rees, now CEO of Rugby Canada, was one of his country’s greatest ever players, his outstanding goal-kicking and tactical kicking out of hand a constant threat.
Another more current legend in Canadian rugby is current captain Al Charron. Providing he recovers from a knee injury Charron will be a certain starter for his fourth Rugby World Cup while Winston Stanley and Morgan Williams are other key players.