Canada makes seven changes for Tonga game

Canadian rugby coach David Clark continues to tinker with his line-up, looking for an elusive winning combination as Canada wraps up its Rugby World Cup campaign against Tonga on Wednesday.

Clark yesterday announced seven changes to the team beaten 19-14 by Italy last week in Canberra.
Prop Garth Cooke, lock Mike James and back-rowers Josh Jackson and Adam van Staveren will enter the pack while five-eighth Bob Ross, centre Nik Witkowski and winger Sean Fauth rejoin the backline.
Some of the switches are enforced.

Centre John Cannon (shoulder) and back-row forward Ryan Banks (knee) are ruled out by injury. Prop Jon Thiel has gone home to be with his pregnant wife.

James, meanwhile, returns from a hip flexor for his 50th cap for Canada.

Clark has used every player in his 30-man squad. After the 41-10 opening loss to Wales, he made 14 changes in the team for New Zealand. For Italy, he revamped the roster again, sending in eight new starters.

The only Canadian player to start in all four games is center Marco Di Girolamo.
Clark faced a dilemma in selecting his side for Tonga.

Canada, at 0-3, badly needs a win but the Tonga game will also mark the final chance for some veterans to play on the world stage.

"Being sentimental as a coach, there's no place (for it)," Clark said after practice yesterday. "We took the sentiment out of it. We picked who we thought was going to do the job for us, irrespective of where they were and who they were. And we picked on past performances."

Canada has never left the World Cup without a win. There were single victories in 1987, 1995 and 1999, and two in 1991, when Canada made the quarter-finals.

Clark, who will step down as coach after the Tonga Test, says leaving the tournament on a winning note is "absolutely vital."

"There's a feeling among the boys that that's got to be done, that's the job they need to do and hopefully we can get it done," he said.

"They know that they have to do it to deliver to Canada a performance that is fitting this team."
The schedule is on the Canadians' side.

Canada, rated 16th in the world, has been off since last Tuesday and enjoyed some free time after the Italy game.

Tonga, at No.15 ranked lowest among Canada's rivals in Pool D, is coming off a 91-7 hiding Friday at the hands of the All Blacks.

The Tongans have had to endure a brutal schedule at the tournament, with four games shoehorned into 14 days. The Canadian first-round schedule covered 17 days.

Team: Quentin Fyffe, Sean Fauth, Nikyta Witkowski, Marco di Girolamo, Winston Stanley, Bob Ross, Morgan Williams, Josh Jackson, Adam van Staveren, Jamie Cudmore, Mike James, Al Charron (c), Garth Cooke, Mark Lawson, Rod Snow. Res: Aaron Abrams, Kevin Tkachuk, Colin Yukes, Jeff Reid, Ed Fairhurst, Ryan Smith, James Pritchard.