Scotland To Train With Canadians

Scotland will hold a joint training session with Canada here on Queensland’s Gold Coast tomorrow as preparations for Rugby World Cup intensify. Training today, the Scots’ third session since arrival, was a marked step-up on the acclimatisation process of the opening two practices with scrummaging specialist Massimo Cuttitta hard at work on some specific drills for the pack. The local wildlife seemed to catch the increased pace of today’s activities. The backs’ warm-up on an adjacent bowling green was “dive-bombed” by some large ibis. We also had a flock of galahs, flaming or otherwise, magpies and, inevitably, kangaroos taking an interest in proceedings.  Tomorrow’s session will involve the Canucks who are in Pool A for Rugby World Cup with New Zealand, France, Japan and Tonga as opponents.  Their first match is against the Pacific Islanders, Tonga, on 14 September in Whangarei. Townsend told www.scottishrugby.org: “Canada have been here for about ten days. They played the Australian Barbarians last Saturday and also had a run-out against the Queensland Academy team so we are looking to have a training session with them.  “We’ll run through a couple of plays, backs against backs, and the forwards will do some lineouts and maybe some scrums. “It’s going to be very controlled.  We’re still in the stage of getting used to the time zone and getting over the jet-lag but I think it’s going to be really beneficial to run plays against a team that might not know what we’re doing.” Tomorrow will be a chance to renew acquaintances with two well-kent faces in the Canadians’ squad – Glasgow Warriors’ 25-year-old winger DTH Van der Merwe; and their vice-captain Ander Monro. Ander, who turns 30 next Tuesday, is Toronto born and has represented Canada proudly since 2006, playing in the last Rugby World Cup. But to Scots most will remember him from his stint at Heriot’s, the stand-off proving an instrumental figure in their 2003 Cup Final success. Listen to the full interview with Gregor Townsend: