Canada silence Kenya Simbas in Repechage opener
What you need to know:
- The Simbas must now beat Hong Kong on November 17 and Germany on November 23 and hope Canada stumble to revive their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup finals due next year in Japan
- The Canadians held a commanding 27-12 lead at the break as South African-born Glasgow Warriors wing Van der Merwe, 32, scored two first-half tries
- A flurry of Canadian tries followed as the Kenyans tired and Van der Merwe completed his hat-trick by powering over just before the final whistle
Kenya Simbas had an awful start to their 2019 Rugby World Cup Repechage qualifier campaign, socking 10 tries to crash 65-19 at the hands of Canada in Marseille, France on Sunday.
Tony Onyango, Leo Seje and George Nyambua landed a try each as Darwin Mukidza and Samuel Oliech converted one apiece but all was in vain for the battling Simbas.
Canada's Van Der Merwe was the man-of-the-match after scoring a hat-trick of tries as Bret Beukeboom and Theo Sauder grabbed a brace each to blow the Simbas away.
Matt Evans, Tyler Ardron and Mike Sheppard supplemented with one try each. Gordy McRorie made five conversions while Sauder had one.
The Simbas must now beat Hong Kong on November 17 and Germany on November 23 and hope Canada stumble to revive their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup finals due next year in Japan.
McRorie gave the Canadians the lead with a penalty as Matt Heats was handed a yellow card for a dangerous tackle. Canada we to play with 14 men for the next 10 minutes where Mukidza’s penalty sailed wide.
Van Der Merwe went for their first try as skipper Philly Mack dashed on the blindside to find Beukeboom for his first international try in the right corner. McRorie was unsuccessful with one conversion to lead 15-0.
Kenya's driving maul set the platform as the ball flew through the hands for Onyango to score their first points. Mukidza failed to convert as Kenya trailed 15-5. Van Der Merwe went for his second try after a multi-phase attack that started with a driving maul off a penalty.
Canada's powerful pack proved too strong for the lighter Kenyans as Kingsley Jones' side pulled away with six converted second-half tries without reply.
The Canadians held a commanding 27-12 lead at the break as South African-born Glasgow Warriors wing Van der Merwe, 32, scored two first-half tries.
Fly-half Gordon McRorie, who claimed 13 points with the boot, converted two of Canada's four tries in the opening 40 minutes as they took advantage of poor tackling.
Kenya got back in contention straight after the break when lock George Nyambua crashed over for a converted try to make it 27-19.
However, the Canadians quickly built a 20-point lead as Tyler Ardron crossed, then Sauder touched down for the second of his two converted tries to make it 39-19 with 25 minutes left.
A flurry of Canadian tries followed as the Kenyans tired and Van der Merwe completed his hat-trick by powering over just before the final whistle.
Additional reporting by AFP.
