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Oakville trio to play in national rugby team game Sunday By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff 29 | Friday, June 24, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com There has been little to stand in the way of Oakville's Djustice Sears-Duru in his rugby career. The 22-year-old has been willing to do whatever is necessary to propel his career forward, whether it was moving to British Columbia to finish his high school career with the highly-regarded Shawnigan Lake School program or moving to England to play for the Leicester Academy Tigers after graduation. But two weeks ago at BC Place in Vancouver, the third-youngest player to ever suit up for the national team was finally stalled short of his goal. In the final minute of the game with Canada trailing Japan 26-22, Sears-Duru pushed back a pair of Japanese defenders, taking the ball within a few metres of the try line. "A behemoth down the middle for Canada," the announcer described him. With each of the three rucks that followed, Canada inched closer to the line. Finally, Sears-Duru got the ball again and pushed his 6-foot-1, 253-pound frame over the try line as he was dragged down by three Japanese defenders. With two underneath him and another on top wrapping him up, Sears-Duru was unable to touch the ball down before the final whistle sounded. It would have not only been the game-winning try, but his first Djustice Sears-Duru came within inches of scoring his first national-team try in loss to Japan earlier this month. |Photo by Ian Muir ­ Special to the Beaver for the national team. "It was close," he said Tuesday at Appleby College as the national team prepared for Sunday's match against Italy at BMO Field in Toronto. "I would have liked to have had that first one." Sears-Duru likely won't have to wait much longer. He's been a fixture at prop in the Canadian lineup during this month's RISEasOne Summer Series. He's now played 18 matches with the national team, including all four of Canada's contests at last year's World Cup of Rugby. And he's not done looking to go wherever necessary to take his game to the next level. Last month, Sears-Duru re-signed with the Glasgow Warriors. Though he didn't get into any matches for Glasgow after joining the team midway through last season, he impressed the European Professional Club Rugby team's officials enough in training to earn another contract. "It's a great club and I'm really looking forward to going back for a full year," SearsDuru said. For now, he's looking to help the Canadian squad improve its world ranking -- it climbed one spot to No. 17 after beating Russia last week in Calgary. The summer series has featured games against teams in Canada's neighbourhood in the rankings -- Japan (12), Russia (20) and Italy (13). Jamie Mackenzie, one of three Oakville players who will be in the lineup Sunday, said though the games are exhibitions, they are important for the team. "We're getting things in place for the World Cup qualifiers next summer," he said. "That's the big test." Mackenzie has been part of the nationalteam program since 2010, but the 27-yearold scrum-half said it's not just the younger players who have to continue to improve if Canada is to rise in the rankings. "I'm still very young at heart," Mackenzie said with a laugh. "I am lucky to have a couple of World Cups under my belt, but really you're never done improving. You're just more familiar with how things work." The summer series has been a good opportunity for Canadian coach Mark Anscombe, who took over from Kieran Crowley in March, to assess not only the veteran players but those who represent the team's future. Among them is Matt Tierney. The former St. Ignatius of Loyola Secondary student has been a staple on the Canadian under-18 and U20 teams, but got called upon to make his national-team debut against Russia last week in Calgary. "On the bus going to the game, I knew I was going to get in," the 19-year-old said. "It's probably the most nervous I've been. But then you get into warmups and when your name gets called, the nerves settle and you just play." When Tierney subbed in at prop in the 67th minute of Canada's 46-21 win, he became just the seventh player to play for Canada before his 20th birthday. He also became the second-youngest forward, behind Sears-Duru, to play for the national team. Like Sears-Duru, Tierney is playing overseas. Rugby Canada's Young Player of the Year in 2015 joined the French club Section Paloise and though he played mostly with the academy club, he made his debut with the senior team late in the season, including his first start. Sunday, the Oakville trio will get a chance to showcase their skills a little closer to home. SUMMER HOCKEY PROGRAMS SUMMER Programs Begin June 28th 2016 Get ready for try-outs & next season! CANLAN ICE SPORTS OAKVILLE 905.845.6989 www.icesports.com/oakville Follow us @IceSportsOak