Canada hammers Chile 64-13 at Americas Rugby Championship

SANTIAGO, Chile – Nick Blevin and Pat Parfrey had two tries each and Canada scored nine in total en route to beating Chile 64-13 on Saturday to conclude the Americas Rugby Championship with a third-place finish.

The Canadians earned 15 points with wins over Uruguay, Brazil and Chile, but suffered losses to the United States and Argentina XV. Canada tied the Americans for second, however the U.S. earned the tiebreaker because of their win over Canada in Austin, Texas, in Week 2.

“It’s been rewarding for a great group of men and it has taken a real team effort over the last six weeks,” interim head coach Francois Ratier said.

“We had a mix of veterans and 18 new caps during this tournament and I think we can be pleased at what we accomplished.”

Phil Mackenzie, Dan Moor, Kyle Baillie, Gordon McRorie and Brett Johnson added a try apiece. McRorie finished 22 points.

“Everyone came out hard today,” Blevins said. “We knew we had one game left to finish strong and we did.”

Canada’s 64 points are the third most scored in the nation’s test history while its nine tries rank second all-time.

“I am happy for the boys because they played good rugby today,” Ratier said. “We came into that game the right way and the result showed that.”

Canada exploded for six first-half tries as Blevins powered through a tackle inside five minutes to put Canada ahead. Chile centre Matías Nordenflycht cut the deficit to 7-6 with two quick penalties before McRorie grabbed his only penalty of the night in 12th minute.

Johnson would score his first test try two minutes later as he used his pace to beat a defender before cruising in from 40 metres out. McRorie would be the next beneficiary as he collected the ball at the back of the breakdown, skipped past a defender before outrunning a final defender to get his first test try in his 18th test match.

Baillie was next to score when he went over the line with a Chilean defender all over him to touch down, completing a 21 point explosion in just six minutes.

Mackenzie and Parfrey would add tries before the interval but Chilean captain Benjamin Soto scored his side’s first try of the half in the 40th minute, cutting Canada’s half time lead to 43-13.

Moor would take a pop pass from McRorie in the 53rd minute as he ran in untouched for Canada’s seventh try before Blevins touched down for his eighth test try.

Canada capped its scoring in the 76th minute as Parfrey intercepted a pass and breezed in before replacement scrum half Andrew Ferguson added the conversion.