In a barbarian's game played by gentlemen, Canada's gentlemen are The Beardos.
The Rugby World Cup kicked off a week ago in New Zealand with two ceremonial, pre-match challenges: the New Zealand All Blacks Haka and the Tonga Sea Eagles' Sipi Tau. Both nations are from the south Pacific and the traditional challenges stem from those island cultures.
Canada was the last team in the tournament to see action Tuesday night, and after facing Tonga's Sipi Tau challenge before the opening kickoff, beat the 12th-ranked Tongans 25-20. Canada is ranked 14th in the world entering the contest.
I love international competitions, whether it's the World Juniors, the Olympics or the World Cup. The Rugby World Cup is no different. There are a number of things that I've noticed from the early matches so far: the game officials run the show, and they do not put up with gripe from anybody.
The Japan and France game was spectacular. The score doesn't show it at 47-21, but the Japanese team held their own against the fourth-ranked French team who capitalized on a few Japan mistakes. Down 25-11 at the half, Japan rallied to close the gap to 25-21 before the French scored 22 points in the final 10 minutes.
During the game, a player went down with an injury near where a scrum was to take place. The team medics ran onto the field, but because of the injured player's close proximity to where the game would continue, the official told the player to get up. He then turned to the medics and said, "Move on," waving them back to the sidelines.
Norm Park doesn't like the NFL because of the breaks allowing oxygen-deprived players to catch their breath. Well, he would love watching a sport where the game doesn't break for an injured player. They just play around him.
As they say, it is a barbarian's game.
That brings me to Canada's barbaric beardos. Saskatoon's Hubert Buydens, Adam Kleeberger and Jebb Sinclair complete this trio of burly, bearded brethren, who all played a big part in the win over Tonga. Sinclair opened the game's scoring with an early try. Kleeberger was voted man-of-the-match.
A story on Rugby Canada's website, titled The Beardos Cometh, says the three men are now under strict orders not to shave until the tournament has ended. Buydens and Sinclair have been playing together in Wales for the RGC 1404. Buydens grew his beard longer, and Sinclair decided to follow suit.
Kleeberger's growth is more like a mane, with his wild hair and Grizzly Adams beard making him the front-runner on any television show called So You Think You Look Like a Lion. At one point during the opening match, one of the commentators pointed out that Kleeberger is 27, but his beard is a few years older than that.
Canada's opener was a nail-biting match. Both teams missed opportunities to break out for tries. Canada was up 10-0 before the Tongans scored a try just before halftime, and then fell back 20-13 in the second. After a couple of impressive defensive stands, Canada scored two tries, missing one conversion to take the lead with just seven minutes to play in the match to a claim an opening-game victory.
Cheer for Canada. Cheer the beards.
