In high-level rugby players aged 30 and over are considered grizzled veterans.
Clay Panga, who will suit up for Canada’s men’s 15s in Saturday’s (Feb. 6) Americas Rugby Championship match against Uruguay at Westhills Stadium, is at that milestone now. While some might say his age puts him in the twilight of his high-performance rugby career, Panga, a native of Papakura, New Zealand near Auckland and a player and coach with Westshore RFC, is anxious to make an impression with the national team coaches with this opportunity.
“There’s definitely been times of self-doubt and it’s been a long time coming,” he said of his chance to get capped. “There’s definitely those times when you feel you’re not being looked at (by national team representatives).”
He’s no stranger to lining up against veteran national teamers. On top of his play in the B.C. Premiership, he played flanker with the Prairie Wolf Pack regional development team while residing in Calgary in past years’ Canadian Rugby Championship competitions.
In this post-World Cup year, with Canada coming off what many considered a sub-standard result in England – they went 0-4 and failed to advance from pool play – Rugby Canada has assembled a younger, relatively untested side to contest the ARC. with 18 uncapped players.
Panga said that’s relatively common in the year following a World Cup, as coaches have a new cycle of players they want to test out. Also impacting the makeup of the ARC roster, he added, is the fact Canadians who play professionally were not available for this tournament.
“I think it’s very exciting time at Rugby Canada,” he said. “There’s been a few transitions both on the field and off, and there’s opportunities for guys like myself and others. A lot of guys are trying to prove themselves.”
A player with Westshore RFC and an assistant coach with the Westshore Valkyries Premier Division side, Panga is excited at the prospect of lining up at flanker this weekend against Uruguay, and potentially in subsequent matches against Brazil (Feb. 20 at Westhills), and road games against U.S.A., Argentina and Chile.
“With that position, there’s always a lot of depth. You get to be all over the field,” he said, adding, when asked, that he still considers himself “pretty fast.”
Local fans will recognize a number of players from the B.C. Premiership, including team captain, prop Hubert Buydens, who suits up for the Castaway-Wanderers in club rugby.
Other CW players on the roster for the ARC include veteran hooker Ray Barkwill and props Jake Ilnicki and Djustice Sears-Duru, while University of Victoria Vikes, fly half Gradyn Bowd and lock Liam Chisholm, have also drawn in.
The team is training at Shawnigan Lake School in Mill Bay this week in preparation for Saturday’s match. They were scheduled to have a run against the Canada under-20 side there yesterday (Feb. 2) and wind up the mini-camp with a “captain’s run” Friday to fine-tune strategy.
Panga isn’t taking anything for granted as he dons the red jersey.
“I’m so privileged and honoured to be able to play on this team,” he said. “For me it’s been 10 years of hard work and I’ve seen a lot of other guys leave (the program). For me to be able to be here … I won’t give up on my dream.”
Saturday’s opponent, Uruguay, sits one spot below Canada at No. 20 in the most recent world rankings. Panga expects them to offer a good challenge, despite suffering a lopsided loss to Canada in last year’s ARC.
“They’re one of those South American teams that are continuously improving and we’ll need to bring our ‘A’ game,” he said. “I think it’ll be a physical encounter, so if you’re into big hits ad running rugby I think that’s what you’re going to see.”
Kickoff is 4 p.m. this Saturday against Uruguay and Feb. 20 against Brazil. Tickets may still be available at events.rugbycanada.ca.
editor@goldstreamgazette.com
