Canada thrash Jamaica 40-10

Leighton Levy, Gleaner Writer

Jamaica's Rugby League team went down 10-40 against Canada at Fletcher's Field in Markham, Ontario, yesterday. The Canadians, playing against a team of all local-based players, exacted revenge for last November's 32-12 loss in the Atlantic Cup in Jacksonville, Florida.

Captain Roy Calvert said the team was confident of victory going in but inexperience cost them the game. "We played well in patches," he said of the team that was down 4-18 at half-time. He explained that there was not a consistent level of high-quality play. "We didn't complete our sets and we turned the ball over too easily," he said. "When we went deep into our tackle count we looked dangerous but we just didn't do it often enough."

The Jamaican team is preparing to qualify for the 2013 World Cup but were playing for the first time internationally without their teammates based in the United Kingdom. The team was fielded from Adrian Myers, Damon Gayle, Jermaine Pinnock, Marvin Thompson, Roy Calvert, Romaen Campbell, Robert Rodney, Ryan Grant, Nicholas Wright, Claude Yen, Carlye Burger, Everton Richards, Jahdeek Clarke, Jade Harrison, Omar Jones, Tiege Jackson, Sandino Hastings and Tyronie Rowe. According to the captain, Campbell, who plays prop and Richards, the centre, were standouts in the loss.

Calvert said some of the players were gutted but are going to have a debriefing so they will be able to analyze how and why the team lost. The team returns to the island on Wednesday.