Jamin Hodgkins and his Canada Men’s Under 20 Rugby teammates ended the 2022 Canada Conference with a 45 - 28 loss to Uruguay as their opponents were crowned tournament champions on Tuesday at the University of Guelph.
Tries from David Scollon, Mathew Klimchuk, Liam Bowman, and James Biss, as well as a series of conversions from Hodgkins, headlined a battling Canada performance that breathed new life into the match in the second half.
Having lost to Zimbabwe and triumphing over Chile earlier in the competition, this result against Uruguay ensured a third-place finish for Canada. Earlier in the day, Zimbabwe beat Chile 43-35 in a thrilling, high-scoring encounter to seal their spot in second place.
In Tuesday’s second match, a blistering first-half performance from Uruguay saw the visitors build a commanding 33-7 lead. Scollon’s try had pegged the away side back to 12-7 at one point but Uruguay showed their quality as the half went on.
After the break, Canada came out the stronger team and enjoyed the lion’s share of possession. That translated into points on the board as Klimchuk finished off a well-worked team try. A further Uruguay score made it 38-14, before Bowman went over followed by Biss – after an expertly blocked kick – to give Canada hope of a late comeback.
However, Uruguay completed the scoring with a last-play-of-the-game try to seal a 45 - 28 victory and their place atop the final standings.
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