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Team Canada’s line up for the Rugby World Cup in Japan would look a lot younger if it were taking place 12 months from now, as opposed to the three weeks that is the reality.

But there just wasn’t enough time and so the 31-man squad announced by head coach Kingsley Jones on Tuesday features a strong dose of experience.

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Half of the squad are holdovers from the group Kieran Crowley, Jones’ twice-removed predecessor, took to England for the 2015 edition.

The rest are mostly faces who emerged before Jones took over as national team coach from Crowley’s successor, Mark Anscombe, in 2017.

When he was hired, Jones’ primary task was to qualify Canada for the World Cup, which he did less than a year ago, the last squad to advance to rugby’s big dance.

If he’d had more time there would likely have been more young faces in the lineup, Jones indicated after his team practised at St. George’s School in Vancouver on Tuesday morning. In the end, he stuck with a group dominated by the tried-and-true, players who drove the bus in qualification.