RUSSIA 43

CANADA 20

To be perfectly blunt, Russia is the type of national side that Canada needs to be beating in its increasingly desperate attempt to avoid slipping even further into world rugby’s third tier.

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The No. 19 Russians defeated Langford-based No. 21 Canada 43-20 in a Test match Saturday in Ottawa.

“We’ve got to find a way to fix it and fix it fast,” said emerging Canadian No. 8 Luke Campbell of Victoria, who scored a try.

“We have no excuses for this game. We did it to ourselves,” the Oak Bay High grad told reporters after the game. “We need to get better. If we don’t get better, we won’t win. Our game plan was to keep the ball. But we were loose and couldn't keep possession.”

It was Canada’s second consecutive loss of a crucial three-game summer Test series to prepare for the last-chance qualifier, in November, for the 20th and final berth into the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

The series began with a 48-10 loss to world No. 6 Scotland last weekend at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. The series concludes next Saturday against the U.S. Eagles at the Wanderers Ground in Halifax.

“We were disappointed, to be honest, on the scoreboard,” said Canadian head coach Kingsley Jones, who, in a previous coaching incarnation, built up the Russian national team. “We’re all a bit deflated, players and crowd. We disappointed the home crowd. [The fans] were fantastic, but we didn't give them enough to cheer about.

“Russia is much improved and maybe we took them a little bit lightly in the early quarters. We forced things and coughed up the ball. Russia dominated possession. It was too much for us to catch up on. And we were second best in set pieces. There’s lots to do and lots to work on.”

Canada was missing captain DTH van der Merwe and assistant captain Phil Mack, both of Victoria, and assistant captain Tyler Ardron of Peterborough, Ont. Van der Merwe and Ardron are injured and Mack had to attend to his pro club duties as captain of the Seattle SeaWolves of Major League Rugby.

But that was no excuse, said Jones. Neither is fielding a largely developmental roster mixed in with some veterans.

“There were nine changes today [from the Scotland game] and I take full responsibility for that,” Jones said. “I’ve got to find out about these players and give them an opportunity to see what they can bring, and you can't find out about them in training.”

Looming is the upcoming Test against the rising U.S. Eagles, who ripped through Russia 62-13 last week.

“We’ll have a couple of faces coming back in versus the U.S., so we’ll have a little bit more experience,” Jones said.

“We keep working. We’re not going to rip up the plan.”

cdheensaw@timescolonist.com