Article content

After Canada played its final Rugby World Cup warmup game three weeks ago at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver, DTH van der Merwe called his teammates into a huddle.

His side had narrowly lost 20-15 to their archrivals from the United States.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Rugby World Cup: Canada's van der Merwe has legacy in mind as Italy showdown looms Back to video

It brought to a close a six-game summer series, one that saw the Canadians win just once, a game that was a lock for victory, over a bravely-named “all-star” squad from British Columbia.

That they lost to the Americans was frustrating to all involved. They’d played very well, even led for much of the contest. Canada even had the ball in the final stages and was fighting for what would have been a glorious, last-breath victory.

A win there would have done wonders for the players’ fragile psyche.

It’s been a difficult few years for van der Merwe and his teammates. Once they were the pride of North American rugby. At the 2015 Rugby World Cup, for a moment, Canada looked set to take a big step forward.