Young Canadians beaten on last-ditch try at World Rugby U20 Trophy tournament

BUCHAREST, Romania — Uruguay scored with no time remaining to defeat Canada 27-23 at the World Rugby U20 Trophy tournament Saturday. 

It was the second straight painful loss for the Canadian men at the second-tier age-group competition. They squandered a 26–11 halftime lead Tuesday in their opening 31-29 loss to Portugal.

Will Percillier kicked three penalties and two conversions for Canada, which trailed 15-6 at the half.

Canada pulled back 10 points on a converted Jackson Matthews try and Percillier penalty and then went ahead 23-20 on a converted try by Peter Ingoldsby in the 69th minute. But Matias D’Avanzo broke a tackle and scored from close range in the 83rd minute to seal Canada’s fate.

Canada wraps up preliminary-round play at the eight-country competition against Fiji on Wednesday. The Pacific Islanders beat Uruguay 55-34 in their opener.

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The U20 Trophy winner graduates to play alongside the likes of New Zealand, South Africa, England and France in the top-tier world under-20 championship.

Canada has not played in the elite age-group tournament since 2009 when it finished 14th. It has competed a level below since, coming close to promotion in 2013 and 2015 when it was runner-up to Italy and Georgia, respectively.

Last year in Uruguay, Canada lost to eventual champion Japan, Chile and Namibia before blanking Hong Kong 38-0 in the seventh-place game.

The Canadian Press