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TORONTO -- Liam Underwood could have been playing for Queens University on the weekend, looking to take down the Western Mustangs in the OUA rugby final. Arthur Lynch dolphins jersey . Instead the 22-year-old fly half found himself starting for Canada against the New Zealand Maori All Blacks. The Kiwis, a renowned invitational side of Maori descent, showed their superiority in scoring six tries en route to a 40-15 win Sunday over a depleted Canadian side. "Theyre fast," said Underwood, a fourth-year economics student from Toronto. "Thats the fastest rugby Ive played in a long time. Or ever, probably." Making just his third start while earning his sixth cap for Canada, Underwood survived a crunching 14th-minute tackle that may have had friends and family cringing in the stands. "Thats rugby," he said with a smile later. "You get hit." He also noted that his Queens team hadnt needed him in the OUA final, defeating the Mustangs 40-10. Both Canada and the Maori made plenty of mistakes. That was perhaps not surprising for a Maori side that only had a few practices under its belt since coming together a week ago. But for Canada, it probably demonstrated what can happen under the pressure of facing elite opposition. Jamison Gibson-Park, a late addition to the Maori starting lineup when veteran scrum half Piri Weepu was ruled out in the pre-game warmup with a knee problem sustained in training, scored two tries for the visitors. Zac Guildford, Robbie Robinson, Matt Proctor and Nick Barrett also scored tries for the Maori. Andre Taylor and Robinson each kicked two conversions with Ihaia West contributing another conversion. Guildford was named man of the match. Jeff Hassler and captain Aaron Carpenter scored tries for Canada. Underwood contributed a penalty and a conversion. While Canada lost, you could argue Canadian rugby still emerged a winner. A sellout crowd of 22,566, on a sunny, crisp six-degree day at BMO Field, probable made Toronto FC think back to what once was. And the Canadians open style of play drew praise from the visitors. "They played really well, especially in that first 40 (minutes), they shocked us with their style of attack," said Maori captain and fly half Tim Bateman, a veteran of 50-plus Super Rugby games. "We expected them to be a little more narrow and brutal, but they played with a lot of width and a lot of intensity and they probably caught us off-guard for a large part of the game." While Maori coach Colin Cooper acknowledged his team was rusty, he too applauded Canada. "Canada defended very well and they surprised us with their width and the way they attacked," Cooper said. "And we had to defend a lot more accurately than we should have. Bateman was also complimentary of the Canadian fans. "This crowd was outstanding. It really was. It was loud, it was vocal. It made it really tough for our calls. We mucked up quite a few times because of the crowd." Canadian coach Kieran Crowley, a former New Zealand international, saw positives but was left to lament errors and missed chances against a fully professional side. "That was the difference between the teams, I think. When they got an opportunity, they converted it. When we got an opportunity, we didnt quite nail it." Canada started well and took an early 5-0 lead but the Maori began to turn the screws. While the Canadian scrum withstood the New Zealand challenge, the visitors edge in skills began to take its toll and Canada trailed 19-5 at the half. "We played a lot of rugby in that first half. Our skill level just let us down a couple of times," said Crowley. The Canadians continued to show grit in the second half but Maori pressure eventually paid dividends as the visitors piled on the score with 14 points in the last 10 minutes. "We gave away three soft tries in the second half," Crowley said. The Maori are not to be confused with the world champion All Blacks, New Zealands national team which opened its November Northern Hemisphere tour Saturday with a 54-6 win over No. 15 Japan. The Maori side has added All Blacks to its name for branding reasons. Weepu, who did not see action and limped to the dressing room after the game, still led the haka -- a traditional pre-game challenge. The Maori performed it in the shape of an arrowhead, while the Canadians looked on from the halfway line. The Maori have their own haka, distinct from those of the All Blacks. Called Timatanga, it was written especially for the team by elders. Canadian forward Tyler Ardron said facing the haka was like getting a loud rugby wakeup call. "Its gives you like a pinpoint time when that games going to start," he said. "You know that theyre going to bring it and youre going to have to match it." The Maori starting 15 Sunday featured four All Blacks in winger Guildford (19), prop Ben Afeaki (1), hooker Hikawera Elliot (3) and lock Jarrad Hoeata (3). Elliot left midway through the first half due to injury. They also showcased some future All Blacks, including 21-year-olds Gibson-Park and West. Gibson-Park plays Super Rugby for the Auckland Blues while fly half West was one of the stars of the recent ITM Cup competition with Hawkes Bay. Their play will be noted. The Maori are closely monitored by the All Blacks, whose braintrust now plays a role in selection. Outside of the Rugby World Cup, Sundays match was about as high-profile as it gets for Canadian rugby. In addition to the sellout crowd, the game was televised live in Canada and New Zealand (where the kickoff was 7 a.m. local time) and streamed live on the International Rugby Boards website. Unfortunately for Crowley, a former New Zealand international, Canadas starting 15 was nowhere near its strongest. Because of injuries, personal commitments and the fact that the match falls outside the IRBs international window, Canada was without such key players as Jebb Sinclair, Jamie Cudmore, James Pritchard, Phil Mackenzie and DTH van Der Merwe. Another half-dozen players were also missing, with Crowley forced to assemble a forward pack missing four of his top second-rowers. Canadas bench was also green, while the Maori had plenty of fully professional weapons. As a Tier 2 nation, Canada no longer plays rugbys elite outside of the World Cup. The last time they met, at the 2011 world championship, New Zealand thumped the Canadians 79-15. The 14th-ranked Canadians leave Monday for a European tour for test matches against No. 16 Georgia in Tbilisi on Saturday, No. 17 Romania in Bucharest on Nov. 16 and No. 22 Portugal in Lisbon on Nov. 23. They will be reinforced by several of their European-based pros. The Canadians will likely board the plane with more than few bumps and bruises. The Maori head to Philadelphia to play the 18th-ranked U.S. Eagles on Saturday. --- Canada Hubert Buydens, Manawatu Turbos (New Zealand), Saskatoon, Ray Barkwill, Niagara Wasps, Niagara Falls, Ont.; Doug Wooldridge, Lindsay RFC, Lindsay, Ont,; Jon Phelan, Lille Metropole Rugby (France) Montreal; Tyler Ardron Ospreys (Wales), Lakefield, Ont.; Nanyak Dala, Castaway Wanderers, Saskatoon; John Moonlight, James Bay AA, Pickering, Ont.; Aaron Carpenter (capt.), Cornish Pirates (England), Brantford, Ont.; Phil Mack, James Bay AA, Victoria; Liam Underwood, Queens University, Toronto; Conor Trainor, UBCOB Ravens, Vancouver; Harry Jones, Capilano RFC, West Vancouver; Ciaran Hearn, Castaway Wanderers, Conception Bay, N.L.; Jeff Hassler, Ospreys (Wales), Okotoks, Alta.; Matt Evans, Cornish Pirates (England), Maple Bay, B.C. Reserves Jake Ilnicki, Williams Lake Rustlers, Williams Lake, B.C.; Ryan March, Abbotsford RFC, Abbotsford, B.C.; Aaron Flagg, Abbotsford RFC, Abbotsford, B.C.; Kyle Gilmour, St. Albert Rugby Club, Edmonton; Adam Kleeberger, Castaway Wanderers, White Rock, B.C.; Jamie Mackenzie, UVIC Vikes, Oakville, Ont.; Pat Parfrey, Swilers RFC, St. Johns, N.L.; Connor Braid, James Bay AA, Victoria. Maori All Blacks Kane Hames, Hikawera Elliot, Ben Afeaki, Jarrad Hoeata, Joe Wheeler, Liam Squire, Luke Braid, Elliot Dixon, Jamison Gibson-Park, Tim Bateman (capt.), Zac Guildford, Jackson Willison, Charlie Ngatai, Andre Taylor, Robbie Robinson. Reserves Chris Eves, Nick Barrett, Ash Dixon, Piri Weepu, Blade Thomson, Shane Christie, Ihaia West, Matt Proctor. Earl Mitchell dolphins jersey. Chris Wroblewski added 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the win for Cornell (10-18, 6-8 Ivy), while Anthony Gatlin finished with 10 points. Greg Mangano posted a game-high 18 points to lead the way for Yale (15-13, 8-6), which also saw 11 points from Austin Morgan. Derrick Shelby dolphins jersey . The former New York Jets quarterback was in the trainers room on Sept. 11, 2001, and had trouble making sense of the gaping, smoke-spewing hole in one of the Twin Towers.BETHESDA, Md. -- Justin Rose has won enough times on the strongest golf courses to appreciate how one mistake can make a difference. He got away with one Sunday at Congressional to win the Quicken Loans National. Shawn Stefani did not. With the poise and the putting touch of a U.S. Open champion, Rose atoned for a 4-iron he hit into the water on the 18th hole to make a 15-foot bogey putt that got him into a playoff and gave him new life. On the 18th hole in the playoff, Stefani hit the same type of shot that rolled into the same pond left of the green. There are no second chances in a sudden-death playoff. Rose won with a par on the first extra hole for his first victory since the U.S. Open last summer at Merion. This one required about as much work, with Congressional far more difficult and unrelenting than when it hosted a soggy U.S. Open three years ago. "Congressional got its reputation back after the U.S. Open," Rose said. "I really enjoy this type of golf and this type of test. I think it tested all of us. Im delighted." The Englishman was far from delighted after thinking he had thrown this one away. Tied for the lead as he played the 18th, Rose tried to squeeze a 4-iron through a tiny gap in the trees from 209 yards away, playing toward the right side of the green for a chance at par. Instead, he turned it over and realized when he jogged toward the fairway that it was headed for the water. His caddie, Mark Fulcher, told Rose that Stefani had just made bogey behind them on the 17th. "Everything else was forgotten at that point," Rose said. "I wiped the slate clean and just focused on my putt on 18. An amazing feeling in any sort of championship when you make a putt like that. That means something. Thats special. "And then the playoff, it was just up to me to not do what I did the first time around." He left that to Stefani, who had drilled his tee shot in regulation and narrowly missed a 20-foot birdie putt for his first PGA Tour victory. In the playoff, Stefani pulled his tee shot in the trees and got relief from grandstands blocking his view of the green. He chose a 6-iron to punch it around the trees. "The grass closed the club down," Stefani said, "and it went left into the water. I was trying to play it down the right side and have a chance at a putt, two putts for a par. Thats the way it goes. It was great to have a chance to win." Both closed with a 1-under 70 and finished at 4-under 280 on a course that looked like a U.S. Open, and played like onee the way so many contenders -- seven players had at least a share of the lead at one point -- tumbled down the leaderboard. Jimmy Wilson dolphins jersey. Only six players broke par in the final round. And it was only the second time this year that the winning score was higher than the 36-hole lead (6 under). That also happened at Torrey Pines, which like Congressional, previously hosted a U.S. Open. No one crashed harder than Patrick Reed, who had a two-shot lead to start the final round, still had a two-shot lead at the turn and didnt even finish in the top 10. He made back-to-back double bogeys, shot 41 on the back and closed with a 77 to tie for 11th. "This definitely burns and definitely gets me more fired up for more events coming up," Reed said. Even though he got a reprieve with the clutch bogey putt, Rose looked like a U.S. Open champion the way he put himself into position. He hit 5-iron to 5 feet for one of only four birdies on the 11th hole Sunday. Staring at potential bogey from deep rough on the 14th, he boldly hit 3-wood up the hill and between the deep bunkers to the middle of the green. It was a par, but Rose called the 3-wood his "shot of the day." And before his blunder on the 18th, he holed an 8-foot sliding par putt on the 17th. "I felt like all aspects of my game were tested this week, and its really nice to win in that fashion," Rose said. Stefani, whose only major experience was at Merion last year, plodded along like a U.S. Open veteran with one par after another. He joined Rose in the lead with a 15-foot birdie putt on the 16th. So many others fell back. Brendon Todd was tied for the lead until a double bogey in the water on the 10th. Marc Leishman three-putted for bogey on No. 7 and made bogey on the easiest par 4 at Congressional. Brendan Steele made a late rally, only to take on too much from the rough on the 18th and find the water for double bogey. This was the first British Open qualifier on the PGA Tour -- the leading four players not already exempt from the top 12 at Congressional get into Royal Liverpool next month. Stefani earned one spot as the runner-up. Charley Hoffman (69) and Ben Martin (71) each birdied two of the last three holes to tie for third. Steele got the last spot with a 71 that put him in a three-way tie for third with Andres Romero and Todd, who already is exempt. Steele earned the spot over Romero because he has a higher world ranking. Romero closed with a 68, the low score in a final round when the scoring average was 73.7. cheap jerseys from china ' ' '

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By miao1234
Added Jul 20 '14

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