NEW PLYMOUTH, New Zealand - Canada's under-20 men's rugby suffered its second loss of its three-match tour of New Zealand, dropping a 31-3 decision Wednesday to Taranaki's Rugby Academy squad.
The Canadians, who lost 85-10 to Wellington's development side Friday, wraps up their tour against Hawkes Bay on Saturday. The trip is a warmup for Canada's trip to the IRB Junior World Championship in Japan in June.
The Canadians kept it close until late in the first half. Trailing 5-3, a Canadian player was sinbinned for a shoulder charge that left the visitors with just 14 players on the pitch. Taranaki capitalized on the advantage and scored twice before the halftime whistle.
Taranaki also scored two late converted tries in the second half.
''We turned the ball over a couple times and they scored a couple of tries in the last 10 minutes - it was mainly just off our errors as we were trying to attack,'' Canadian coach Tim Murdy said. ''The scoreline was actually a bit flattering for Taranaki.''
Harry Jones of West Vancouver accounted for Canada's points with a penalty kick.
