By BRIAN LOWE
RUGBY League history will be made this weekend when Jamaica hosts Canada in game two of the Americas Championship.
For the very first time, Jamaica will play an international on home soil with the two countries set to meet in Kingston on Saturday.
It’s a big deal for the Reggae Warriors, who have played all of their Test matches away from home since they started contesting internationals in 2009.
“I suppose there is always that emotional high you get when playing at home,” said Jamaica Rugby League director of rugby Romeo Monteith.
“This Canadian squad is relatively unknown to me as there are several BC guys in there who I don’t know, but if history is anything to go by, their skill levels should not be too far ahead of ours.”
Emotional highs aside, the reality is the Jamaicans have a big mountain to climb as they are coming off a hefty 42-point loss to the USA Hawks in game one.
They were in touch at the main break but the second half was all one-way traffic and Jamaica had no answers to the American offensive onslaught.
The Canadians are aware of that and expect Jamaica to rebound.
“I think any side usually comes out stronger after losing like that and probably how close it was at halftime and then dropping off would’ve been disappointing for them,” said Canada’s new head coach Ben Fleming.
“I’d imagine like any team they’ll be working hard at training and getting ready to bounce back.”
Since that heavy loss a month ago, the Jamaicans have been focused on turning things around.
They were below par both offensively and defensively. Too many missed tackles, too much dropped ball, not completing sets and giving away a glut of penalties all contributed to a disappointing performance against the Hawks.
But that’s now in the rearview mirror and the Jamaicans are ready to make a good first impression in front of their home crowd.
“We go into every game believing we can win, this one is no different,” added Monteith.
Again, the Wolverines’ coaches and players are cognisant of the ability of teams to come back from a big loss to play a completely different kind of game and they know the Reggae Warriors have the wherewithal to lift come Saturday.
“Yeah absolutely,” said Fleming.
“Any team would, and they’re a very proud nation, so I’d imagine every player will be leaving it all out on the field.”
This rivalry began in 2010 during what was then the Atlantic Cup series involving the US, Canada and Jamaica.
The Jamaicans won that inaugural encounter but it was only the second game the Canadians had played after a 10-year hiatus from international rugby league.
The fact is Jamaica hasn’t beaten the Wolverines since and, in fact, Canada has posted an overall record of 5-1-1 against them in the ensuing seven years.
But maybe, just maybe, trying to improve on that record while also playing at home for the very first time will inspire the Jamaicans to write themselves into the record books in the best possible way.
Americas Championship schedule:
United States 48 Jamaica 6 – Jacksonville, FL (July 22, 2017)
Jamaica v Canada – Kingston, Jamaica (August 26, 2017)
Canada v United States – Toronto, ON (September 16, 2017)
