Kyle Gilmour can see light at the end of the tunnel with the Rugby World Cup only a drop goal away.
The St. Albert Rugby Football Club product was selected to the 35-man long list as Rugby Canada prepares for its next leg before the World Cup kicks off Sept. 18.
The final 31-man roster will be announced Aug. 31.
“Obviously it’s something I’ve been working for quite some time so it’s a great accomplishment,” Gilmour told the Gazette while soaking up the sun at the SARFC premier men’s match against the Calgary Saints on Saturday in St. Albert.
“However, the hard work is not done, not even close to being done. We’ve got a few more weeks of camp, hopefully I will survive it, and then get over to England and Wales for the World Cup,” added the six-foot-two, 230-pound pack of muscle at blindside flanker. “If I’m lucky enough to be on the squad I feel like it’s going to be a life changing experience and I’m really hoping everything goes in the right direction.”
Andy Tiedemann, a six-foot, 260-lb. barrel-chest prop with 33 caps, is another SARFC product on the long list. He made the Canadian squad for the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand,
Gilmour, 27, has eight caps on his resume.
“Anytime you play for your country it’s a great experience,” said Gilmour, who made his Canadian debut with the national sevens in 2011 and got his first cap with the 15s in 2013 against Portugal. “Internationally, any time you play against other countries it’s always a huge battle.”
The Edmonton Rugby Union’s senior player of the year in 2009 and 2013 is back home for a spell after the recent Pacific Nations Cup in Canada. He started against Samoa (21-20 loss) and the USA Eagles (15-13 loss) after coming off the bench as a replacement against Tonga (28-18 loss).
Canada’s lineup included Tiedemann, 26, who suffered a shoulder injury towards the end of the tournament.
Canada finished 0-4, including last-minute losses to Samoa and the USA.
“We didn’t really get the results we wanted but I think there is quite a bit we can take out of that. Hopefully, we’re moving forward and getting ready to peak come World Cup,” Gilmour said.
The World Cup hopefuls will gather in Ottawa for a training camp, followed by matches against the USA on Aug. 22 in the nation’s capital and Aug. 29 against the Glasgow Warriors in Halifax before the Canadian roster is revealed.
Canada, listed 18th in the International Rugby Board rankings as of Monday, has two pre-World Cup matches scheduled in England against Georgia (No. 13) Sept. 2 and Fiji (No. 9) Sept. 6.
Canada is grouped in pool D with Ireland (No. 2), France (No. 7), Italy (No. 14) and Romania (No. 17) in the 20-nation competition.
Regardless of how the final World Cup audition goes, Gilmour will hook up with the Rotherham Titans of the RFC Championship after signing a one-year contract in June.
“They are in northern England, between Doncaster and Sheffield. They play in the championship, which is the second tier professional league over there so it’s a fully professional side,” he explained. “Adam Kleeberger (of Canada) played there in the past so I had a chat with him, but other than that I’m not entirely sure what to expect when I get over there but my first priority is the World Cup and then I will go from there.”
In the meantime, SARFC premier men’s team MVP in 2008 and major contributor for the 2010 Labatt’s Cup provincial champions continues to grind it out on and off the pitch in pursuit of his ultimate goal.
“You’ve just got to stay on top of things. Days off are becoming more and more important as I get a bit older, like proper recovery, doing more stretching and doing rolling when I need to and stretching before games and stretching before trainings and nutrition, just taking all the appropriate measures to make sure that I’m ready to perform my best and avoid the things that hinder that for the most part,” said the captain of the Calgary-based Prairie Wolfpack, winner of the 2015 Canadian Rugby Championship tournament, and for Canada last year at IRB Americas Rugby Championship.
Gilmour is where he is today as a prime-time rugby player because of SARFC, a club and a half.
“It’s been huge. It all started when I was 15 years old playing here and then I got into the men’s game pretty early on and had some really good coaches that came through here that helped me develop my game and really pushed me,” said the former rugby and football standout with the St. Albert Skyhawks. “Without this place maybe none of it would’ve ever happened.”
