
Edmonton-born forward starts for France against All Blacks in rugby test match
Edmonton-born forward Tyler Duguid made his debut for fourth-ranked France in a 31-27 loss to the second-ranked All Blacks on Saturday in Dunedin, New Zealand.
The 24-year-old Duguid, who represented Canada at the under-20 level, qualifies for France via residency after moving to Europe to pursue his rugby career as a teenager with RC Narbonne. He currently plays for Montpellier in the top-flight French Top 14 on a contract running through 2017.
The six-foot-seven, 273-pounder played for France ‘A’ in a 26-21 win over England ‘A’ at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium on June 21. And Duguid got the start again Saturday in the second row for an experimental French test side missing stars like Antoine Dupont, Damian Penaud, Thomas Ramos and Grégory Alldritt.
“It feels good,” Duguid said after the match, played under a roof at Forsyth-Barr Stadium. “There was a lot of outside noise saying that we’d come out, (concede) 50 (points), we don’t have the strength to play against a team like that. But I thought we showed a lot of spirit tonight as a side.”