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pacific-nations-cup
TOKYO: Mason Flesch became the defaulting executor Canada over 25 Tests, ranking as the fourth most experienced starter in opposite sides Fiji last weekend. But there was a time when Flesch didn’t play rugby at all, before rediscovering it as a teenager.
Flesch scored two tries against the Flying Fijians, who are reigning Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup champions. The flankers led the way as Canada repeatedly fought back, producing a performance full of positives despite falling to a 45-29 loss.
But the journey to Osaka’s Hanazono Rugby Stadium was quite unique for Flesh, who initially took up the sport at around 14 years old. “The sport is kind of strange at first, but I’ll give it some thought,” said the relaxed striker RugbyPassreflecting on his introduction to the 15-player game.
Flesch’s stepfather spent time there Australia and he was the one who introduced the future Canadian international to the sport. But as a teenager, Flesch was “a bit of a late bloomer physically” and decided to quit rugby at around 16 or 17.
Wrestling became the main sporting endeavor for the next two and a half years for Flesh, who still occasionally threw a rugby ball with his brothers. Flesch returned to rugby two and a half years later, with his stepfather playing a key role in that.
At the age of 19, Flesch tried out for the provincial team, encouraged by his stepfather. Canada’s future loose forward made that team, then out of the blue he got a phone call from the under-20 coach.
“I dropped out of college and said, come on then,” Flesch said. But the decision to not only leave university but also to move from Ontario to Victoria did not seem like a risk, but a new opportunity to live in a different place.
An opportunity with the under-20 program led to the termination of work with the Pacific Pride Academy, professional jobs in the Major League Rugby with Toronto Arrows and Chicago Hounds, and a successful career in the national team.
“When I got into the environment, I just took it like a fish to water,” Flesch said of the opportunity with the Arrows, which came after Siaki Vikilani suffered an MCL injury.
“Those first three years in Toronto were tough … when Toronto folded and I had to move to Chicago, to a new team, a new environment, guys I’d never seen before, guys I’d never played with before and I had to be personal and really prove that I wanted this jersey and I was going to make this jersey my own, I think that was probably the best thing for me.
“My last three years in Chicago were the best rugby I’ve played.
“You’ve got to have that ruthless mentality for sure, you go into this team, you’re going to be friends with everybody, but I’m the new guy and I have to take somebody’s job in reality. There’s somebody who wore that six-pack a year ago, but I’m going into this team to take it and make it my own.”
Flesch is coming off a dream season with the Hounds, who became the first MLR side to go an entire campaign undefeated. Chicago beat California Legion 35-17 in the championship game, with the last player among the scorers.
Nine Chicago players are named in the initial USA The Eagles squad for the Pacific Nations Cup, including Nathan Den Hoedt and Ruben De Haas, Chris Hilsenbeck and Tavite Lopeti, who started their final test.
Canada defeated the USA Eagles 13 months ago, and the two sides are now just a matter of days away from renewing their rivalry in a few days. They will meet in the Pacific Cup of Nations third-place play-off in Tokyo on Saturday afternoon.
“Even though we didn’t win, I said after that game, we can be really, really proud of that game. We played 80 minutes, we did some really, really good things offensively, our defense was good at times.
“To push Fiji the way we did is a big thing for us. They are Fiji after all. They can pull a rabbit out of the hat at any time it seems. They just make things stick and we were able to shut them down for a good part of that game.
“Obviously we have work to do, like after every game you want to work on, but I don’t think we should be too hard on ourselves. I think we did really well.”
