Canada see no disrespect in Ireland's squad changes
Friday 11 November 2016 16:15, UK
Canada boss Mark Anscombe has stressed that there is "no disrespect" after Ireland made 15 changes for Saturday's game, which is live on Sky Sports.
Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt has changed his entire starting XV a week after beating New Zealand 40-29 in Chicago, which ended their 111-year wait for a victory over the All Blacks.
Former Ulster coach Anscombe understands the need for squad rotation with the calibre of players Schmidt has.
"There's no disrespect, it's all about building depth and competition," he said. "The All Blacks have done the same to face Italy.
"Good teams have depth, and to have depth you've got to have a healthy and competitive environment in a squad. That allows these teams to keep people breathing down each others' necks.
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"So when you put your top team out players know a poor performance could jeopardise their position in the future. That's what all teams want to strive to get to."
Following their trip to Dublin, Canada face Romania in Bucharest and Samoa in France with the three-Test tour crucial in terms of qualification for the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
Canada will play the United States in a two-leg play-off battle for World Cup qualification in June - with the higher-ranked team taking home advantage for the second and decisive leg.
Currently Canada sit 18th in the world rankings, one place behind USA.
Anscombe believes his side have a strong chance of overtaking their neighbours, starting with a positive result on Saturday.
"We're clearly the underdogs, but look at all sport around the world and underdogs do come through," he said.
"There are surprises and upsets every week. Who expected the All Blacks to lose that 18-match wining streak? And bang, they got absolutely smashed.
"That's what happens sometimes. That's the beauty of sport and that's why people turn out and watch it."
"What success is for us is being able to execute what we can do."
