NORTH Shore rugby fans will be up late Tuesday night watching Canada play their first game of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
The game against Tonga is actually scheduled for Wednesday evening in Whangarei, New Zealand, but due to the massive time change will show up live on TSN at 10 p.m. PST Tuesday night.
Team Canada's Ryan Hamilton, Jason Marshall and Jamie Cudmore all have ties to the North Shore and the Capilano Rugby Club, giving local fans even more to cheer about.
Hamilton, a 23-year-old West Vancouver native, attended Rockridge secondary and played youth with Capilano before heading to the University of Victoria.
North Vancouver's Marshall, 26, is a Carson Graham graduate who played quarterback at SFU and was drafted into the CFL before returning to rugby with Capilano and the B.C. provincial team.
Cudmore is a Squamish native who suited up with Capilano before heading to France to play professionally.
Canada will meet France Sept. 18, Japan Sept. 27 and the host nation's famous AllBlacks Oct. 2 to finish opening round play. All of Canada's games will be shown live on TSN, as will the tournament semifinals and finals. All other games of the tournament will be shown live either on TSN2 or online at TSN.ca.
