Titans prop leading Canada into battle
The Rugby League Commonwealth Championship kicks off at Broadwood Stadium in Cumbernauld, near Glasgow, on Friday, and one Canadian player has a huge responsibility resting on his shoulders.
James Iodice plays for NRL club Gold Coast Titans, and the former Australian ice hockey international, who was born in Montreal, will be leading the inexperienced Canadian squad into battle against England‘s experienced amateurs, the enthusiastic, rugby league-loving Papua New Guineans, and fellow dark horses South Africa.
While England and PNG will be expected to top Group B and reach the semi-finals, Iodice, 19, is proud to lead his diverse band of rugby union, ice hockey and Canadian football converts in the tournament.
Iodice moved to Australia when he was 11, and did play ice hockey for his adopted country. That is not quite the same as playing for Canada, he admits, though.
“I’d say I was a good hockey player by Australian standards but very average in Canada!” he smiled.
“I only started playing rugby when I was 14 and I got in the Queensland Under-15s so you could say I was a quick learner.
“I played again at Under-16s but the last two and half years have been lost to injury. I did my ACL and then needed operations on both shoulders.
“Injuries have taken a big toll on my career. I’ve hardly played a game for the Titans so it’s great just to be playing again, and pretty special to be over here with Canada.”
The prop trains full-time with the Titans, and flew by himself from Brisbane to Singapore to the UK for the tournament. His team-mates travelled from Vancouver to London, and then by bus to Scotland.
The Canadians are coached by Andy Blackburn, who played rugby league for the England and Great Britain Student sides, as well as rugby union. He has a good track record of coaching both codes of rugby in British Columbia, from where the majority of the Candian squad come.
“We know we are going to be up against it as nearly all our team are rugby union players who I picked as I thought they’d make good league players,” said Blackburn.
“But some of them haven’t played any games. We have trained maybe eight or ten times but after a while training is no good – we need to play against some opposition but there is no-one to play against in Vancouver.
“It’s like tip-toeing round the swimming pool over and over. Now we just need to jump in! When they do they’ll realise the water is not that cold!”
Blackburn knows that a big responsibility lies on the shoulders of young Iodice.
He added: “James is a great kid but he needs to be a leader out there and help the others to bring the best of them.”
