Posted on June 5: McMaster well represented on Under 21 Rugby World Cup roster

Six members of the 2002 OUA Championship McMaster Rugby team have each earned one of 26 spots on the Canadian Under 21 Rugby World Cup
roster. Marauders Rob Ashwood, Mike Blakey, Aaron Carpenter, Dan Pletch, Mike Pletch, and Steve Shortly where each selected to compete for Team Canada.

McMaster players comprise 23 per cent (six of 26) of the team, and 75 per cent of the Ontario born players (six of eight) on the roster. The 2003 IRB U21 World Cup will take place in the Oxfordshire region of England from June 13 to 29.

This will be Canada's first appearance at the prestigious and highly
competitive 12-nation tournament. The inaugural IRB U21 World Cup took
place in South Africa in 2002 where the host nation defeated Australia in the final. The tournament begins with pool matches, starting on June 13 (Canada vs. Argentina) and continuing to June 17 (Canada vs. South Africa) and June 21 (Canada vs. Scotland). Semi-Finals will be played on June 25 with the finals and ranking positional matches taking place on June 29. For more about the IRB U21 World Cup visit http://www.irbu21.com/

Player bio information

Rob Ashwood: 5'10″, 185 lb. Scrum half from Utopia, Ontario. Ashwood was a rookie on the McMaster varsity team in 2002.

Mike Blakey: 5'10″, 212 lb. Hook from Port Perry, Ontario. Blakey is a rookie on the McMaster varsity team in 2002.

Aaron Carpenter: 6'0″, 230 lb. Back row player from Brantford, Ontario. Carpenter was the OUA Rookie of the Year and First Team OUA All Star in 2002.

Dan Pletch: 5'11″, 235 lb. Prop from Lucan, Ontario. Dan was an OUA
All-Star in his rookie season at McMaster in 2002.

Mike Pletch: 5'11″, 235 lb. Prop from Lucan, Ontario. Mike is the twin
brother of Dan Pletch and was a rookie on the McMaster varsity team in
2002.

Steve Shortly: 6'0″, 230 lb. Centre from Port Perry, Ontario. Shortly was an OUA All-Star in his rookie season at McMaster in 2002.

Republish this Article for Free

Republish this Article

We believe in the free flow of information. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivs 2.5 Canada (CC BY-ND 2.5 CA), so you can republish our articles for free, online or in print.

All republished articles must be attributed in the following way and contain links to both the site and original article: “This article was first published on Daily News. Read the original article.”

Six members of the 2002 OUA Championship McMaster Rugby team have each earned one of 26 spots on the Canadian Under 21 Rugby World Cup<br />
roster. Marauders Rob Ashwood, Mike Blakey, Aaron Carpenter, Dan Pletch, Mike Pletch, and Steve Shortly where each selected to compete for Team Canada.<p><br />
<br />
McMaster players comprise 23 per cent (six of 26) of the team, and 75 per cent of the Ontario born players (six of eight) on the roster. The 2003 IRB U21 World Cup will take place in the Oxfordshire region of England from June 13 to 29.<p><br />
<br />
This will be Canada&#039;s first appearance at the prestigious and highly<br />
competitive 12-nation tournament. The inaugural IRB U21 World Cup took<br />
place in South Africa in 2002 where the host nation defeated Australia in the final. The tournament begins with pool matches, starting on June 13 (Canada vs. Argentina) and continuing to June 17 (Canada vs. South Africa) and June 21 (Canada vs. Scotland).  Semi-Finals will be played on June 25 with the finals and ranking positional matches taking place on June 29. For more about the IRB U21 World Cup visit <a href="http://www.irbu21.com/">http://www.irbu21.com/</a><p><br />
<br />
<b>Player bio information</b><p><br />
<br />
Rob Ashwood: 5&#039;10", 185 lb. Scrum half from Utopia, Ontario. Ashwood was a rookie on the McMaster varsity team in 2002.<p><br />
<br />
Mike Blakey: 5&#039;10", 212 lb. Hook from Port Perry, Ontario.  Blakey is a rookie on the McMaster varsity team in 2002.<p><br />
<br />
Aaron Carpenter: 6&#039;0", 230 lb. Back row player from Brantford, Ontario. Carpenter was the OUA Rookie of the Year and First Team OUA All Star in 2002.<p><br />
<br />
Dan Pletch: 5&#039;11", 235 lb. Prop from Lucan, Ontario. Dan was an OUA<br />
All-Star in his rookie season at McMaster in 2002.<p><br />
<br />
Mike Pletch: 5&#039;11", 235 lb. Prop from Lucan, Ontario. Mike is the twin<br />
brother of Dan Pletch and was a rookie on the McMaster varsity team in<br />
2002.<p><br />
<br />
Steve Shortly: 6&#039;0", 230 lb. Centre from Port Perry, Ontario.  Shortly was an OUA All-Star in his rookie season at McMaster in 2002.

Media Enquiries

Phone: (905) 525-9140 ext. 24073
Email: comms@mcmaster.ca

The Communications and Public Affairs Office is staffed from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.

The University has a broadcast quality television studio to facilitate live and pre-recorded interviews with media. Learn more about our experts.