Canada arrived in New Zealand with a World Cup winner at the helm, a homegrown 麻豆社国产rugby professional on board and the belief that it was ready to take on the world's best.
And so it did.
"The Canadians not only opened some eyes, they also won some hearts and hopefully some much-needed support at home," said James Gray, who grew up playing rugby in New Zealand.
"Considering their ranking coming into the tournament, they performed extremely well - they were competitive in every game they played and defeated Tonga, which came as a surprise to everyone."
The 14th-ranked Canadians faced daunting competition in Pool A, with matches against No. 1-ranked New Zealand, No. 4 France, No. 12 Tonga and 13th-ranked Japan.
Less than one-third of Canada's World Cup squad plays rugby professionally. The rest are domestic-based amateur players who get by on a modest monthly stipend given to elite athletes by the federal government.
Jamie Cudmore, who grew up in Squamish, is one of the six. A talented lock, Cudmore plays rugby overseas in the French Top 14, one of the top leagues in the world. The 2011 Rugby World Cup was his third World Cup and the Canadian coach, Kieran Crowley, was thrilled that Cudmore was able to play in the tournament.
During matches, commentators commended Cudmore on his "solid play and sheer physicality."
Crowley, a member of the New Zealand All Blacks squad that won the World Cup in 1987, has scoured Canada for talent since taking over as coach in early 2008.
He told New Zealand media that coaching in Canada is a lot different from New Zealand, where up-and-coming rugby players have ample opportunity to devote their life to the sport.
"They're some of the best pros I've ever met in terms of their training ethic, but they just don't get paid," he said of his Canadian players.
Crowley compares rugby in Canada to ice hockey in New Zealand.
"You're not expected to perform miracles by the general public, but you still have expectation within the rugby community to perform."
Placed in arguably the toughest pool in the World Cup, Canada performed well, beating Tonga 25-20, losing to France 46-19, and tying Japan 23-23. In their match against the All Blacks on Sunday (Oct. 2), Canada led 3-0 for a short five-minute span before New Zealand took control and won 79-15. The Canadian team scored two tries and fans throughout the stadium were cheering wildly.
Despite their fourth-place finish in Pool A, competing teams, New Zealand media and fans have been impressed by the bearded Canadian team's heart and physicality.
"The Canadians have shown in this Rugby World Cup just what they are capable of, including a good win over Tonga and the hard-fought draw against Japan," All Blacks coach Graham Henry told the Dominion Post.
And Canadians aren't the only ones cheering in red and white. At every Canadian game, the Fanzone in Wellington was chock full of Canucks and their new recruits.
Sarah Gray, who grew up in Wellington, was dressed in red and waved a Canadian flag as she cheered on Canada in its game against Japan.
"I just decided to adopt a second team to cheer for and the Canadians have been so courageous and fun with their crazy beards and stuff - they just seemed like the ideal second favourite," she said.
"A lot of Kiwis have grown fond of the team since the tournament started and except for in their game against the All Blacks, I'll cheer them on."
Former Chief reporter Meagan Robertson now lives and works in Wellington, New Zealand.
