Two Canadian players have made a lasting impression on the history of Newport RFC to the eternal gratitude of its supporters: Gareth Rees and Rod Snow. Their records can be found elsewhere in the Players Section of the History Site. The significance of their contribution to rugby at Newport and in Wales generally was recognised by the publication of two articles in the WRU's official match programme for the Wales v Canada fixture at the Millenium Stadium on 16th November 2002.

The first article deals principally with Gareth Rees, the second with Rod Snow and another Canadian player, John Tait, at Cardiff.

"WE'LL KEEP A WELCOME"

"BY CHRIS JONES London Evening Standard"

"Gareth Rees, as his name implies, has a strong connection with Wales. His father was born in Llantrisant, his grandfather lived and died in Cardiff and as a young lad he was brought up listening to the tales of the exiled Welsh mafia who visited his Canadian home."

"Rees returns to Cardiff today, not as a player with the goal kicking skill to break Welsh hearts as he did in 1993, but as the new Chief Executive Officer of Rugby Canada. It has been a hugely significant appointment for Rees and a Canadian rugby system that has seen too many years of in-fighting and too little of the playing success that made the Canuks the surprise package of the 1991 Rugby World Cup."

"At the heart of that Canadian team, which eventually lost in a rain-soaked quarter-final to New Zealand in Lille, was Rees. He is the only man to have played in all four World Cups and he will be there in Australia next year to register his fifth appearance, although it will be as a member of the team management rather man as captain."

"Sure, I would love to play in another one, but four's not bad!" said Rees, who Welsh fans will remember as Newport's leading points scorer during his spell ,at Rodney Parade."

"I thought twice about taking my new job because it was a big decision. I have tremendous support from Graham Brown, the chief operating officer, and he has come from ice hockey here in Canada while I have spent the last ten years, playing rugby in the UK."

"We face some huge challenges but there are also huge opportunities. The lessons I have learnt from playing abroad means I can use that experience to take the game forward. Getting a tri-nations annual tournament with England and the US is a big step forward for us because we just haven't had regular competition, except against the Eagles."

"There will be referee, youth and coaching clinics running alongside the tournament and that will be a big boost for our rugby. I get nervous at this time because the World Cup is only a year away and having played in four of them, you want to do everything you can to ensure the squad is in the best possible shape for Australia."

"Canada have struggled to match the highpoints that Rees and his prolific boot registered on the world stage and that 26-24 win over Wales at the old National Ground was hugely significant for one of the lesser rugby nations. Rees has seen a video of the final conversion of the match he managed to get over and he was embarrassed to see himself mouthing "Dad, Dad" as he raised his arms in triumph."

"His father, Alan, who has held almost every post in the Canadian rugby system, was watching from the stands that day, one that also brings back sad memories for Rees. His grandfather was seriously ill in a Cardiff hospital at that time and subsequendy died."

"My grandfather, Dan, would have loved the fact that I had come back and put one over on Wales with that kick."

"I had missed a similar penalty ten minutes earlier and I had topped it. All I remember is going through the mental preparation and saying 'don't miss it like the last one' and then I chipped it over without a follow through."

"On my lips you can see I am yelling 'Dad, Dad' which is the corniest thing ever! I didn't realise I had done that at the time. My father was in the stand and I had grown up hearing Max Boyce songs and about the Gareth Edwards try in 1973 and to go to Cardiff and win with Canada was a completion of sorts . We proved ourselves against Wales."

"I understood the Welsh psyche through my Dad and in Victoria, where I grew up, there was a Welsh mafia of school teachers who had come over to work and they all got involved in rugby. My father, who grew up in Barry and played football for Cardiff City, was also a teacher and it was pretty neat."

"My uncle lives in Resolven and I see my cousins as often as I can."

"Wales will play a key role in getting the Canadian squad up to speed for the World Cup thanks to the home this country has given to players from across the North Atlantic. Word of mouth spread amongst those Canadian players who are plying their rugby trade abroad and the Welsh game has become a preferred choice."

"Rees made the move to Newport during a career that also included London Wasps and Harlequins and understands why so many of his top players are in Wales. He explained; "Rod Snow came to Newport because I was already at the club and Dan Baugh joined Cardiff to be in the same squad as John Tait and we have seen that at a number of clubs in Wales."

"We all had good experiences there and told the others about our time and Wales has always supported Canada. Wales have made tours and been ready to help out. I also think that Wales has benefited from being able to tap into a rugby resource of good quality players with an excellent work ethic."

"What we lack in experience we make up for with heart and commitment and, in the professional game, that's more valuable because you can learn the rest. If you are willing to die for the cause, be it for your country or your club, then that's a pretty good starting point!"

"It takes a big commitment from the Canadian players because they don't have their families around and they rely, very often, on their wives or girlfriends who have to be just as committed to the idea of living abroad. People forget about how important this is. Our top players have to leave home to show everyone what they really can do in all kinds of sports."

"I loved my time with Newport but they were at a low ebb when I joined. I went back recently and the club has come on tremendously well in every way. They were in transition during my time at the club - fighting to stay alive in the mud at Aberavon. I was at Oxford University at the time and it was a real contrast."

"Being a 'transplanted' Welshman, it was great to see a community getting behind their rugby club."

"Just like the crowd will acknowledge the adopted "Welsh-Canadians" on duty today."

"MADE IN WALES"

"BY MATT LLOYD South Wales Echo"

"Forwards Rod Snow and John Tait may have been born in Canada, but both readily admit that they were made in Wales."

"Raised in North America on a staple of ice-hockey and basketball - guess which sport favoured either - neither ever foresaw a minority sport such as rugby as their route to success."

"Both sought sporting glory via another path before taking up rugby late on in their teens."

"But since treading a path to these shores, neither has given a hockey puck a second glance."

"After tentative beginnings, Snow and Tait soon took to life in the Valleys like Grizzlies to the Rockies."

"And now the pair enjoy a near cult status among the faithful at Rodney Parade and Arms Park, respectively, as well as high regard around the rugby circuit."

"It has been a pretty good situation all round really," said Tait, who arrived at Cardiff in 1997 after being spotted playing for a Canada Development XV against the touring Wales side."

"I have given my best to Cardiff and rugby here in Wales and in return my family and I have been treated very well. Not just by Cardiff, but by everyone in general in Wales."

"So much so that my brother (Luke) is now coming through the Welsh system, having played all his rugby here."

"Certainly the time Snow and Tait have so far spent in Wales has been a mutually beneficial one."

"The once-exalted reputation of Wales for producing hardened scrummaging forwards was enough to convince both that here was the ideal stamping ground in which to learn their trade."

"In return, their uncompromising style, fiercely guarded national pride and unremitting loyalty went down well with the Welsh public."

"I knew a little bit about the Welsh national team but to be honest I had no idea about the Welsh League," admitted Snow, who was convinced to sign for Newport in 1996 by compatriot Gareth Rees - a pioneer for the stream of Canucks in Cymru."

"Gareth told me I would enjoy Wales and that it was a great breeding ground for forwards."

"So I thought it would be a &ood challenge for me. I had played at the 1995 World Cup but I was still relatively new to front-row play; in fact I had only been playing the game since I was 17."

"As it turned out it was the best move of my life. I loved the physical side to the game here and I think at one time the Welsh League was probably the most physical around."

"It was tough at first. Everyone wanted to welcome me to Wales but not always in the nicest way on the pitch. But that is just part of the game and the opposition were just seeing what I was made of. I'm quite happy with the answer I gave them."

"Indeed, Snow and Tait have established reputations, not based on big-money transfers or far-flung glories abroad, but on their hard toil and graft on the domestic club front."

"And that has had subsequent benefits for the perception, and even development, of the sport in their homeland."

"Tait said: "Certainly it has been a two-way bonus to have players like myself, Rod and Dan (Baugh) playing here in Wales."

"It has really developed my game to a higher standard than I ever could in Canada, where the game is still amateur, and helped me secure my place in the national team."

"But it has also worked well for the profile of Canadian rugby to have us over here playing at a high club level."

"Back home we would be big fish in a small pond but here I have played alongside world-class players such as Dai Young and am constantly learning - even now still."

"Today, however, those friendships and club loyalties are put on the back shelf with national pride at stake. Not that either Tait or Snow will mind the added spice of locking horns with a familiar foe - or an even more familiar friend."

"Snow said excitedly: "If I get the chance to play against Chris (Anthony) it would make things very interesting indeed, especially as we would go head to head on that side of the scrum."

"And I would love to get my hands on Andy (Marinos)."

"And what if tempers did boil over in the heat of the moment? Would the normally calm Tait use his giant 6' 8" frame to quell any spats among friends?"

"No," he joked, "if it did all start off then I'll go straight for Rhys Williams."

"Let's hope, for the diminutive Cardiff full-back's sake at least, that Tait is one Canadian who does not get his man."

N.B. Wales won the game 32 v 21.