Canada Fall to Belgium 25-18 After Leading 13-12 at Halftime in Stephen Meehan Coaching Debut
Two first half tries by Josiah Morra and Andrew Quattrin saw Canada ahead 13-12 at halftime. Canada were the better team in the first half but couldn’t finish off plays and conceded two soft tries to Belgium. Belgium gained confidence from this while Canada went into panic mode in the second half, compounding their errors. Belgium owned the second half going ahead 25-13 from a try and two penalties. Canada scored a consolation try at the whistle for a 25-18 final.
It sets a sombre tone on Canada’s chances going into the World Cup qualifying, they need to improve dramatically and quickly.
Rugby Canada opened their article with the line “a promising first showing under new head coach Stephen Meehan”, the first step should be honesty, this was not a promising first showing. This was a promising first half with lots of possession squandered with handling errors and a second half of panic with poor decision making and poor work rate at the breakdown.
Canada were ahead 13-12 at the half and should have been ahead by more as they had the possession and territory. Belgium’s first try was just a poor defensive read by the Canada backline who pinched in, too eager for the big play. Belgium’s second try was slow support at the breakdown, a turnover, and a counter attack. Both were weak tries from a Canada perspective. Belgium gained confidence from the first half while Canada went into panic mode, Belgium clearly won the second half.
When Gareth Rees interviewed new coach Stephen Meehan he asked what the new coach’s philosophy was for the team, the answer “the philosophy is to allow the players to express themselves”, that sounds more like an improv theatre group, how about, “feel pride in the little things done right”, because Canada are not doing the little things right. Frankly the performance, especially in the second half was awful, slow to the break down, slow in support, poor work rate, slow ball, too many handling errors, trying for big plays instead of doing little things right.
Two plays in the second half come to mind, both led to turnovers and eventually a Belgium try. The Hail Mary pass out to Josiah Morra that went out of bounds, the other a 5 on 3 attack out wide where a player tried another Hail Mary pass, got hit while trying the big wind up to the outside player and Belgium countered and scored. Both those plays happened around the 50 minute mark and turned the game around. If the attitude was “do the little things right” instead of “express yourself”, maybe there would be a more work-like performance with less unforced errors.
Harsh but Canada have the talent, they don’t have the confidence and mental framework for success currently at the men’s national level. If they focused on getting the little things right, winning the breakdowns, supporting line breaks, stop trying 50/50 passes, playing in the right part of the field, then maybe they would have more success.
As for standout players, in the forwards second row Piers Von Dadelszen stood out with a line break and good work at the lineout. In the backs Josiah Morra was the best player on the day.
from Rugby Canada
A promising first showing under new head coach Stephen Meehan ended in a narrow defeat for Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team, who fell 25-18 to Belgium in a hard-fought contest at Clarke Stadium on Saturday evening.
Despite matching Belgium with three tries apiece and controlling long stretches of possession and territory, Canada were undone by a clinical Belgian counterattack and some crucial moments that didn’t fall their way.
Wing Josiah Morra, hooker Andrew Quattrin and replacement Siôn Parry crossed the try line for the Canadians, who fielded a youthful squad that included test debuts for fullback Brenden Black and substitute Kyle Tremblay. Halifax’s Cooper Coats added a first-half penalty.
Belgium – ranked one spot above Canada at No. 23 in the World Rugby Rankings heading into the match – made the most of limited opportunities, scoring three tries and adding a pair of late penalty goals from Hugo de Francq to keep the hosts at arm’s length.
“It was a first run-out with the new setup we’re running, and it’s really exciting,” said second row Piers Von Dadelszen, who earned Teck Player of the Match honours. “There’s a lot we can take away from this – a few passes not sticking, and Belgium were awesome on the counterattack – but that’s how we want to play. We’re trying to bring a more exciting brand of rugby to Canadian fans, and we’re looking forward to it all coming together going forward.”
Canada opened the scoring in the 7th minute with a penalty-kick from Coats, before Belgium responded with a converted try from centre Florian Remue, set up by a line-breaking run from his brother Matias. A clever chip from Coats over the top led to Morra’s first test try in the 22nd minute, but Belgium struck back three minutes later with a try of their own.
Quattrin’s try from a rolling maul just past the half-hour mark gave Canada a narrow 13-12 lead at halftime, but the second half saw momentum swing repeatedly. A yellow card to Belgium’s Remue appeared to give Canada the edge, but the visitors capitalized even while down a man, with Soenen finishing off a cross-field kick following an interception to restore their advantage.
A pair of second-half penalties allowed Belgium to extend their lead, while Canada continued to press, eventually breaking through in the final play through Parry and ending the match with Canada’s third and final try.
Captain Lucas Rumball acknowledged the disappointment post-match but struck a note of optimism.
“We’re pretty gutted,” said Rumball. “We created some opportunities, but credit to Belgium – when we made mistakes, they capitalized. There’s a lot of potential here. We just have to get things right and keep building. Thanks to the fans here in Edmonton for coming out and supporting us.”
Saturday’s match marked Belgium’s first-ever victory over Canada in four test meetings and their first time scoring points against the Canadians since 2021.
Meehan handed opportunities to several emerging players, with only five members of the match day 23 bringing more than 20 test caps into the game. The experience is expected to serve the group well as they continue building toward the upcoming Pacific Nations Cup.
CANADA SCORING SUMMARY
Tries: Josiah Morra (22’), Andrew Quattrin (32’), Sion Perry (80’)
Penalty Goals: Cooper Coats (7’)
UP NEXT FOR CANADA’S MEN’S RUGBY TEAM
Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team will complete their two-match home series at Edmonton’s Clarke Stadium with a clash against Spain on Friday, July 18. Kick-off against the 16th-ranked Los Leones is scheduled for 7:00pm MT (9:00pm ET / 6:00pm PT).
Canada Match 23 Announced for Belgium Contest in Edmonton on Saturday – First Match Under New Head Coach Stephen Meehan
The match 23 for Stephen Meehan’s first game as head coach has been released today. There are 12 players returning from Canada’s last match against Romania in November. Those are Cali Martinez and Andrew Quattrin in the front row, Izzak Kelly, Matt Heaton, Lucas Rumball, Matt Oworu, Callum Botchar, Sion Parry in the forwards, in the backs Brock Gallagher, Cooper Coats, Peter Nelson, Noah Flesch.
Cole Keith returns to tighthead prop with Conor Young still on the injured list. Piers Von Dadelszen gets the start with Izzak Kelly in the engine room with Callum Botchar as the impact player. The loose forward assignments are mixed up a bit from MLR form, Lucas Rumball is openside instead of #8, Matt Heaton moves to blindside flanker from openside and Matt Oworu gets the start at #8.
The halfbacks are Brock Gallagher and Cooper Coats. That answers the question of who is #10, it was going to be Peter Nelson or Cooper Coats with the extended list published. Peter Nelson is in the reserves to play #10 or #15 when required. The centres are Talon McMullin and Noah Flesch, the wingers Josiah Morra and Isaac Olson. At the back is the young Brenden Black, perhaps the surprise selection on the day as he wasn’t even in the 42 player list published in June.
The reserve front row is Dewald Kotze at hooker, no surprise there, Foster Dewitt who can play prop or hooker and Kyle Steeves. Sion Parry is the reserve loose forward, Jason Higgins the reserve scrum half, and Kyle Tremblay the reserve centre/wing. It’s a 5/3 split on the bench.
Missing and possibly being saved for the Spain match are Evan Olmstead, Mason Flesch, Ben Lesage. Kickoff is 4pm PT on Saturday.
Canada Roster
1. Calixto Martinez (White Rock, BC) – Bayside RFC / Old Glory DC
2. Andrew Quattrin (Holland Landing, ON) – Aurora Barbarians / New England Free Jacks
3. Cole Keith (Sussex NB) – Belleisle Rovers RFC / New England Free Jacks
4. Piers Von Dadelszen (Vancouver, BC) – New England Free Jacks
5. Izzak Kelly (White Rock, BC) – Bayside RFC / Capilano RFC
6. Matt Heaton (Godmanchester, QC) – Ormstown Saracens / RFC LA
7. Lucas Rumball (Scarborough, ON) – Balmy Beach Rugby Club / Chicago Hounds
8. Matthew Oworu (Calgary, AB) – Pacific Pride / Chicago Hounds
9. Brock Gallagher (Edmonton, AB) – Strathcona Druids RFC / Seattle Seawolves
10. Cooper Coats (Halifax, NS) – Halifax Tars RFC / NOLA Gold
11. Josiah Morra (Toronto, ON) – (Scarborough, ON) – New England Free Jacks / Toronto Saracens
12. Talon McMullin (White Rock, BC) – University of British Columbia
13. Noah Flesch (Cobourg, ON) – Cobourg Saxons / Chicago Hounds
14. Isaac Olson (Vernon, BC) – New England Free Jacks
15. Brenden Black (Oakville, ON) – Oakville Crusaders / University of Guelph
FINISHERS
16. Dewald Kotze (Edmonton, AB) – Strathcona Druids RFC / Seattle Seawolves
17. Foster Dewitt (Courtenay, BC) – New England Free Jacks / Westshore RFC
18. Kyle Steeves (Winnipeg, MB) – Winnipeg Wombats / New England Free Jacks
19. Callum Botchar (Vancouver, BC) – James Bay AA / NOLA Gold
20. Siôn Parry (Cardiff, WAL) – Rhiwbina RFC / Ebbw Vale RFC
21. Jason Higgins (Cork, IRE) – Cork Constitution / Chicago Hounds
22. Peter Nelson (Dungannon, NI) – Dungannon RFC
23. Kyle Tremblay (White Rock, BC) – Bayside RFC / Pacific Pride
from Rugby Canada
Thursday July 10, 2025 (Edmonton, AB) – Stephen Meehan has selected his roster, the first as Head Coach of Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team, for Saturday’s test match against Belgium in Edmonton.
Playing on the pitch inside Clarke Stadium, Canada and Belgium will kick off on Saturday, July 12 at 5:00pm MT / 7:00pm ET. The match will be available to watch live on TSN2 and TSN+.
“We’ve been really pleased with our week of preparation,” stated Meehan. “The players have trained very hard and that has created a lot of energy and healthy competition as they’ve all tried to earn a spot in the match day twenty-three. Belgium will challenge us right across the pitch, but we are well prepared. Looking forward to Saturday and seeing how the players perform in front of the home crowd here in Edmonton.”
Veteran back row Lucas Rumball once again serves as captain for the Canadian side while Hooker Andrew Quattrin has been named the team’s vice captain for the match. Halifax’s Cooper Coats, who has 17 caps for Canada predominately at fullback, starts at flyhalf for the first time.
After making his international rugby debut with Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team earlier this year, Brenden Black has been selected to start at fullback and will win his first 15s cap. Kyle Tremblay, from White Rock, BC, starts on the bench for Canada and could also earn his first cap for the Canadian men’s 15s team.
Ben Lesage, who has been mainstay in the centres for Canada over the recent years, has been ruled out of the Belgium match as he works his way back from an injury.
Stephen Meehan’s coaching career began with a misstep. The team was poorly positioned on the field, with too many young players in key positions, a terrible scrum half, centers, and fullback, lacking ideas, slow, and disjointed. Stop the experiments. Canada is not New Zealand; it doesn’t have many high-level players, and the few that do decide to play for other national teams. Mr. Ascombe was enough; whoever coaches the Canadian national team must have clear ideas and a lot of pride.
When Gareth Rees interviewed new coach Stephen Meehan he asked what the new coach’s philosophy was for the team, the answer “the philosophy is to allow the players to express themselves”
How about win first express yourself second.
Wow, common theme, Canadian Player play international player to get better competition to get better, makes sense.
Canadian clubs used to tour to play international clubs to get better, test themselves and learn from other international clubs.
Financially it is becoming prohibitive to tours so Canadian clubs are not able to get better, test themselves and learn from other international clubs.
However Canada is a great place for import players who want to come to play and seek PR. They also bring their skills and talent to Canadian clubs. Benefits the economy, the Rugby Clubs and immigration.
Now I understand that BC Rugby League has limited imports, gone Tribalism (to protect Canadian Players, since when did Canadian Players ask for protection?) All to protect certain clubs poor showing in the standing. The Glory days are over, time to move on!! These are not god reason to limit import. My understand was the import rules were lifted in the past because it was to to get better competition at the Premier league so the player could get better competition ( I believe this policy came from BC Rugby Technical
director at the time). This is disgraceful!!!!
Incoherent. Proof-read just one time before pressing the “Post Comment” button.