Canada Travelling Roster to Japan Missing Evan Olmstead, Tyler Ardron and Cooper Coats
The Canada men’s XVs roster travelling to Japan has been posted but not by Rugby Canada, at the time of writing, but by the Japan Rugby Union. We knew Evan Olmstead wasn’t travelling but also now we’ve discovered that Tyler Ardron and Cooper Coats won’t be travelling as well. The discovery of the Japan Rugby Union page can be credited to Bryan Ray who posted it on X.
The roster reveals that Austin Creighton might be in line for his first cap. Without Cooper Coats it will either be Peter Nelson or Shane O’Leary running the backline from #10 with the other likely taking the fullback position. The Japan game is probably viewed as a bridge to far, especially on the road, but if Canada can get a bonus point out of the match it will be considered a win and ensure their trip to the World Cup in 2027.
| Position | full name | Affiliated team | date of birth | Height (cm) |
Weight (kg) |
Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | Callum BOTCHAR | NOLA Gold | October 3, 1997 | 196 | 112 | 6 |
| Forward | Austin CREIGHTON | Pacific Pride | June 6, 2000 | 188 | 104 | – |
| Forward | Mason FLESCH | Chicago Hounds | 1999/11/18 | 196 | 109 | 14 |
| Forward | Matt Heaton | RFC Los Angeles | February 9, 1993 | 189 | 102 | 36 |
| Forward | Cole Keith | New England Free Jacks | May 7, 1997 | 183 | 117 | 38 |
| Forward | Izzak Kelly | Capilano | April 9, 2000 | 199 | 125 | 8 |
| Forward | Dewald KOTZE | Seattle Seawolves | June 14, 1997 | 183 | 112 | 7 |
| Forward | Jesse MacKail | Seattle Seawolves | May 18, 1996 | 185 | 109 | 4 |
| Forward | Calixto MARTINEZ | Old Glory DC | 1996/10/13 | 174 | 114 | 9 |
| Forward | Matthew OWORU | Chicago Hounds | July 29, 2000 | 186 | 110 | 11 |
| Forward | Siôn PARRY | Ebbw Vale (WAL) | 1998/10/29 | 180 | 90 | 10 |
| Forward | Emerson Prior | Utah Warriors | June 4, 1998 | 189 | 118 | 2 |
| Forward | Lucas RUMBALL | Chicago Hounds | August 2, 1995 | 189 | 105 | 61 |
| Forward | Kyle STEEVES | New England Free Jacks | 2000/1/31 | 183 | 122 | 4 |
| Forward | Piers VON DADELSZEN | New England Free Jacks | March 25, 2000 | 193 | 105 | 7 |
| Forward | Conor YOUNG | RFC Los Angeles | August 15, 1995 | 188 | 123 | 12 |
| BK | Nic BENN | Utah Warriors | 2001/4/28 | 188 | 93 | 7 |
| BK | Brenden BLACK | Guelph Gryphons | 2004/4/28 | 186 | 90 | 1 |
| BK | Noah FLESCH | Chicago Hounds | 2003/2/12 | 188 | 94 | 5 |
| BK | Brock Gallagher | Seattle Seawolves | July 13, 1998 | 178 | 84 | 7 |
| BK | Jason HIGGINS | Chicago Hounds | March 28, 1995 | 185 | 90 | 22 |
| BK | Spencer Jones | Utah Warriors | July 17, 1997 | 185 | 98 | 8 |
| BK | Ben Lesage | New England Free Jacks | 1995/11/24 | 184 | 95 | 38 |
| BK | Josiah MORRA | New England Free Jacks | February 7, 1998 | 178 | 85 | 8 |
| BK | Peter Nelson | Dungannon (UK) | 1992/10/5 | 180 | 87 | 29 |
| BK | Shane O’LEARY | Miami Sharks | December 3, 1993 | 178 | 88 | 14 |
| BK | Isaac OLSON | New England Free Jacks | July 1, 2000 | 191 | 103 | 7 |
| BK | Stephen WEBB | UBC Thunderbirds | 2005/12/15 | 179 | 84 | 1 |
Canada gained one ranking position after the USA win, moving from 25th to 24th in the world, the USA dropped from 16 to 18. Japan is ranked 13th.
