Meehan Names 32 Player Squad for September Tests in Japan

Stephen Meehan has named his 32 players list for three matches in Japan starting September 5th. It’s a different looking team compared to the summer squad, it is missing a number of first string players. Not on the September roster are Tyler Ardron, Evan Olmstead, Andrew Quattrin, mentioned in the RC release as not available “due to club commitments” but also missing are Cali Martinez, Cole Keith, Piers Von Dadelszen, Peter Nelson all starters. There are six starters missing from the team that narrowly defeated Zimbabwe in July. It’s going to be a tall order going from Zimbabwe to playing Japan, Fiji and possibly USA minus six starters.

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43 Players Named to Canada U20 Challenger Preparation Camp

Rugby Canada announced the attendees at the rugby camp at Shawnigan Lake that has been running since August 8th. There are 43 players attending and 30 will be selected for the trip to Chile in October. There’s no mention yet of a squad match at the end of the camp.

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Canada Defeat Zimbabwe 23-19: Peter Nelson Scores 13 from the Boot

It was a game that saw both teams score off opposition mistakes, Zimbabwe outscored Canada three tries to two but Peter Nelson’s boot was the difference for Canada. He was selected as player of the match. It was the first win under Meehan without Tyler Ardron in the roster but it was far from convincing. Canada led at the half 16-0 with three penalty kicks and a converted try. The try came at the half time whistle, Zimbabwe overthrew their lineout and Noah Flesch whipped the loose ball out to Cooper Coats on the outside who booted it down field. The Canadian chase caught up with the Zimbabwe defender and Canada won a penalty, a quick tap and chip kick by Nelson out to Mason Flesch on the wing saw the big man score the first try. The other Canadian try came at the 58′ mark when a Zimbabwe pass inside their 22 went to ground, Izzak Kelly picked it up and drove to the line, next phase saw Cali Martinez dive over. It was 23-7 for Canada with 20 minutes left and it appeared that Canada would finally impose themselves and drive the score up. That didn’t happen, Rumball went off with a HIA, subs came on and Zimbabwe scored two tries to make it a nail biting finish.

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Canada Leak Four Tries in Thirteen Minutes in 38-14 Loss to Portugal

Canada scored first and last but Portugal scored 38 unanswered points in between. Canada were in the game at the half, down 12-7 but they fell asleep in the 3rd quarter as Portugal scored four tries between 42′ and 55′ and the game went from 12-7 to 38-7, from a competitive match to a blowout in 13 minutes. For the second week in a row the Canadian backline was a defensive liability, all Portugal’s tries were scored by the backs, two from the inside centre, two from the wing, one from the outside centre and one from the scrum half. Canada were missing their two top players Tyler Ardron and Lucas Rumball and it showed, coach Meehan’s record is now 1-1-9 and without Tyler Ardron in the lineup it’s 0-9.

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Canada Draws with Spain 42-42: Last Minute Heroics to Claim 3 Points

It was a match of ups and downs. The highlight for Canada was the come from behind equalizer with time expired. That showed some character to put together multiple phases with no allowance for error. Noah Flesch ended up being the hero as he picked the ball up from the base of the ruck and decided to go himself, getting one of the few line breaks for Canada in the match. From there it went quickly to the outside where Tyler Ardron made the key pass to set Kyle Tremblay across the line. Takoda McMullin showed nerves of steel to take the conversion as Cooper Coats had been injured on the play. Noah may have been the last minute hero but it was his brother Mason who was selected player of the match with two tries.

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Meehan Announces 32 Player Squad for Summer Nations Cup Matches: Tyler Ardron, Evan Olmstead and Cooper Coats All Available – Updates

UPDATES: Rob Povey out with injury, Lockie Kratz brought in as a replacement. Daragh Doyle U20 lock also brought in. Rob Povey has been ruled out due to injury which leaves Cooper Coats and Peter Nelson as #10 starting options in game #1 against Spain. Daragh Doyle was a late addition, he played second row for the U20 team last year. 

Stephen Meehan has named his 32 player squad for the summer Nations Cup matches against Spain, Portugal and Zimbabwe. The good news is the trio of Evan Olmstead, Tyler Ardron and Cooper Coats, who were instrumental in Canada’s only win under Meehan, are available.  All three have been missing from the Canada roster recently. Also good news is the return of Andrew Quattrin. There are a number of players missing from Meehan’s recent selections, Callum Botchar, Emerson Prior, Austin Creighton, James Naylor who were part of the November 2025 rosters didn’t get a mention in the injured/unavailable list. Botchar had earned a starting role with the Seattle Seawolves and Prior was outstanding in the BC v Ontario series. Brock Webster who has been outstanding with MLR champions Chicago Hounds has been marked unavailable/injured.

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Happy Canada Day 2026 – A Look Back at the Men’s 2025 Roster

With the Nations Cup kicking off on Saturday it seemed fitting to look at the men’s roster for 2025. This graphic is courtesy of the World Rugby media guide. The current Media Manager for Rugby Canada is Maxine O’Leary so I’m guessing she is responsible for putting this together. Well done!

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Spain and Zimbabwe Release Extended Rosters: Waiting on Rugby Canada – A Look at the November 2025 Rosters

As we wait for Canada’s extended roster announcement for their summer tests against Spain, Portugal and Zimbabwe we look at Canada’s last rosters from November 2025. We’re also collecting the rosters of the teams they’re playing against. Spain and Zimbabwe have released their extended rosters and we’ve appended those below. We’ll add Canada and Portugal when they’re released.

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Photos from Canada U20 Camp Intrasquad Match: Black v Silver

I dropped by Windsor Park today to catch the Canada U20 camp intrasquad match, Black v Silver. Team Black won handily, they were ahead at the half but poured it on in the second half when the subs came on. A lot of nervous play as players were keen to impress but sometimes tried to do too much themselves. Team Black adapted better to the team play and scored some nice tries, especially in the second half. There apparently will be a tour to South America, possibly in October, but that’s just tentative right now. Both USA and Fiji have been promoted to Tier 1 U20 so it scuppers the Oceania U20 tournament and the traditional home/away with the USA. I posted 44 photos to facebook, embedded below.

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Edmonton and Winnipeg Selected as Host Cities for Nations Cup Matches in July vs Spain, Portugal, Zimbabwe

Alberta returns as a favourite hosting choice for Rugby Canada, it hosted all three Canada matches last year. Calgary hosted the World Cup qualifier against USA in 2025, the win vaulted Canada into the 2027 World Cup. Edmonton hosted matches against Belgium and Spain in 2025, both losses, so hopefully Edmonton will taste victory this year as Portugal and Spain visit.

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