Canada Hold On for 19-16 Win Over USA and 3rd Place at Pacific Nations Cup

It was a tense game with an equally tense finish, USA bashing the line with time expired, Lucas Rumball imposing himself at the breakdown to dislodge the ball and Liam James kicking it out to end the match. Canada looked good in the first quarter, they went ahead 12-0, they looked in full control. USA turned it around in the 2nd quarter with a try and penalty goal, 12-10 at the half. USA went ahead on a penalty to start the second half but Canada ended the 3rd quarter with their 3rd try, by Jesse Kilgour. Canada then held on in the 4th quarter just giving up one penalty. It was 3 tries to 1 for Canada with USA kicking 3 penalties to keep it close. At one point in the 3rd quarter it was 11 handling errors for Canada to 2 for USA. Canada made it difficult for themselves but in the end they claimed the victory.

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Fiji 45 – Canada 29: Canada Give Better Performance After Falling Behind 14-0 in First Five Minutes

It was a better performance by Canada, a -16 loss this year compared to -53 last year against Fiji. Canada didn’t make it easy on themselves going down 7-0 in the first 30 seconds and 14-0 in the opening five minutes. Canada did show some composure after that and put together some phases with Mason Flesch crossing the line for a 14-7 scoreline which held until 23 minutes. A prop dropping a pass gave Fiji a counter-attack opportunity which they finished off with flair, 19-7. A scrum penalty gave Fiji their next chance, finished off from a lineout play, 26-7. Canada got one back before the half, Sion Parry, on the outside scored, 26-17, as McMullin had slotted a penalty in before that. Not a bad result for Canada, again errors had gifted the opposition scoring tries, a blocked box kick, a dropped ball, a scrum penalty all leading to Fiji tries. McMullin looked solid, Parry had a try and a poach, Jones was managing the game well when Canada had possession. The scrum started going backwards when Steeves came off due to injury. The lineout was hit and miss, the final stat for the match was 67% lineout success for Canada, not good enough yet.

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Japan 31 – Canada 7 at the Half: Final 57-12 for Japan

Not much to say, the game was over by the half. Takoda McMullin had some good moments and scored the first try. Izzak Kelly had a few strong runs. Canada gifted a couple of tries to Japan from simple errors. Japan dominated the scrums and lineouts. Disappointing overall, the last two results against Japan were -42 and -27, this -45 speaks for itself. The match commentary is below from last night and the Rugby Canada summary article published this morning.

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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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