Canada Announce 33 Players for November Tour – Coaching Changes, New Players, 13 BC Premier Players on Tour

Coach Stephen Meehan has named 33 players for the November tour to Europe to play Romania, Georgia and Portugal. A few early observations, Phil Mack isn’t mentioned in the coaching staff which seems to confirm rumours there was some falling out with Stephen Meehan and he’s not part of the coaching staff anymore. We’ve reached out to several sources for confirmation. The coaches are listed as forwards coach Anthony Mathison, the fellow Australian who seems to be Meehan’s right hand man, Graeme Moffat skills coach who is the head coach at the University of Lethbridge, and Callum Gibbins who is now listed as defence coach. Gibbins currently seems to be the head coach of the Conestoga Condors, a college in Kitchener, Ontario. He was previously a high level player from NZ, most recently playing with Old Glory in the MLR.

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Rugby Canada Formally Announce Three November Tests Against Romania, Georgia, and Portugal

This was information already known to the rugby community but Rugby Canada have made it official with an announcement and some more details. Hopefully it will be a chance for some new players to get evaluated at the international level. The coach’s team selections will give some insight on whether his actions match his words, “also giving opportunities to a few players who weren’t part of the Pacific Nations Cup but could play a key role in our World Cup campaign”. We’ll also be keeping an eye on the assistant coaching situation for the November tour as we’ve heard some rumours about changes there.

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Canada Fall to Tonga 35-24 to Finish 4th in Pacific Nations Cup

A better performance by Canada who were competitive in the match and there were some standout plays by key players, Matt Oworu for the second week in a row was probably the best Canadian player, he also scored a try. Brock Gallagher scored a brilliant solo try which was initially setup by strong work at the breakdown by Talon McMullin, winning Canada a penalty which put the ball in the Tonga zone. Peter Nelson put his body on the line to scored a try and that was setup by some slick play by Spencer Jones.

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Canada Demolished by Fiji 63-10 in Pacific Nations Semi-Final: Face Tonga Next Saturday for 3rd/4th

It wasn’t pretty and a bit painful to watch but it was a reality check of where Canada stacks up against a top 10 team. Canada has qualified for the World Cup but they’ll face better teams than Fiji in the pool round so they have a lot of work to do before 2027. In fairness they were missing a number of key players, Ardron and Rumball from the loose forwards, Olmstead in the second row, Coats, Webster and Coe in the backs, those players make a difference.

Canada’s tackle statistic in the match, according to the World Rugby Pacific Nations website, was a 66% tackle success rate and 155 tackles made. A 66% tackle success rate is not good, when Wales defeated Fiji in the 2023 World Cup they had to make 252 tackles.

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Canada Men Qualify for 2027 World Cup in Australia

It’s official from World Rugby, Canada has qualified for the 2027 Rugby World Cup. One extraordinary game, the win against USA, with the return of Tyler Ardron who scored 4 tries, and Evan Olmstead who was massive in the tight five. Canada have already exceeded their accomplishments from the 2023 World Cup cycle where they failed to qualify.

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Pacific Pride Roster for the Fall 2025 Premier Season

This is the Pacific Pride playing roster for the fall of the 2025-26 season. There are 29 players listed including five U20 players. Some of the players may move on to MLR in the spring season and new players may come in for the spring part of the season. We’ve also listed the Pride schedule as of August 2025. The first match will be September 13th at UVic.

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Canada Lose to Japan 57-15: Fail to Get Bonus Point in Loss

Canada missing their two pros from France, Tyler Ardron and Evan Olmstead, aren’t the same team, that is obvious after this match. Canada’s goal was to get a 4 try bonus point, regardless of win or loss, but they fell short and now have to wait for the USA v Japan result next weekend. A Japan win or a USA win without a bonus point will see Canada through to the PNC semis and a spot at the 2027 Rugby World Cup. A USA bonus point win will see Canada start over again, and have to go the long route to RWC qualification.

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Tyler Ardron Scores 4 Tries in Canada’s 34-20 Win Over USA

What a difference having Tyler Ardron and Evan Olmstead, the two pros playing in France, in the starting XV. Between the tries and the steals at the breakdowns and lineouts, they were massive in Canada’s performance. Also kudos to the new coach Stephen Meehan, who has created an environment where the pro players were motivated to suit up for Canada. It was a solid effort on both sides of the ball and Canada looked in control for most of the match and definitely in the second half where they outscored the USA 17-3.

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Rugby Canada Release List of 34 Players for Pacific Nations Cup Training Camp: Did They Omit a Couple of Important Names

Rugby Canada released a list of “34 players to Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team’s training camp in Calgary ahead of the Pacific Nations Cup” but it appears they’ve left off a couple of marquee players as we understand both Evan Olmstead and Tyler Ardron are in camp. We’re not sure of the reason for the omission but we’re expecting both Olmstead and Ardron to be in the match day roster against USA. We’ll wait and see on that.

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