Canada Name Men’s Team for SVNS 2 Tournament in Nairobi This Weekend – D’Shawn Bowen Returns
The Canada men’s 7s team starts its journey to get back to the top tier of 7s this weekend in Nairobi. There are 3 tournaments featuring 6 teams, the top 4 in the standings at the end of 3 tournaments go on to the championship series of tournaments. Canada will play Kenya, Germany, USA, Belgium, Uruguay in that order over 2 days. There is no playoff round, points are accumulated for wins and draws over the 3 tournaments.
The big news is that Canada are missing Thomas Isherwood, reportedly to injury, although there are no more details at the present time. Isherwood has been one of the top players for Canada in the SVNS 3 tournaments. Canada have brought back D’Shawn Bowen who has been playing XVs in Portugal. They have also brought in 2 university players Demetri Patterson from UBC and Reece Thompson from UVic.
Kickoff is on Friday evening on the west coast, the first match against Kenya at 11:50pm PT. Rugby Canada states it’s available on TSN+ for paid subscribers. Rugbypass.tv will stream it for free in other countries. The World Rugby website with tournament results is here.
CANADA’S MEN’S SEVENS TEAM NAIROBI SQUAD
3. Ethan Turner (Maple Ridge, BC) – Burnaby Lake Rugby Club
7. Johnny Franklin (Bowen Island, BC) – Capilano RFC
9. Harry Corkum (Halifax, NS) – Halifax Tars
10. Adam Doane (Sutton, ON) – Aurora Barbarians
11. Demetri Patterson (West Vancouver, BC) – University of British Columbia
14. D’Shawn Bowen (Toronto, ON) – James Bay AA / Agronomia Rugby
18. Morgan Di Nardo (Toronto, ON) – Toronto Scottish / University of Victoria
33. Kal Sager (Peterborough, ON) – Peterborough Pagans
44. Lockie Kratz (Victoria, BC) – Castaway Wanderers / UBCOB Ravens
55. Jack Shaw (Oakville, ON) – Castaway Wanderers / Oakville Crusaders
64. Elias Hancock (Ottawa, ON) – University of Ottawa / Bytown Blues
97. Reece Thompson (Minesing, ON) – University of Victoria / Barrie Rugby Club
from Rugby Canada
Head Coach of Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team, Christiaan Esterhuizen has selected Canada’s 12-player squad for the first stop of HSBC SVNS Division 2 in Nairobi, Kenya beginning February 14.
Canada will open the tournament on Saturday, February 14 at 11:50pm PT (Feb.13) / 2:50am ET when they face Kenya at Nyayo National Stadium.
Nairobi is the final stop before the 2026 HSBC SVNS Series returns to BC Place Stadium in Vancouver on March 7–8. Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team will compete in the Teck Tri-Nations Challenge against Japan and Chile, presented by Teck Resources Limited (Teck).
Canadian rugby fans will have the opportunity to watch both Canada’s Men’s and Women’s Sevens Teams compete on home soil. Tickets are available now at vansevens.com.
THE ROAD TO THE HSBC SVNS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
In November, Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team won gold at the Rugby Americas North Sevens Tournament. With the win, Canada qualified for the HSBC SVNS Division 3 challenger.
In January, Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team won gold at the HSBC SVNS 3 challenger – qualifying then for HSBC SVNS Division 2. HSBC SVNS 2 is a three-stop series featuring Canada, Kenya, USA, Germany, Uruguay, and Belgium. Following the Nairobi leg, teams will compete in Montevideo (Mar. 21-22), and São Paulo (Mar. 28-29).
The top 4 teams at the end of the HSBC SVNS 2 series will join the 8 core teams on the HSBC SVNS Series for the three-destination SVNS World Championship. The Championship journey will kick off in Hong Kong (Apr. 17-19), before heading to Valladolid (May 29-31) and Bordeaux (Jun. 5-7). Finally, a Men’s and Women’s World Champion will be crowned to mark the dramatic finale of the newly formatted HSBC SVNS Series announced in 2025.
Rugby Canada confirms that Christiaan Esterhuizen will continue in his role as Head Coach of Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team for the remainder of the 2025/26 season.
FROM THE COACH
“I was really happy with our consistency throughout the [HSBC SVNS 3] tournament [in Dubai], and particularly the character the group showed in key moments. Said Head Coach Christiaan Esterhuizen, the defensive stand against Hong Kong China in the semifinal was special and a real reflection of the belief and work ethic within the squad. At the same time, we know there are some technical work-ons — adding a few more dimensions to our attack and improving our accuracy in defence will be important as we move forward.
Heading into Nairobi, we have some new faces coming in. Reece Thompson and Demetri Patterson are in line to make their debuts, and Harry Corkum joins the squad after missing Dubai. We’re also excited to have D’Shawn Bowen back in the mix. On the downside, it’s a big loss for us with Dubai tournament MVP Thomas Isherwood sidelined through injury.
The recent camp has been good. The squad feels more settled, and there’s greater clarity among the players around roles and expectations, which always helps lift standards. Nairobi will be very competitive — Kenya are probably the top side on current form, and teams like Uruguay, USA, and Germany are all looking strong, so we know we’ll need to be at our best.
Looking ahead to Vancouver, the players are always incredibly excited to play in front of a home crowd. It’s a world-class event, and there’s no doubt the excitement is already building within the group.”
NEW & RETURNING FACES
Two players are in line to make their International sevens debuts, Reece Thompson and Demetri Patterson. Thompson represented Canada’s U20 Men’s Rugby Team last June at the Oceania Rugby U20s Challenge. Patterson recently won bronze with the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds at the 2025 Canadian University Rugby Championships in November.
Harry Corkum who made his international sevens debut in November at the Rugby Americas North Sevens has returned to the 12-man squad for Nairobi. The McGill University Rugby athlete earned CUMRC First Team All-Canadian honours last season and was named Trademark Player of the year.
D’Shawn Bowen returns to Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team, he last appeared for Canada at the 2024 Rugby Americas North Sevens before signing with Portuguese club Agronomia Rugby who compete in the Campeonato Nacional de Honra / Super Bock premier division.
NAIROBI MATCH SCHEDULE
Saturday, February 14
Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team vs Kenya
11:50pm PT (Feb.13) / 2:50am ET
Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team vs Germany
2:30am PT / 5:30am ET
Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team vs USA
5:10am PT / 8:10am ET
Sunday, February 15
Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team vs Belgium
1:06am PT / 4:06am ET
Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team vs Uruguay
5:40am PT / 8:40am ET
Follow the up-to-date match schedule here.
WHERE TO WATCH
All of Canada’s HSBC SVNS 2 matches in Nairobi will be available live on TSN+.