Canada’s men’s rugby squad looks to duplicate women’s success

Canada men’s rugby coach Stephen Meehan had a front-row seat last month to see the third-ranked Canadian women’s milestone win over top-ranked England in Toronto.

So did captain Lucas Rumball, vice-captain Ben LeSage and teammates Mason Flesch, Matt Oworu, Brock Webster and Josiah Morra.

“It was marvellous to be part of it. . . We really enjoyed watching them play, watching them win,” Meehan said on a virtual availability this week.

“I think we can cash in on that,” he added.

The 22nd-ranked Canadian men will have women’s coach Kevin Rouet in the fold when they resume Nations Cup play Saturday against No. 13 Georgia at Avchala Stadium in Tbilisi (the game is being aired at 9 a.m. ET on TSN4, with a replay on TSN2 at 4 p.m. ET).

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Meehan, an Australian, has added the France-born Rouet to his staff for the European trip.

It is another example of Rugby Canada maximizing its resources, with both coaches believing in giving their players license to play a free-flowing attacking game.

“He delivers very similar messages to what’s been delivered in the past but he does it in a different way‚” said Meehan. “And it’s been great for us. It’s freshened everything up and it’s been challenging for the players.”

After Georgia, the Canadians face No. 24 Hong Kong on Nov. 14 in Chambéry, France, and No. 21 Romania on Nov. 20 in Bucharest.

All three opponents are headed to next year’s World Cup in Australia. The six days between the Hong Kong and Romania matches also mirrors the gap Meehan’s team will face twice at the World Cup.

The Nations Cup is the second-tier companion to the Nations Championship, which features the top 12 countries in the world.

Georgia will be a tough task, topping Pool B after July wins over No. 18 Uruguay (41-34), No. 20 Samoa (33-12) and No. 16 Chile (49-22).

“A confrontational team. . . A side that tries to batter sides into submission,” said Meehan. “They love that physical aspect of the game. They want to challenge you through that way. So it will be up to us to be smart in how we respond to those challenges.”

Canada is 3-5-0 all-time against Georgia and has lost the last three meetings since a 16-15 victory in September 2015. Known as the Lelos, Georgia won 38-17 when the two teams met most recently in Batumi in November 2025.

The Canadians currently stand sixth in Pool A at 1-1-1, having beaten No. 25 Zimbabwe 23-19 after falling 38-14 to No. 14 Portugal and drawing No. 17 Spain 42-42 in July all on home soil.

Canada subsequently went 1-2-0 in September in Japan, defeating the 15th-ranked U.S. Eagles 19-16 and losing to No. 9 Fiji 45-29 in the Pacific Nations Cup, a separate tournament, after dropping a 57-12 decision to No. 12 Japan in a stand-alone test.

The Canadian men and women are in different stages on their World Cup journeys.

Canadian rugby women look for second straight win over top-ranked England

The women are a mature squad, hardened from playing in the English and French leagues, and full of confidence under Rouet. Having avenged their 33-13 loss to England in the 2025 World Cup final with recent wins over the Red Roses in Toronto and Ottawa, they have star quality in Sophie de Goede, DaLeaka Menin and Olivia Apps – all named to World Rugby’s 2026 Women’s 15s Dream Team – leading a hard-nosed pack and elusive backline.

Rouet has developed enough depth to stack his bench with experienced campaigners. And with the next World Cup three years away, he has time to spare.

Just qualifying for the World Cup was an accomplishment for the Canadian men, given they failed to make it to the 2025 competition under former coach Kingsley Jones.

But with the 2027 tournament less than 11 months away, there is plenty to do for a squad still finding its feet under Meehan, whose first game in charge was in July 2025.

While the men have shown flashes of the attacking rugby that Meehan espouses, mistakes under pressure have hurt them.

Off the field, their progress was not helped by the contraction and accompanying roster rule changes in Major League Rugby, the U.S. circuit that had been home to many of the Canadian players.

As a result, Canadian players were forced to travel far and wide in search of clubs. Rugby Canada’s recent agreement with Champ Rugby, England’s second tier, has helped with Kyle Steeves and Sam Miller (Blackheath), Isaac Olson (Ampthill), Dewald Kotze (Rotherham) and Spencer Jones and Foster Dewitt (Nottingham) all finding homes there.

Flesch, the 2026 MLR forward of the year with the Chicago Hounds, went one better by signing with Newcastle​ Red Bulls in England’s top league.

Oworu, meanwhile, joined Biarritz Olympique in ProD2, the French second tier.

Meehan has been mindful to allow his players to bed in with their clubs. Flesch, Kotze, Oworu and fellow veterans Cole Keith, Evan Olmstead and Andrew Quattrin do not figure in the matchday lineup Saturday but should play their part in the matches to come.

Matt Beukeboom, who plays his club rugby in France for Soyaux Angoulême XV Charente, is available and starts at lock Saturday in his first outing for Canada in nine years.

Former captain Tyler Ardron, who plays in France for Provence Rugby, starts at No. 8. There are also returns for Nic Benn and Tyler Matchem.

Benn, who plays in New Zealand for Hawke’s Bay Magpies, starts on the wing in his first outing for Canada since November 2025. Matchem starts on the bench, finally healthy after an Achilles injury that kept him out of the squad for two years.

Fly-half Jack Gore, just 17, could earn his first cap off the bench.

The Canadian tour squad also includes the uncapped Demetri Patterson and Mitch Voralek.