PNC history
Number of tournaments: (4) 2013-15,2019
Best finish: 2nd in 2013
Most points in a match: 36 (36-25 v Tonga, 2013)
Biggest win: 9 points (as above)
Did You Know? Canada haven’t won a single game at any of the last three tournaments they’ve participated in, and are on a nine-game losing streak dating back to June 2013.
Current form
World Ranking: 21
Form (last 5 games)*: WLWLL
Key team info
Kit colour: Red/White
Nickname: Suggestions welcome! Maple Leaves has been taken.
Known for: Their physicality – and beards!
Head Coach: Kingsley Jones
The former Wales flanker is the son of the late Phil Kingsley Jones, who was Jonah Lomu’s agent. Jones is the second longest-serving head coach in Canada’s history behind Kieran Crowley, having been at the helm since 2017. He has been in charge for 43 games, winning just 13.
Captain: Lucas Rumball
A product of Balmy Beach Rugby Club in Toronto, softly-spoken Rumball’s on-pitch alter ego is anything but laidback. The hard-tackling, hard-carrying flanker has won over 50 caps, and scored a number of important tries, while leading his country through some difficult times.
Legend: DTH van der Merwe – not to be mistaken for Scotland’s giant winger, Duhan van der Merwe, though they are both their country’s leading try scorers. Van der Merwe – DTH that is – scored 38 tries in 61 test appearances, before hanging up his boots in 2019 to become a firefighter.
In brief
One-time Rugby World Cup quarter-finalists Canada have struggled to keep pace with other countries since the men’s game went professional in the mid-1990s, and they hit an all-time low when they missed out on the men’s game’s showpiece event altogether for the first time in 2023.
They’ll be looking to make amends and qualify for the next tournament in Australia in 2027 and results and performances in the PNC will highlight to coach Kingsley Jones exactly how much work they have to do. A win over Romania in their last match – their first over a higher-ranked team in quite some time – hints at better times ahead.
Squad
The following 35-player training squad was named by Jones on Monday, 12 August.
“We want to build momentum following our win against Romania last month,” head coach Jones said. “We are playing two teams this month who we have a lot of respect for, two good teams. It will be two challenging games, but we want to continue the winning feeling.
"We have an opportunity to continue developing throughout the course of the Pacific Nations Cup and build continuity and cohesion as we work towards Rugby World Cup qualification next year.”
Forwards: Andrew Quattrin, Calixto Martinez, Callum Botchar, Cole Keith, Conor Young, Dewald Kotze, Ethan Fryer, Izzak Kelly, James Stockwood, Jesse Mackail, Josh Larsen, Kaden Duguid, Liam Murray, Lucas Rumball, Mason Flesch, Matthew Klimchuk, Matthew Owuru, Sam Miller, Siôn Parry.
Backs: Andrew Cole, Ben LeSage, Brock Gallagher, Cooper Coats, Gradyn Bowd, Jason Higgins, Jesse Kilgour, Josiah Morra, Kainoa Lloyd, Mark Balaski, Nic Benn, Peter Nelson, Rhys James, Spencer Jones, Takoda McMullin, Talon McMullin.
*Tests only