Cooper Coats will make his first start at fly half while fullback Brenden Black earns his first 15s cap when Canada hosts Belgium on Saturday in Stephen Meehan’s first game as Canadian rugby coach.
Appointed in December, Meehan officially started in April. The 59-year-old Australian succeeds Kingsley Jones, who stepped down in December after seven years at the helm.
After No. 23 Belgium, the 24th-ranked Canadians face No. 16 Spain on July 18, also at Clarke Stadium in Edmonton.Â
The Belgians are coming off a 36-17 loss Saturday to the 15th-ranked United States in Charlotte, N.C. The Americans host Spain on Saturday, also in Charlotte.
Coats, who has earned the majority of his 17 caps at fullback, will partner scrum half Brock Gallagher.
Black, who played for the Canadian sevens side earlier this year, could be joined by debutant Kyle Tremblay who starts on the bench.
Twelve of the starters are with Major League Rugby clubs including five from the three-time champion New England Free Jacks and three from the Chicago Hounds.
Flanker Lucas Rumball, one of the Hounds, continues as captain under Meehan with New England hooker Andrew Quattrin appointed vice-captain.
Veteran centre Ben Lesage, vice-captain under Jones, has been ruled out of the Belgium match as he recovers from an injury sustained in the June 28 MLR championship game.Â
Talon McMullin, who made his debut in July 2024 in a 73-12 loss to No. 7 Scotland in Ottawa and scored his first international try in a 55-28 loss to No. 12 Japan in Vancouver last August, starts at inside centre. McMullin’s twin brother Takoda also made his debut in the Scotland loss, becoming the 500th men’s player to earn a cap for Canada.
Belgium was fifth in the Rugby Europe Championship, just missing out on the top-four finish that earned Georgia, Spain, Romania and Portugal World Cup qualification. The Belgians’ last chance is via a four-team last-ditch qualifying tournament in November.
“They’re a pretty heavy forward pack,” said Meehan. “What we’ve seen from them in the past is a team that mauls quite a lot and tries to grind down the opposition. They have some very good tackling backrowers who are then very good on the ball as well, so defensively they can be pretty solid. And they’re like that through their midfield as well.”
Star fullback Matias Remue plays for Toulouse in the French top tier.
Meehan calls the matchup “a good measure for us.”
The Canadian men have not played since a pair of November losses in Bucharest to No. 21 Romania (35-27) and No. 20 Chile (44-14).
The other Free Jacks in the starting 15 are Cole Keith, Piers Von Dadelszen, Isaac Olsen and Josiah Morra. Foster Dewitt and Kyle Steeves are among the replacements. Rumball is joined by Chicago teammates Matt Oworu and Noah Flesch with Jason Higgins on the bench to start.
The Edmonton tests are a warmup for the Pacific Nations Cup, which doubles as a qualifier for the 2027 World Cup.
Canada opens Pacific Nations Cup play Aug. 25 against Japan on Aug. 25 in Vancouver before facing the U.S. on Aug 31 in Carson, Calif. The six-country tournament also features No. 9 Fiji, No. 13 Samoa and No. 19 Tonga, who will play in a separate pool.
Each team will play two pool games before taking part in a final placement match.
The top three teams will book their ticket to the 2027 World Cup in Australia. But given Fiji and Japan have already qualified through their performance at the last World Cup, a top-five finish would do it for Canada if Fiji and Japan finish above it.
Should Canada fail to qualify via the Pacific Nations Cup, it will still have two more chances to make the World Cup field, via a playoff with the 2025 Sudamerica Rugby Championship runner-up and, finally, a four-team repechage tournament.
Canada failed to qualify for the 2023 World Cup, the first time it has missed the sport’s showcase, after losing two-legged qualifying series to the U.S. (59-50 on aggregate) and Chile (54-46).
Canada Roster
Calixto Martinez, White Rock, B.C., Old Glory DC (MLR); Andrew Quattrin, Holland Landing, Ont., New England Free Jacks (MLR); Cole Keith, Sussex, N.B., New England Free Jacks (MLR); Piers Von Dadelszen, Vancouver, New England Free Jacks (MLR); Izzak Kelly, White Rock, B.C., Capilano RFC; Matt Heaton, Godmanchester, Que., RFC LA (MLR); Lucas Rumball (capt.), ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½, Chicago Hounds (MLR); Matt Oworu, Calgary, Chicago Hounds (MLR); Brock Gallagher, Edmonton, Seattle Seawolves (MLR); Cooper Coats, Halifax, NOLA Gold (MLR); Josiah Morra, ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½, New England Free Jacks (MLR); Talon McMullin, White Rock, B.C., UBC; Noah Flesch, Cobourg, Ont., Chicago Hounds (MLR); Isaac Olson, Vernon, B.C., New England Free Jacks (MLR); Brenden Black, Oakville, Ont., University of Guelph.
Replacements
Dewald Kotze, Edmonton, Seattle Seawolves (MLR); Foster Dewitt, Courtenay, B.C., New England Free Jacks (MLR); Kyle Steeves, Winnipeg, New England Free Jacks (MLR); Callum Botchar, Vancouver, NOLA Gold (MLR); Siôn Parry, Cardiff, Wales, Ebbw Vale RFC (Wales); Jason Higgins, Cork, Ireland, Chicago Hounds (MLR); Peter Nelson, Dungannon, Northern Ireland, Dungannon RFC (Northern Ireland); Kyle Tremblay, White Rock, B.C., Pacific Pride.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 10, 2025.
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