Canadian men field young squad against Romania in first of three November tests

With World Cup qualification already secured and some players recovering from injuries or just taking some time to look after life away from rugby, Canada coach Stephen Meehan is using his team’s November tour of Europe as a chance to widen his talent pool.

Meehan’s starting 15 for Saturday’s game against 21st-ranked Romania at Bucharest’s Stadionul Arcul de Triumf has a combined 244 caps, with captain Lucas Rumball (62), fellow forward Cole Keith (41) and fullback Peter Nelson (32) accounting for 135 of them. Nine players have 11 or fewer caps.

“There are some younger players here who get an opportunity (to play),” Meehan said from Bucharest. “In the long-term we hope it’s beneficial for them and at the same (beneficial) for those who are trying to rehab things properly and be in good shape for next season.”

The eight-man bench has a combined 80 caps with prop Matt Tierney (27) and scrum half Jason Higgins (25) combining for 52 of them. The 29-year-old Tierney returns to the lineup for the first time since 2021.

Barnaby Waddell, a six-foot-four 265-pound lock who plays in Wales for Bridgend Ravens, could make his debut off the bench. Meehan said after watching him play at club level, they suggested some things to work on some and the results have paid off.

“He’s done well,” said Meehan. “He has brought that physicality into training, which has been good. So he gets an opportunity. Again there’s a little bit of discovery for us and a great opportunity for him.”

The match against Romania is the first of three this month for Meehan’s squad. The 24th-ranked Canadians face No. 11 Georgia on Nov. 15 in Batumi and No. 20 Portugal on Nov. 22 in Coimbra.

All four teams have qualified for the 2027 World Cup in Australia. Canada booked its ticket via the Pacific nations Cup while the other three advanced via the 2025 Rugby Europe Championship.

Romania lost 34-6 to Portugal in February in Rugby Europe group-stage play. In March, Romania lost 43-5 to Georgia in the tournament semifinals before bouncing back to down Portugal 21-7 in the third-place game.

Georgia defeated Spain 46-28 in the Rugby Europe championship game.

Meehan, an Australian, expects a physical test from the Romanians.

“That’s their style, that’s their DNA,” he noted.

Canada is 1-5-0 so far in 2025, losing its last three outings in Pacific Nations Cup play since a 34-20 win over the United States in August, and has won just two of 13 outings (2-11-0) since the start of 2024.

While Meehan is giving youth a chance to shine, his roster is also in a state of flux given the contraction of Major League Rugby, which is down to six teams from 11 last season with the withdrawal of the Utah Warriors, Houston SaberCats, Miami Sharks and NOLA Gold plus the melding of the San Diego Legion and Rugby Football Club Los Angeles (RFC LA) into the California Legion.

That has left Canadian players looking for new teams. There was good news for captain Lucas Rumball on Thursday, however, with the Chicago Hounds announcing their skipper had signed a one-year contract extension.

A two-time All-MLR selection and 2025 second-team all-star, Rumball joined the Hounds before the 2024 season after spending five years with the now-defunct Toronto Arrows.

Prop Sam Miller is joining a team in Portugal after the Canada tour, said Meehan.

There are first starts Saturday for Miller and centre Kyle Tremblay, who each have one cap. Miller, who is coming off a club season in Australia with Southern Districts Rugby Club, made his debut off the bench against Romania in 2024 while, Tremblay earned his first cap against Belgium in July.

Robbie Povey starts at fly half, returning to the national team for the first time since 2023, with Nelson at fullback.

Nelson goes into the match with 198 career points as the seventh-highest point scorer in Canadian men’s rugby history.

Romania, surviving a late red card, hung on for a 35-27 win when the teams met last November in Bucharest to improve its record to 7-2-0 against Canada.

The Canadians won 35-22 when the two teams met in July 2024 in Ottawa, snapping a run of six Romanian victories over the Canadians. Canada’s two other victories were at the 1991 and ’96 World Cups.

Romania’s win streak includes one of the biggest comebacks in men’s World Cup history when it scored 17 points in the final 28 minutes at the 2015 tournament to edge Canada 17-15.

Canada has lost all five meetings on Romanian soil.

Saturdays game marks the second edition of the Cernavodă Cup. Awarded in collaboration with the Canadian Embassy in Romania, it honours Romanian-Canadian co-operation in the nuclear energy sector.

In recognition of Remembrance Day, the Canadian men will wear custom jerseys featuring a poppy on the left sleeve, “honouring the sacrifices of those who have served and reflecting on the significance of remembering their courage, commitment, and legacy.”

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Canada Roster (x- denotes uncapped)

Sam Miller, Mount Denson, N.S., Southern Districts (Australia); Dewald Kotze, Edmonton, Seattle Seawolves (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; Mason Flesch, Cobourg, Ont., Chicago Hounds (MLR); Lucas Rumball, Toronto, Chicago Hounds (MLR); Matt Oworu, Chicago Hounds (MLR); Brock Gallagher, Edmonton, Seattle Seawolves (MLR); Robbie Povey, Calgary, Rotherham Titans (England); Josiah Morra, Toronto, Toronto Saracens; Kyle Tremblay, White Rock, B.C., Westshore RFC; Spencer Jones, Cambridge, New Zealand, Hamilton Old Boys (New Zealand); Nic Benn, Caves Beach, Australia, unattached; Peter Nelson, Dungannon, Northern Ireland, Dungannon RFC (Northern Ireland).

Replacements

Austin Creighton, Edmonton, James Bay AA; Emerson Prior, Brockville, Ont., Westshore RFC; Matt Tierney, Oakville, Ont., Oakville Crusaders; x-Barnaby Waddell, Exeter, England, Bridgend Ravens (Wales); Siôn Parry, Cardiff, Wales, Ebbw Vale RFC (Wales); Jason Higgins, Cork, Ireland, Chicago Hounds (MLR); Noah Flesch, Cobourg, Ont., Chicago Hounds (MLR); Jack Shaw, Oakville, Ont., Castaway Wanderers.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2025.