Canada's Lucas Rumball, left, pushes Japan's Tiennan Costley, during 2024 Pacific Nations Cup play in Vancouver.ETHAN CAIRNS/The Canadian Press
For Canada rugby coach Stephen Meehan, assembling his roster is akin to a giant jigsaw.
With blocks of games this year in July, September and November, the Australian coach has to first determine player availability.
Then he has to cast a net around the globe.
His 32-man squad for next month’s World Rugby Nations Cup draws on talent playing in Canada, Australia, England, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Portugal, the U.S., Uruguay and Wales.
No. 25 Canada faces No. 17 Spain on July 4 and No. 14 Portugal on July 11, with both games at Edmonton’s Clarke Stadium, before heading to Winnipeg to take on No. 24 Zimbabwe on July 18 at Princess Auto Stadium.
In announcing the 32-man July roster, Rugby Canada also listed 24 players who were injured or unavailable.
That list includes veteran back Ben LeSage, who is currently suspended, so will have to sit out the July tests.
Uncapped centre Josh McIndoe, who impressed at the 2025 Oceania Rugby U20s Challenge, is available for the July games but has to miss out on the September and November tests because of school commitments.
And veteran backrower Lucas Rumball is only available for two of the three July matches because of a long-standing commitment. That has Meehan pondering who will serve as skipper in July, with Rumball having to miss the Portugal game.
Tyler Ardron, centre left, has 39 caps for the Canadian team and will be one of the veteran players in Nations Cup action next month.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
The Canadian players have their first full training session Wednesday in Calgary before leaving for Edmonton on Sunday.
“Those who are here are into it,” said Meehan.
The Nations Cup is the second-tier companion to the elite Nations Championship. The two new biennial competitions, which debut this year, feature the 24 teams competing at next year’s Rugby World Cup in Australia.
The Nations Championship features the top 12 teams in the world.
England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales, representing the Northern Hemisphere, face a Southern Hemisphere group made up of Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa plus two invitational teams in Japan and Fiji.
The Nations Cup field includes the other 12 World Cup qualifiers with Canada, Chile, Samoa, Tonga, Uruguay and the U.S. representing the Americas and Pacific region while Georgia, Hong Kong, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Zimbabwe carry the colours for Europe, Africa and Asia.
Each of the Nations Cup teams will play six matches – three in July and three in November – against opposition from the opposite pool.
Canada heads to Europe in November to face No. 13 Georgia, No. 22 Romania and No. 23 Hong Kong.
In September, Canada will play No. 12 Japan in Niigata, renewing a rugby rivalry that dates back to their first meeting in Vancouver in 1930. The Canadian men will also play No. 9 Fiji and a third team, possibly the 16th-ranked U.S., in Asia in a truncated version of the Pacific Nations Cup.
Canada coach Stephen Meehan, right, continues to work with sometimes limited player availability, as he assembles rosters to tune up for the 2027 men's Rugby World Cup.HO/The Canadian Press
Adding to Meehan’s selection complications is the fact that clubs do not have to release players for the September games, meaning the Canada coach has to wheel and deal to get talent released.
“Sometimes we can get that done and sometimes we can’t,” said Meehan. “We tried to plan as best we could this year, taking that into account. It’s not always an exact science.
“The benefit there is that it provides opportunities for others,” he added. “And it keeps competition in the squad. That’s a good thing.”
Meehan, whose eye is on next year’s World Cup, has been able to develop depth as a result.
“If we ever get the opportunity to narrow those 60 players or thereabouts down into 32, it would make for an interesting exercise,” he mused.
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In other Nations Cup tournament action in Canada, it’s Tonga versus Spain on July 11 in Edmonton and Tonga versus Portugal on July 18 in Winnipeg.
Meehan’s roster for the July matches is a mix of veterans and newcomers.
Rumball will add to his 65 caps after leading the Chicago Hounds to the Major League rugby title at the weekend, capping an undefeated season with a 35-17 win over the California Legion. Canadian flanker Mason Flesch, who scored one of the Hounds’ tries Saturday, also makes the Canadian roster.
Other veteran forwards include France-based Tyler Ardron (39 caps), Evan Olmstead (35 caps), and Andrew Quattrin (29 caps) and England-based Cole Keith (44 caps).
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Ardron, a former Canada captain, last played for the national team in August, 2025 when he scored four tries in a 34-20 victory over the United States.
The squad has a combined 473 caps with 322 among the forwards and 151 in the backs, 62 of which belong to Northern Ireland-based Peter Nelson (35) and Ireland’s Jason Higgins (27).
There are six uncapped players.
Wing Liam James, the son of former Canada star forward Mike James, also represented Canada at the 2025 Oceania Rugby U20s Challenge. Centre Jacob Ince, a former Canadian under-18 and under-20 player, helped the Guelph Gryphons to their first ever national championship in November.
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Sevens internationals Henry Kirwan and Cody Nhanala also make the squad along with tighthead prop Bryce Worden, who played for West Harbour Rugby Club in Australia’s Shute Shield competition.
Kirwan plays on the wing while Nhanala is an openside flanker.
Canada pushed Spain to the limit last July in Edmonton, losing 24-23 on a last-minute penalty.
Portugal downed Canada 33-27 when they met in November in the Canadian men’s last outing.
Meehan, who was named Canada coach in December, 2024, was handed a contract extension in June that runs through the 2026 Olympics.
The Canadian men went 1-8-0 last year.