Pacific Nations Cup 2026 – USA vs Canada – ARN Guide

The North American rivals collide at the neutral venue of Tokyo on Saturday. It’s their first meeting since last year’s World Cup qualifier that saw the underdog Canadians scoring an impressive win over the USA in Calgary. This time it’s for bragging rights, and a look at how depth is building towards next year’s World Cup, with third place in the Pacific Nations Cup also on the line.

FORM GUIDE

Current World Ranking: 14 (69.49 points)
2026-09-12 – Japan 63, USA 14 (Osaka)
2026-08-15 – USA XV 25, Argentina XV 24 (Fort Lauderdale)
2026-07-18 – USA 29, Spain 22 (Cary)
2026-07-11 – USA 31, Zimbabwe 15 (Charlotte)
2026-07-04 – USA 30, Portugal 29 (Denver)

Current World Ranking: 24 (60.37 points)
2026-09-12 – Fiji 45, Canada 29 (Osaka)
2026-09-05 – Japan 57, Canada 12 (Niigawa)
2026-07-18 – Canada 23, Zimbabwe 19 (Winnipeg)
2026-07-11 – Canada 14, Portugal 38 (Edmonton)
2026-07-04 – Canada 42, Spain 42 (Edmonton)

STARTING LINEUP CHANGES

	IN	OUT
1	Faka’osi Pifeleti	Payton Telea-Ilalio
7	Lance Williams	Paddy Ryan
10	Luke Carty	Chris Hilsenbeck
12	Cassh Maluia	Tavite Lopeti
14	Julian Roberts	Mark O’Keeffe

	IN	OUT
2	Foster DeWitt	Dewald Kotze
7	Ethan Fryer	Sion Parry
9	Jesse Kilgour	Jason Higgins
10	Cooper Coats	Spencer Jones

NOTES

• both sides come into the match off defeats… Canada put in a spirited performance against defending champions Fiji, while the USA looked flat and well off the pace against hosts Japan
• Scott Lawrence has responded with five changes to his staring Eagles lineup… the most notable addition is uncapped midfielder Cassh Maluia… the 27-year-old is a former NFL player and while he has trimmed down to adapt to his new sport, Maluia remains a formidable ball carrier who will test the Canadian defense
• 21-year-old scrumhalf Jesse Kilgour makes his second start for Canada, as Cooper Coats returns in the No10 shirt… Peñarol flanker Ethan Fryer makes his first test start since suffering a serious head injury two years ago
• while Major League Rugby once provided the bulk of the Canadian squad, only 3 starters and 1 reserve appeared in the American competition in 2026… former Zebre hooker Shilo Klein is the only Eagles match day squad inclusion not attached to an MLR side this year
• both teams are absent their leading overseas professionals due to club commitments… names like AJ MacGinty, David Ainu’u, and Jack Iscaro… while Canada is without Tyler Ardron, Andrew Quattrin, and Evan Olmstead, among others

QUOTES

Scott Lawrence (Head Coach)

“One of the biggest things we can control is our mindset as we go into this game. When we reflect on that Canada game last year, we let them get over us a little too soon. So for me, it’s just coming out, setting the tone, and throwing our bodies around early, letting them know we’re here… and making sure that we’re sticking to our plan and controlling what we can control.”

Steve Meehan (Head Coach)

“We were happy with some of the rugby we played against Fiji, good continuity, close passing and some really good passages of play. We want to become a team that keeps the opposition guessing.

“The USA are a disciplined side and have a style they’ve been very reliant on. I completely understand the rivalry and, frankly, I really enjoy it. It was quite an emotional night in Calgary after our win last year, seeing people coming together after the game, singing the national anthem and celebrating the occasion. It was a lovely moment.

“We’re trying to develop something here, and the longer we spend together, the greater the understanding the players will have of how we want to play and of one another. Their skills and understanding of the game have developed over the last 15 months, and collectively and individually they’ve been getting better every week. Hopefully, that trend continues.”

PREDICTION

Cloudy and humid but cooler conditions from last week are expected at kickoff. Perhaps the extra week of acclimatization will improve a lackluster Eagles outfit who had – until last week – won all of their 2026 matches. Aside from the natural rivalry, players on both sides will be makes their case for inclusion the Nations Cup squad, and ultimately next year’s World Cup. Canada were the better side last week and are led by their outstanding back row trio, while the USA are spearheaded by a dynamic midfield pairing. Current world rankings and the experience of Ruben de Haas over his opposite tips the scales towards the Eagles, but not by much. USA are slight favorites in Tokyo.

TEAMS

USA
1 Faka’osi Pifeleti, 2 Shilo Klein, 3 Tonga Kofe, 4 Jason Damm (capt.), 5 Nathan Den Hoedt, 6 Marno Redelinghuys, 7 Lance Williams, 8 Makeen Alikhan, 9 Ruben de Haas, 10 Luke Carty, 11 Noah Brown, 12 Cassh Maluia, 13 Dom Besag, 14 Julian Roberts, 15 Mitch Wilson

Replacements: 16 Joe Taufete’e, 17 Payton Telea-Ilalio, 18 Mason Pedersen, 19 Sam Golla, 20 Benjamín Bonasso, 21 Michael Baska, 22 Chris Hilsenbeck, 23 Tavite Lopeti

CANADA
1 Sam Miller, 2 Foster DeWitt, 3 Kyle Steeves, 4 Daragh Doyle, 5 Izzak Kelly, 6 Mason Flesch, 7 Ethan Fryer, 8 Lucas Rumball (capt.), 9 Jesse Kilgour, 10 Cooper Coats, 11 Jamie Armstrong, 12 Ben LeSage, 13 Jacob Ince, 14 Kyle Tremblay, 15 Takoda McMullin

Replacements: 16 Dewald Kotze, 17 Emerson Prior, 18 Bryce Worden, 19 Barnaby Waddell, 20 Cody Nhanala, 21 Stephen Webb, 22 Spencer Jones, 23 Liam James

MATCH INFO

Date: Saturday, September 19
Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, Tokyo
Kickoff: 16:00 local (03:00 Eastern, midnight Pacific)
Weather Forecast: cloudy, 77°F (25°C), wind NE 9-14mph (15-22km/h)
Broadcasts: TSN 4 (Canada), Paramount+ (USA), RugbyPass TV

OFFICIALS

Referee: Katsuki Furuse (Japan)
Assistants: Koki Yamauchi (Japan) & Ibuki Tetsuka (Japan)
TMO: Matthew Rodden (Hong Kong)

HISTORY

HEAD-TO-HEAD (67):  Canada 40, USA 25, Draw 2
2025-08-22 – Canada 34, USA 20 (Calgary) *RWC Qualifier
2024-08-31 – USA 28, Canada 15 (Carson)
2021-09-11 – USA 38, Canada 16 (Glendale) *RWC Qualifier
2021-09-04 – Canada 34, USA 21 (St. John’s) *RWC Qualifier
2019-09-07 – Canada 15, USA 20 (Vancouver)
2019-07-27 – USA 47, Canada 19 (Glendale)
2019-03-08 – USA 30, Canada 25 (Seattle)
2018-06-23 – Canada 17, USA 42 (Halifax)
2018-02-10 – USA 29, Canada 10 (Sacramento)
2017-07-01 – USA 52, Canada 16 (San Diego) *RWC Qualifier