World Rugby Nations Cup – Georgia vs Canada – ARN Guide

Canada begins their end-of-year tour in Tbilisi, where they face the highest-ranked team in the World Rugby Nations Cup. Georgia have been searching for their top form this year – notably falling to Portugal in the Rugby Europe Championship finale – but the Lelos were unbeaten on the road July and have never lost to the Maple Leafs on home turf.

FORM GUIDE

Current World Ranking: 13 (73.94 points)

2026-07-18	Chile	22-49	Georgia	Santiago
2026-07-11	Samoa	12-32	Georgia	Vina Del Mar
2026-07-04	Uruguay	34-41	Georgia	Montevideo
2026-03-15	Portugal	19-17	Georgia	Madrid
2026-03-08	Georgia	53-30	Romania	Tbilisi

Current World Ranking: 22 (62.29 points)

2026-09-19	USA	16-19	Canada	Tokyo
2026-09-12	Fiji	45-29	Canada	Osaka
2026-09-05	Japan	57-12	Canada	Niigawa
2026-07-18	Canada	23-19	Zimbabwe	Winnipeg
2026-07-11	Canada	14-38	Portugal	Edmonton

 

STARTING LINEUP CHANGES

	IN	OUT
2	Vakhtang Jintcharadze	Nikoloz Sutidze
4	Lado Chachanidze	Mikheil Babunashvili
7	Beka Saginadze	Tornike Jalagonia
11	Dachi Papunashvili	Giorgi Kveseladze
13	Luka Tabatadze	Georges Shvelidze

	IN	OUT
1	Cali Martinez	Sam Miller
6	Matt Beukeboom	Mason Flesch
8	Tyler Ardron	Ethan Fryer
10	Spencer Jones	Cooper Coats
11	Nic Benn	Jamie Armstrong

NOTES

• Pierre-Henry Broncan will hand test debuts to two players this weekend… 19-year-old Black Lion speedster Luka Tabatadze starts in the midfield, and 21-year-old France-based lock Gagui Margvelashvili is on the bench
• Lyon flanker Beka Saginadze returns to the Lelo squad after missing the mid-year test, but star fullback Davit Niniashvili retains the captaincy… Saginadze led the side in the Rugby Europe tourney
• Broncan has opted for a 6/2 split on the bench… hulking Toulon No8 Mikheil Shioshvili is set to win his second cap after playing in the Junior World Championship this summer… while Ilia Spanderashvili covers the flank
• Steve Meehan named Canada’s strongest squad in several years for the Nations Cup window, but several leading players will miss the Georgia test… Cole Keith, Andrew Quattrin, Evan Olmstead, Mason Flesch, Matt Oworu, and Isaac Olson will join the the squad later on the tour
• Matt Beukeboom makes a welcome return after a 9-year exile from the squad… the Pro D2 veteran lines up on the blindside flank and will add to his 3 test caps… Tyler Ardron and Lucas Rumball combine to form an impressive back row trio
• 21-year-old scrumhalf Jesse Kilgour gets another start after making his senior international debut during the trip to Japan in September… uncapped flyhalf Jack Gore is among the reserves, with his 19th birthday still a little over a week away
• Tyler Matchem makes a welcome return from long-term injury… the 23-year-old tighthead prop was a regular with NOLA Gold in 2025 but hasn’t featured for Canada since November of 2024

QUOTES

Steve Meehan (Head Coach)

“Georgia are a physical, confrontational team with an aggressive defensive line speed, a strong set-piece and an athletic backline. It will be important for us to be smart in how we respond to those challenges and how we look to dictate the tempo of the game. We want to play with intent, strike when opportunities present themselves and move Georgia around the pitch.”

PREDICTION

If Canada’s top players were all available this might have been a closer call, but there’s no doubt the absence of Quattrin, Olmstead, and Flesch among others puts a damper on the visitors. Meehan will see this as a chance to build depth ahead of the World Cup. The Lelos are near full strength and are looking for a cohesive showing to restore faith that they can challenge higher ranked nations at next year’s World Cup. They were comfortable winners over the Canadians a year ago in Batumi. Georgia are clear favorites at home in Tbilisi.

TEAMS

GEORGIA
1 Giorgi Akhaladze, 2 Vakhtang Jintcharadze, 3 Bachuki Tchumbadze, 4 Lado Chachanidze, 5 Giorgi Javakhia, 6 Luka Ivanishvili, 7 Beka Saginadze, 8 Beka Shvangiradze, 9 Vaso Lobzhanidze, 10 Luka Matkava, 11 Dachi Papunashvili, 12 Tornike Kakhoidze, 13 Luka Tabatadze, 14 Akaki Tabutsadze, 15 Davit Niniashvili (capt.)

Replacements: 16 Vano Karkadze, 17 Sergo Abramishvili, 18 Beka Gigashvili, 19 Gagui Margvelashvili, 20 Mikheil Shioshvili, 21 Ilia Spanderashvili, 22 Gela Aprasidze, 23 Georges Shvelidze

CANADA
1 Cali Martinez, 2 Foster DeWitt, 3 Kyle Steeves, 4 Daragh Doyle, 5 Izzak Kelly, 6 Matt Beukeboom, 7 Lucas Rumball (capt.), 8 Tyler Ardron, 9 Jesse Kilgour, 10 Spencer Jones, 11 Nic Benn, 12 Ben LeSage, 13 Jacob Ince, 14 Kyle Tremblay, 15 Takoda McMullin

Replacements: 16 Austin Creighton, 17 Sam Miller, 18 Tyler Matchem, 19 Barnaby Waddell, 20 Sion Perry, 21 Stephen Webb, 22 Jack Gore, 23 Liam James

MATCH INFO

Date: Saturday, November 7
Venue: Avchala Stadium Tbilisi
Kickoff: 18:00 local (07:00 Pacific, 09:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: cloudy, 48°F (9°C), wind NW 12-17 mph (20-28 km/h)
Broadcasts: TSN 4 (Canada), RugbyPass TV

OFFICIALS

Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
Assistants: Federico Vedovelli (Italy) & Filippo Russo (Italy)
TMO: Stefano Penne (Italy)

HISTORY

HEAD-TO-HEAD (8): Georgia 5, Canada 3

2025-11-15	Georgia	38-17	Canada	Batumi
2017-11-11	Georgia	54-22	Canada	Tbilisi
2017-06-10	Canada	0-13	Georgia	Calgary
2015-09-02	Canada	16-15	Georgia	Esher (UK)
2013-11-09	Georgia	19-15	Canada	Tbilisi
2012-06-23	Canada	31-12	Georgia	Burnaby
2019-11-20	Georgia	22-15	Canada	Tbilisi
2009-06-06	Canada	42-10	Georgia	Denver