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Two teams coming off defeats will meat in a neutral-venue clash at Chambery, France, for the penultimate round of the World Rugby Nations Cup on Saturday. Canada were well-beaten by Georgia in Tbilisi but have several reinforcements from Europe bolstering their squad this week. The Maple Leafs square off against Hong Kong, who very nearly upset the USA at Bourg-en-Bresse.
| FORM GUIDE |
Current World Ranking: 24 (59.55 points)
| 2026-11-08 | Hong Kong | 26-28 | USA | Bourg-en-Bresse |
| 2026-10-31 | Belgium | 27-17 | Hong Kong | Brussels |
| 2026-07-18 | Uruguay | 40-42 | Hong Kong | Montevideo |
| 2026-07-11 | Chile | 38-17 | Hong Kong | Viña Del Mar |
| 2026-07-04 | Samoa | 66-19 | Hong Kong | Santiago |
Current World Ranking: 21 (62.29 points)
| 2026-11-07 | Georgia | 59-14 | Canada | Tbilisi |
| 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 |
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 7 | Dana Fourie | Callum McCullough |
| 14 | Paul Altier | Seb Brien |
|
IN | OUT |
| 2 | Andrew Quattrin | Foster DeWitt |
| 5 | Evan Olmstead | Izzak Kelly |
| 7 | Sion Parry | Lucas Rumball |
| 13 | Isaac Olson | Jacob Ince |
| 14 | Demetri Patterson | Kyle Tremblay |
| NOTES |
- the two sides played six times between 1996 and 1998 in the now-defunct Pacific Rim Championship, but didn’t meet again until the 2018 World Cup Repechage tournament… that was the most recent meeting… Hong Kong’s only victory against Canada was on home soil in May of 1998
- Andrew Douglas has largely kept the faith with the lineup that nearly toppled the Eagles… abrasive flanker Dana Fourie comes in at No7 this week, and influential goal kicker Paul Altier has shaken off a knock taken against Belgium to start on the wing
- a notable addition to Hong Kong’s bench is Matt Worley… the speedy outside back spent time with Racing 92 and Northampton Saints development sides before becoming a regular starter for Bedford Blues in the English Championship
- front rowers Alex Post and Keelan Chapman both have ties to Canadian rugby… Post played for the Arrows in 2018, prior to their admission to Major League Rugby… Chapman attended McGill University in Montreal and later represented the Atlantic Rock
- Douglas will be familiar with some of Canada’s team, having coached Old Glory DC during their exhibition campaign in 2019 and then in Major League Rugby until 2022
- Steve Meehan meanwhile welcomes seven European-based players to the squad but will be without regular captain Lucas Rumball, who is unavailable this week… his long-time deputy Ben LeSage leads the side out for the first time with Ebbw Vale captain Sion Parry stepping into the No7 shirt
- Andrew Quattrin (Carcassonne), Evan Olmstead (Nissa), and Isaac Olson (Ampthill) some straight into the run-on side… settling for bench roles are Dewald Kotze (Rotherham), Cole Keith (Périgueux), Matthew Oworu (Biarritz), and Jason Higgins (Cork Constitution)… regular blindside flanker Mason Flesch will play for club side Newcastle Red Bulls this weekend
- Josh Thiel has also answered the call from Canada after backs Kyle Tremblay, Liam James, and Josh McIndoe were ruled out with injury… midfielder Thiel won the most recent of his 3 test caps in November of 2022… he is currently playing for James Bay in the BC Premiership but spent last season with French semi-pro outfit Agde
- UBC Thunderbirds winger Demetri Patterson is handed a test debut on the wing… the 23-year-old has previously turned out for the Senior Men’s Sevens side
| QUOTES |
Steve Meehan (Head Coach)
“Hong Kong, China are a side that thrive on broken play and loose balls. They’re very good at capitalizing on kicks, grubbers and unpredictable bounces, so discipline will be crucial. We need to be smart in our approach and make sure we don’t give them the opportunities that other teams have allowed them to exploit.”
“Our newest players have arrived with tremendous enthusiasm and energy. Tuesday afternoon, we had the best training session I’ve been part of since taking on this role. It was fantastic to see the players smiling, enjoying themselves and bringing that energy to the group. Hopefully, we can carry that momentum into the weekend.”
| PREDICTION |
Weather shouldn’t be a factor with mild conditions on the forecast. While the scorelines from a week ago would suggest this could be a close affair, the Maple Leafs were up against the highest-ranked team in the Nations Cup absent several of their top players. Hong Kong were facing a struggling USA side who were beaten by the Canadians in the Pacific Nations Cup. One area of concern for the Canadians will be the scrum, but otherwise their pack is a clear step above Hong Kong. The strength of the Canuck bench should see them to a reasonably comfortable victory. Canada are favorites in Chambéry.
| TEAMS |
HONG KONG
1 Sunia Fameitau, 2 Alex Post, 3 Faizal Solomona, 4 James Rivers, 5 Max Murphy, 6 Jack Bartlett, 7 Dana Fourie, 8 Josh Hrstich (capt.), 9 Jack Combes, 10 Nate de Thierry, 11 Harry Sayers, 12 Isaac Campbell-Wu, 13 Marcus Ramage, 14 Paul Altier, 15 Dylan McCann
Replacements: 16 Harry Baron, 17 Thomas Concu, 18 Keelan Chapman, 19 Lachlan Doheny, 20 Callum McCullough, 21 Eric Chui, 22 Joe Barker, 23 Matt Worley
CANADA
1 Cali Martinez, 2 Andrew Quattrin, 3 Kyle Steeves, 4 Daragh Doyle, 5 Evan Olmstead, 6 Matt Beukeboom, 7 Sion Perry, 8 Tyler Ardron, 9 Jesse Kilgour, 10 Spencer Jones, 11 Nic Benn, 12 Ben LeSage (capt.), 13 Isaac Olson, 14 Demetri Patterson, 15 Takoda McMullin
Replacements: 16 Dewald Kotze, 17 Sam Miller, 18 Cole Keith, 19 Izzak Kelly, 20 Matthew Oworu, 21 Jason Higgins, 22 Jack Gore, 23 Josh Thiel
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, November 14
Venue: Savoie Stadium, Chambéry
Kickoff: 15:00 local (07:00 Pacific, 09:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: partly cloudy, 55°F (13°C), wind NW 6-8 mph (9-13 km/h)
Broadcasts: TSN 5 (Canada), RugbyPass TV
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: Jérémy Rozier (France)
Assistants: Kevin Bralley (France) & Benoît Rousselet (France)
TMO: Julien Castaignede (France)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (7): Canada 6, Hong Kong 1
| 2018-11-23 | Canada | 27-10 | Hong Kong | Marseille |
| 1998-06-13 | Canada | 38-12 | Hong Kong | Shawnigan Lake |
| 1998-05-09 | Hong Kong | 23-17 | Canada | Happy Valley |
| 1997-06-07 | Canada | 17-16 | Hong Kong | Vancouver |
| 1997-05-24 | Hong Kong | 27-35 | Canada | Happy Valley |
| 1996-07-06 | Canada | 57-9 | Hong Kong | Vancouver |
| 1996-06-01 | Hong Kong | 12-18 | Canada | Happy Valley |
