The Canadian men's rugby team will host Belgium and Spain in Edmonton in July.
The test matches, the first since Canada's tour of Romania in November, will mark the Canadian coaching debut of Australian Steve Meehan.
Canada, currently ranked 24th by World Rugby, will face No. 22 Belgium on July 12 and No. 16 Spain on July 18 with both games at the 4,500-capacity Clarke Stadium.
The Edmonton games mark the first time Alberta has staged international test rugby since 2018.
"We have a big challenge ahead of us this summer and I can’t wait to rip into it with the boys." Canada captain Lucas Rumball said in a statement. "I know guys are in their different team environments working hard so we can put our best foot forward when we get back together."
The July tests will be warmups for the Pacific Nations Cup in August-September. The six-team Nations Cup serves as a World Cup qualifier with the top three teams booking their tickets to the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
But given No. 9 Fiji and No. 13 Japan have already booked their ticket by finishing in the top three in their pool at the 2023 World Cup in France, a fifth-place finish could conceivably result in qualification.
The other teams in the Pacific Nations field are No. 14 Samoa, the 15th-ranked U.S. and No. 19 Tonga.
Canada opens Pacific Nations play south of the border against the U.S. in August, with details of future games yet to be released.
There are two additional qualifying paths if Canada does not finish high enough in the Pacific Nations.
The bottom team in the tournament, excluding the two already qualified sides, will play the Sudamerica Rugby Championship runner-up in a playoff with the winner qualifying.
And the playoff loser has another chance via a final eight-team qualification tournament that will determine the last team in the World Cup field. Belgium will be part of that qualification tournament field.
Canada has played Belgium three times, winning 45-0 in July 2022 in Halifax, 24-0 in November 2021 in Brussels and 43-12 in November 2010 in Brussels.
Canada and Spain square off for the third time in the last four years, with Spain winning 42-20 on home soil in November 2023 and 57-34 in July 2022. Canada won the two other meetings, 37-27 in November 2017 and 60-22 in November 2010, with both games in Madrid.
Spain qualified for the World Cup by reaching the Rugby Europe Men’s Championship semifinals in February. Its only other World Cup appearance was 1999 in France.
The 2027 World Cup in Australia has been expanded from 20 to 24 teams.
Defending champion South Africa, France, New Zealand, Italy, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Australia, England and Argentina have also already qualified by virtue of their 2023 tournament performance.
Canada was a spectator for that World Cup, failing to qualify for the first time ever after losing a two-game qualifying series to the U.S. (59-50 on aggregate) and Chile (54-46 on aggregate).
Canada has lost five straight and 10 of its last 12 outings, most recently beaten by No. 20 Romania (35-27) and No. 21 Chile (44-14) in November in Bucharest.
Kingsley Jones stepped down as coach on Dec. 4. Jones, a former Wales captain whose record at the Canadian helm was 14-34-0 in international test play and 17-38-0, including non-test matches, had signed a two-year contract extension in October 2023.
Meehan was named his replacement on Dec. 20 but has yet to officially start.
His resume includes coaching roles with Stade Francais and Toulon in France, the Western Force and the Queensland Reds in his native Australia, and Kintetsu Liners Rugby in Japan.
Meehan, as head coach, led England's Bath to three consecutive premiership semifinals and the 2008 European Challenge Cup.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2025
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
