Rugby Canada Announce Senior Men’s 15s Match Day Roster To Face Belgium

November 11, 2021 (Brussels, BE) - Canada Senior Men’s 15s head coach Kingsley Jones has announced his roster for the team’s final match of 2021, November 13th, against Belgium at Stade Nelson Mandela in Brussels, Belgium.

Canada will be looking to finish the year on a high note after a narrow, last-minute loss to Portugal last weekend. Jones’ lineup against Portugal featured a familiar group from the team’s most recent matches, with players such as Cole Keith, Michael Smith and Quinn Ngawati shifting to starting roles. Corey Thomas led Canada’s attack versus Portugal, capturing a brace, while teammates Cole Keith and Rob Povey contributed a try and conversion, respectively.

“Our players have remained positive through a tough run of matches,” said Jones. “I’ve been really impressed with this group and I am looking forward to seeing how they respond in the final match of the year.”

The starting line-up versus Belgium shows four personnel changes and one positional change from last week’s team. Tyler Rowland, Corey Thomas, Jason Higgins and Isaac Olson all move into the starting line-up. Thomas, who has been playing throughout the back five for Canada, gets the start at #8 while Higgins at scrumhalf gets his first start for Canada having played as a reserve over the past five matches. Olson starts on the wing and will earn his first cap for his country, which allows Brock Webster to move from wing to fullback for this match.

Ranked No. 28 in World Rugby’s Men’s Rankings, Belgium will be looking to gain valuable minutes for their players in what will be their third test of 2021. The team’s most recent match in May saw them drop a close 23-21 decision to the Netherlands in the Rugby Europe Championship.

Kick off for Friday’s match versus Belgium has been updated to 15h00 local time - 9am ET/6am PT. The match will be live streamed on World Rugby (world.rugby) website and World Rugby’s Facebook and YouTube channel. Url to website: https://www.world.rugby/tournaments/november-tests/watch-live

CANADA’S SENIOR MEN’S 15s TEAM’S MATCH DAY ROSTER

1. Cole Keith - Sussex, NB - Toronto Arrows
2. Andrew Quattrin - Holland Landing, ON - Toronto Arrows
3. Tyler Rowland - Mississauga, ON - Toronto Arrows
4. Conor Keys - Stittsville, ON - Rugby ATL
5. Kyle Baillie - Summerside, PEI - Toronto Arrows
6. Lucas Rumball - Scarborough, ON - Toronto Arrows (c)
7. Michael Smith - White Rock, BC - San Diego Legion
8. Corey Thomas - Perth, AUS - LA Giltinis
9. Jason Higgins - Cork, IRE - Toronto Arrows
10. Spencer Jones - Cambridge, NZ - Toronto Arrows
11. Kainoa Lloyd - Mississauga, ON - James Bay AA
12. Quinn Ngawati - Victoria, BC - Rugby United New York
13. Ben LeSage - Calgary, AB - Toronto Arrows
14. Isaac Olson - Vernon, BC - Canada Men’s 7s
15. Brock Webster - Uxbridge, ON - Canada Men’s 7s

RESERVES
16. Eric Howard - Edmonton, AB - NOLA Gold
17. Djustice Sears-Duru - Oakville, ON - Unattached
18. Foster DeWitt - Courtenay, BC – Pacific Pride Performance Academy
19. Josh Larsen - Parksville, BC - New England Free Jacks
20. Mason Flesch - Cobourg, ON - Toronto Arrows
21. Ross Braude - Pretoria, South Africa - Toronto Arrows
22. Rob Povey - Calgary, AB - Houston SaberCats
23. Lachlan Kratz - Victoria, BC - NOLA Gold

ABOUT RUGBY CANADA
Rugby Canada is the national governing body of the sport of Rugby Union in Canada. They administer and operate Men’s and Women’s Senior and Junior National programs in both rugby 15s and 7s, as well as govern the Club and community game for more than 30,000 registered participants from coast to coast in conjunction with ten Provincial Union members.

Rugby Canada is headquartered at the Al Charron National Training Centre in Langford, BC, residing on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish, Á,LEṈENEȻ ȽTE (W̱SÁNEĆ), Te’mexw Treaty Association, and Lekwungen/Songhees peoples, with staff also working from Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa. Rugby Canada business operations, programs and events are delivered nationwide, including the internationally recognized HSBC Canada Sevens annual tournaments.