Roster named as Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team prepares for first stop of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger

The 13 players that will represent Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team over the first two legs of the 2025 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger have been named by Head Coach Sean White following the men’s invitational at HSBC SVNS Vancouver. 

Cape Town, South Africa will host the opening rounds over March 1 to 2 and March 7 to 8. Teams will compete at Athlone Stadium, with the top eight ranked men’s teams following these two weekends progressing to the third round in Krakow, Poland in April. Following the third round, the top four ranked teams will qualify for the HSBC SVNS Play Off tournament in Los Angeles over May 3 to 4. More information on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger format can be found here. 

All 13 players on the roster competed at the men’s invitational held at BC Place this past weekend alongside the 10th edition of HSBC SVNS Vancouver. Twelve of these players made it onto the scoresheet in Vancouver, with Ethan Hager and Jamie Armstrong (the 2024 Back of the Year at the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship) leading the way on the team with four tries each through four games. 

Players such as Alex Russell, Thomas Isherwood, Kal Sager and Elias Hancock will bring valuable experience to the squad, with up-and-coming players who impressed in Vancouver looking to make their mark and play a part in Canada’s journey back to the HSBC SVNS series. 

Two players, Morgan Di Nardo and Ethan Turner, made their debut for Canada last year at the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, while Kyle Tremblay (of the Pacific Pride Development Academy) and Johnny Franklin debuted in November at the Rugby Americas North Sevens. 

Brenden Black, who also had a confident showing in Vancouver as one of the team’s strongest conversion kickers, was the youngest player to ever be capped in the MLR when he played his first professional game in 2023. 

“Having the opportunity to build cohesion as a team as well as fine tune our processes on and off field will allow us to hit the ground running in Cape Town,” said Sean White. “I was certainly pleased with our performances in Vancouver, and it made for very difficult selections which is what you always want as a coach. Our One Squad process has resulted in the potential for five new players to make their SVNS/Challenger debut. After a long travel day today, we will continue our recovery in Cape Town and make the adjustments needed to have a successful start to our Challenger Series.” 

More information on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger, including full schedules and updated scores, can be found here. 

SCHEDULE 

Saturday March 1 
Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team vs Madagascar 
3:21am PT / 6:21am ET 
Watch on TSN+ 

Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team vs Hong Kong China 
6:37am PT / 9:37am ET  
Watch on TSN+ 

Sunday March 2 
Semi-finals and finals 
Times and opponents TBD 
Watch on TSN+ 

*The schedule for the second round over March 7 to 8 will be announced by World Rugby following the conclusion of the first round. 

CANADA’S MEN’S SEVENS TEAM 

3. Ethan Turner (Maple Ridge, BC) - Burnaby Lake Rugby Club 
5. Alex Russell (Bracebridge, ON) - McGill University 
10. Noah Bain (Abbotsford, BC) - UBCOB Ravens / New England Free Jacks 
13. Brenden Black (Oakville, ON) - Oakville Crusaders / Guelph University 
15. Ethan Hager (Brantford, ON) - Brantford Harlequins / Castaway Wanderers 
18. Morgan Di Nardo (Toronto, ON) - Toronto City Rugby / University of Victoria 
20. Jamie Armstrong (Ottawa, ON) - Ottawa Irish / University of Ottawa 
22. Kyle Tremblay (White Rock, BC) - Pacific Pride / Bayside RFC 
23. Thomas Isherwood (Okotoks, AB) - Foothills Lions RFC / Westshore RFC 
27. Johnny Franklin (Bowen Island, BC) - Capilano RFC 
33. Kal Sager (Peterborough, ON) - Peterborough Pagans / Trent University  
64. Elias Hancock (Ottawa, ON) - Bytown Blues / University of Ottawa 
82. Michael Laplaine-Pereira (Montreal, QC) - TMR Rugby / Concordia University