KRAKOW — Canada scored two late tries but couldn’t catch Germany, losing 21-19 Saturday to finish fourth on the final stop of World Rugby’s second-tier Challenger Series.
But the Canadian men had achieved their goal earlier at Henryk Reyman’s Municipal Stadium by making the Cup semifinals. That assured them of a top-four finish on the season, which earns a berth in a promotion/relegation playoff May 3-4 in Carson, Calif.
The top four Challenger Series teams will battle the bottom four teams from the elite HSBC SVNS to decide four spots in next season’s HSBC SVNS field.
Canada, which finished last in the 12-team HSBC SVNS circuit last year, was relegated from the top tier after a 22-14 loss to Spain in the promotion/relegation playoff last June.
Portugal defeated Samoa 24-19 in the men’s Cup final Saturday while South Africa won the women’ competition, downing Argentina 21-12.
Canada and Germany arrived in Poland tied atop the standings with 34 points, followed by Portugal (32), Chile (28) and Samoa (26).
Jamie Armstrong, Kainoa Lloyd and Morgan Di Nardo scored tries for Canada, which trailed Germany 7-5 at the half. Thomas Isherwood booted two conversions.
Makonnen Amekudei scored two tries and Bennet Veil added a single for Germany. Cedric Eichholz kicked two conversions with Max Roddick adding another.
Armstrong opened the scoring with a fortuitous try, touching down a ball that bounced off Morgan Di Nardo’s knee and bounced over the goal-line. Amekudei answered quickly for Germany with a converted try for a 7-5 lead after he sliced though the Canadian defence.
The Canadian defenders were found wanting again early in the second half when Amekudei cut between two would-be tacklers and raced in alone for a second try. Veil took advantage of another hole in the defence for Germany’s third try.
Converted tries by Lloyd and Di Nardo cut the German lead to 21-19 with under a minute remaining.
Canada dropped into the third-place game after losing 28-5 to Samoa in the Cup semifinal earlier Saturday with Armstrong accounting for the lone Canadian try.
Canada posted wins over Madagascar, Japan and Portugal on Friday to advance to the semifinals. Canada defeated Madagascar 29-24 before downing Japan 40-10 and Portugal 17-10 in pool play.
Canada finished runner-up in the opening round of the Challenger Series, beaten 33-7 by Chile in the final. The Canadians were third in the second round, defeating Japan 28-15 in the consolation final also in Cape Town, South Africa.
The Canada men won the Rugby Americas North (RAN) Sevens in November, blanking host Trinidad and Tobago 38-0 in the final, to qualify for the Challenger Series.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2025.
The Canadian Press
