Canada coach Stephen Meehan has named a young match-day roster for Saturday’s men’s rugby test against Romania.
The starting 15 goes into the game at Bucharest’s Stadionul Arcul de Triumf with a combined 244 caps, with captain Lucas Rumball (62), fellow forward Cole Keith (41) and fullback Peter Nelson (32) accounting for 135 of them. Nine players have 11 or fewer caps.
The eight-man bench has a combined 80 caps with prop Matt Tierney (27) and scrum half Jason Higgins (25) combining for 52 of them. The 29-year-old Tierney returns to the lineup for the first time since 2021.
Barnaby Waddell, a six-foot-four 265-pound lock who plays in Wales for Bridgend Ravens, could make his debut off the bench.
The match against the 21st-ranked Romanians is the first of three this month for Meehan’s squad. The 24th-ranked Canadians face No. 11 Georgia on Nov. 15 in Batumi and No. 20 Portugal on Nov. 22 in Coimbra.
Canada is 1-5-0 so far in 2025, losing its last three outings in Pacific Nations Cup play since a 34-20 win over the United States in August, and has won just two of 13 outings (2-11-0) since the start of 2024.
While Meehan is giving youth a chance to shine, his roster is also in a state of flux given the contraction of Major League Rugby, which is down to six teams from 11 last season with the withdrawal of the Utah Warriors, Houston SaberCats, Miami Sharks and NOLA Gold plus the melding of the San Diego Legion and Rugby Football Club Los Angeles (RFC LA) into the California Legion.
That has left Canadian players looking for new teams.
There are first starts for prop Sam Miller and centre Kyle Tremblay, who each have one cap. Miller, who is coming off a club season in Australia with Southern Districts Rugby Club, made his debut off the bench against Romania in 2024 while, Tremblay earned his first cap against Belgium in July.
Robbie Povey starts at fly half, returning to the national team for the first time since 2023, with Nelson at fullback.
Nelson goes into the match with 198 career points as the seventh-highest point scorer in Canadian men’s rugby history.
Romania, surviving a late red card, hung on for a 35-27 win when the teams met last November in Bucharest to improve its record to 7-2-0 against Canada.
The Canadians won 35-22 when the two teams met in July 2024 in Ottawa, snapping a run of six Romanian victories over the Canadians. Canada’s two other victories were at the 1991 and ’96 World Cups.
Romania’s win streak includes one of the biggest comebacks in men’s World Cup history when it scored 17 points in the final 28 minutes at the 2015 tournament to edge Canada 17-15.
Canada has lost all five meetings on Romanian soil.
“We faced Romania twice in 2024, and we’re eager to embrace that challenge again — especially with the Cernavodă Cup at stake,” Meehan said in a statement. “It’s a meaningful trophy and an important benchmark for where we want our game to progress.
“We have players returning to the squad who’ve brought renewed energy and enthusiasm. The 10-day preparation period has been instrumental in strengthening cohesion, sharpening our combinations, and reinforcing how we want to operate as a squad … The squad has applied itself well, and we’re looking forward to demonstrating that in Bucharest on Saturday.”
Saturdays game marks the second edition of the Cernavodă Cup. Awarded in collaboration with the Canadian Embassy in Romania, it honours Romanian-Canadian co-operation in the nuclear energy sector.
In recognition of Remembrance Day, the Canadian men will wear custom jerseys featuring a poppy on the left sleeve, “honouring the sacrifices of those who have served and reflecting on the significance of remembering their courage, commitment, and legacy.”
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Canada Roster (x- denotes uncapped)
Sam Miller, Mount Denson, N.S., Southern Districts (Australia); Dewald Kotze, Edmonton, Seattle Seawolves (MLR); Cole Keith, Sussex, N.B., New England Free Jacks (MLR); Piers Von Dadelszen, Vancouver, New England Free Jacks (MLR); Izzak Kelly, White Rock, B.C., Capilano RFC; Mason Flesch, Cobourg, Ont., Chicago Hounds (MLR); Lucas Rumball, Toronto, Chicago Hounds (MLR); Matt Oworu, Chicago Hounds (MLR); Brock Gallagher, Edmonton, Seattle Seawolves (MLR); Robbie Povey, Calgary, Rotherham Titans (England); Josiah Morra, Toronto, Toronto Saracens; Kyle Tremblay, White Rock, B.C., Westshore RFC; Spencer Jones, Cambridge, New Zealand, Hamilton Old Boys (New Zealand); Nic Benn, Caves Beach, Australia, unattached; Peter Nelson, Dungannon, Northern Ireland, Dungannon RFC (Northern Ireland).
Replacements
Austin Creighton, Edmonton, James Bay AA; Emerson Prior, Brockville, Ont., Westshore RFC; Matt Tierney, Oakville, Ont., Oakville Crusaders; x-Barnaby Waddell, Exeter, England, Bridgend Ravens (Wales); Siôn Parry, Cardiff, Wales, Ebbw Vale RFC (Wales); Jason Higgins, Cork, Ireland, Chicago Hounds (MLR); Noah Flesch, Cobourg, Ont., Chicago Hounds (MLR); Jack Shaw, Oakville, Ont., Castaway Wanderers.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2025.
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
