Canada coach Steve Meehan has made four changes to his starting lineup for Saturday’s rugby test match at No. 11 Georgia.
Barnaby Waddell, who made his Canada debut off the bench in last week’s 32-21 loss to No. 21 Romania, starts in the second row while Emerson Prior, who made his debut against Spain in Edmonton in July, gets his first start at prop. In the backs, Jason Higgins starts at scrum half with Noah Flesch taking over at inside centre.
Older brother Mason Flesch continues in the back row for the game at Adjarabet Arena in Batumi.
The Canadian starting 15 goes in Saturday’s match with a combined 288 caps, up from 244 for the Romania contest. Captain Lucas Rumball (63 caps), fellow forward Cole Keith (42) and fullback Peter Nelson (33) account for 138 of them. Eight players have 12 or fewer caps.
The eight-man bench has 77 caps between them.
A win and the 24th-ranked Canadians would climb a place in the rankings, moving past Hong Kong. Georgia would remain at No. 11 with a victory Saturday but could fall in the rankings if No. 13 Japan beats No. 12 Wales by more than 15 points.
Georgia holds a 4-3-0 edge in the overall series with Canada and has won the last two meetings both in 2017, prevailing 54-22 in November in Tbilisi and 13-0 in July in Calgary.
Canada’s last win over Georgia was a 16-15 decision in September 2015 in a World Cup warmup in England.
The Canadian men wrap up their November tour against No. 20 Portugal on Nov. 22 in Coimbra. Portiugal hosts Hong Kong on Saturday.
Canada Roster
Emerson Prior, Brockville, Ont., Westshore RFC; 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); Barnaby Waddell, Exeter, England, Bridgend Ravens (Wales); Mason Flesch, Cobourg, Ont., Chicago Hounds (MLR); Lucas Rumball (capt.), Toronto, Chicago Hounds (MLR); Matt Oworu, Chicago Hounds (MLR); Jason Higgins, Cork, Ireland, Chicago Hounds (MLR); Robbie Povey, Calgary, Rotherham Titans (England); Nic Benn, Caves Beach, Australia, unattached; Noah Flesch, Cobourg, Ont., Chicago Hounds (MLR); Spencer Jones, Cambridge, New Zealand, Hamilton Old Boys (New Zealand); Josiah Morra, Toronto, Toronto Saracens; Peter Nelson, Dungannon, Northern Ireland, Dungannon RFC (Northern Ireland).
Replacements
Austin Creighton, Edmonton, James Bay AA; Sam Miller, Mount Denson, N.S., Southern Districts (Australia); Matt Tierney, Oakville, Ont., Oakville Crusaders; Izzak Kelly, White Rock, B.C., Capilano RFC; Callum Botchar, Vancouver, James Bay AA; Siôn Parry, Cardiff, Wales, Ebbw Vale RFC (Wales); Brock Gallagher, Edmonton, Seattle Seawolves (MLR); Kyle Tremblay, White Rock, B.C., Westshore RFC;
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13. 2025
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
