New Canada rugby coach Stephen Meehan looks to play a more expansive game

Canada's Lucas Rumball (7) scores a try during the second half of men's 15s international rugby action against Spain in Ottawa, on Sunday, July 10, 2022. Flanker Rumball will lead a Canada team drawn almost entirely from Major League Rugby sides on Saturday against sixth-ranked Scotland. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

It looks like change and opportunity will be the buzzwords in coach Stephen Meehan’s debut with the Canadian men’s rugby team.

Change in that the 59-year-old Australian is looking for his players to express themselves by playing a more expansive style of rugby.

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And opportunity because Meehan, who officially started the job in April, has clearly used the time since his appointment was announced in December to search for new talent, with 20 uncapped players in his original long list of 59 players announced ahead of his first matches at the helm.

The 24th-ranked Canadians host No. 23 Belgium on Saturday and No. 16 Spain on July 18, with both games at Edmonton’s Clarke Stadium.

Meehan has included two uncapped players in his matchday 23 against Belgium, with Brenden Black starting at fullback and centre Kyle Tremblay, who has been capped in sevens play, on the bench. Cooper Coats makes his first start at fly-half after spending most of his 17 previous appearances at fullback.

Meehan says the players, young and old, have shown themselves to be open to his brand of rugby.

“I think one of the things that’s pretty evident is that everybody’s hoping to be able to play or expecting to play, probably a game that gives them the opportunity to showcase their abilities. To look for opportunity and have a go at it,” he explained.

“I hope that it translates into something a little bit quicker, something potentially a little more expansive. And it is no doubt more challenging to play, but it’s also more challenging to defend. And it’s probably more enjoyable after all. What I can sort of pick up is there’s a period of adjustment that they have to go through but they’re pretty excited to do that.”

The Edmonton tests are a warm-up for a game later this summer at the Pacific Nations Cup, which doubles as a qualifier for the 2027 World Cup.

“There’s obviously going to be change and I think it’s highlighted even more, when you have a new coach at the helm,” said captain Lucas Rumball. “I’m excited for the differences in the way we’re going to do things. I think it’s going to be an exciting summer for us.

“The Canadians in MLR (Major League Rugby) have been playing really well and I think that should bleed into some of the international stuff.”

Meehan likes what he sees in Rumball.

“He’s very calm, very experienced. He is a heart-on-the-sleeve type of player who leads by example, is optimistic, is positive, is enthusiastic. But at the same time has a deep understanding of the game. He can really take all that and impart it in the team, keep them calm and do a great job as a result.”

Meehan’s wife, Beth, is also in Canada, although his time in camp with the team has kept him busy. “I’ll look forward to catching up with her at some stage,” he said dryly.

Meehan has also started meeting with local coaches across the country, with more such events to come.

“To be here and to get around the place, talk to people and get a feel for the rugby has been terrific,” he said. “The people you come across are just so passionate for it and enthusiastic about it that you hope if we can all (work) together, we can do something that takes up certainly up the rankings and inspires the next generation.”

Meehan has a wealth of experience to share.

He was an assistant coach under Nick Mallett and Fabien Galthié at Stade Francais in Paris from 2004 to 2006, winning the Top 14 title twice in three trips to the final.

Meehan then joined England’s Bath, where he was promoted to head coach and led the club to three consecutive premiership semifinals and the 2008 European Challenge Cup.

Meehan left Bath in 2011 and returned to Australia, serving as attack coach for Western Force — joining former Bath coach Michael Foley — and then the Queensland Reds. In 2015, he went to France to join Bernard Laporte’s staff at European champion Toulon as backs coach.

He coached Japan’s Kintetsu Liners Rugby from 2017 to 2019 before returning to Australia to rejoin the Western Force for an eight-month stint as defence coach.

From 2020 to ’23, with the pandemic restricting overseas job opportunities, he was director of rugby for Brisbane Boys College, director of rugby at the GPS Rugby Club, a local amateur side, and worked at QLD (Queensland) Health in a non-rugby role as leader of an IT team.

In October 2023, Meehan was named coach of the Toronto Arrows. But, before he landed in Canada, the MLR club folded after the sudden death of co-founder Bill Webb.

Canada opens Pacific Nations Cup play Aug. 25 against Japan on Aug. 25 in Vancouver before facing the U.S. on Aug. 31 in Carson, Calif. The six-country tournament also features No. 9 Fiji, No. 13 Samoa and No. 19 Tonga, who will play in a separate pool.

Each team will play two pool games before taking part in a final placement match.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 11, 2025

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press