Canadian men's rugby team starts World Cup prep with matches in Edmonton, Winnipeg

Portugal's Rodrigo Marta tackles Canada's Andrew Quattrin, left, during a rugby union international match between Portugal and Canada in Oeiras, outside Lisbon, Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

The Canadian men’s rugby team can take a page from its soccer counterpart in generating buzz for the biggest stage in their sport, says one of the rugby team’s veterans.

Canada plays the first of three rugby matches at home in July on Saturday against Spain at Edmonton’s Clarke Stadium.

The Canadians host Portugal in Edmonton on July 11 before facing Zimbabwe on July 18 at Winnipeg’s Princess Auto Stadium.

The matches are part of the Nations Cup, which is a new biennial competition featuring 12 countries already qualified for the 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup in Australia.

Saturday evening’s match against Spain in Edmonton starts a few hours after the Canadian men’s soccer team plays a round-of-16 knockout match against Morocco in Houston in the FIFA World Cup.

“What our soccer team has done is amazing. They’ve kind of created their own destiny, their own pride wearing a soccer jersey,” said hooker Andrew Quattrin of Holland Landing, Ont.

“There’s a bit of that that we need to do. Our World Cup, in quotes, probably starts this Saturday, in terms of we need to make some buzz about that.”

Canada fell short of a berth in the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France and didn’t participate for the first time in tournament history.

The 29-year-old Quattrin is among a handful of Canadian veterans who played in the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

“Now that the team’s qualified, I would say that there’s a good energy among the crew,” he said. “Being pretty fortunate to go to 2019, it’s actually quite amazing because I don’t think the guys really know what’s in store yet

“I wish I could just capture that experience in a bottle and just have a sip of it every six months when you’re feeling down because it’s just such a great experience, so amazing, you just want to live in that.”

Currently 25th in the world, Canada is the lowest-ranked team in this year’s Nations Cup. Spain ranks 17th, Portugal 14th and Zimbabwe 24th.

Spain’s last-play penalty kick was enough to beat Canada 24-23 in Edmonton on July 18, 2025, and a week after the Canadians fell 25-18 to Belgium at Clarke Stadium.

“Our first game this week, we’re playing Spain, and we have them in our pool at the World Cup,” Quattrin pointed out. “We’re playing a lot of teams that are, technically on points, considered better than us, so it’s a good opportunity to just draw a line in the sand and see where we can compete.

“We’re going to probably shock a lot of people, which is awesome. We’ve got a tight-knit group.”

Canada’s head coach Stephen Meehan was recently granted a contract extension through to 2028 after navigating Canada to World Cup qualification last year.

A 34-20 upset of the United States last August in Calgary launched Canada’s bid to return to the World Cup. The Canadians clinched it by reaching the semifinals of the Pacific Nations Cup in September.

Quattrin, who played last season for the French club Valence Romans, is among a handful of Canadians in a 32-player pool who have professional rugby gigs in Europe or the United States. There isn’t a domestic pro league in Canada.

“Probably 60 per cent, 70 per cent of the squad works 40 hours a week and then has to hone their rugby skills,” Quattrin said.

The schedule for November’s round of Nations Cup matches in Europe and Asia will be announced at a later date.

Canada opens the 2027 World Cup on Oct. 4 against Argentina in Brisbane, Australia. Fiji joins Spain in Canada’s pool.

The 24-country tournament, expanding from 20 in 2023, concludes Nov. 13 in Sydney, Australia. Canada’s best result historically was reaching the quarterfinals in 1991.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 3, 2026.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press