Canada captain’s massive shift tells story of spirited fight against Fiji

Fiji are through to the Asahi Super Dry Pacific Nations Cup 2026 decider, inflicting a “nightmare” start on Canada on their way to a 45-29 win in Osaka. But Canadian captain Lucas Rumball still put in an almighty shift, leading the match in carries, defenders beaten and tackles.

“I just try and get through as much work as I can,” Rumball told RugbyPass post-game, after quite modestly guessing teammate Mason Flesch topped the charts. Flesch scored two tries in an 80-minute shift, but Canada’s 31-year-old skipper was also impressive.

The Flying Fijians led by a game-high 28 points with less than 20 left, which points to just how dominant the defending PNC champions were for long periods. But Rumball still finished with a staggering 19 carries, seven defenders beaten and 15 tackles completed.

Flesch was next-best on the total carries charts, but still had seven fewer than Rumball. The Test veteran of more than 60 appearances in Canadian red also made three more tackles than Player of the Match Motikiai Murray, with possession split fairly evenly between the teams.

“Like any backrower does, you just try to find the ball, find where you’re needed, get around the park,” Rumball said.

“Probably 20 minutes into that game I was blowing a little bit, that makes sense now.”

Rumball and Ben LeSage are the only players in this Canadian squad that went to the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, then going through the heartbreak of failing to quality for the latest edition held three years ago in France.

But as Canada prepare for their return to the World Cup stage next year in Australia, the Pacific Nations Cup will serve as a valuable opportunity for more high-level hit-outs. Canada are coming off a 1-1-1 record in three matches during the all-new World Rugby Nations Cup in July.

Canada were coming off a one-sided 45-point defeat to Japan in Niigata, but conceded inside 30 seconds against Fiji. Kitione Salawa charged down an attempted clearance, before regathering and managing to stay just inside the field of play.

“Just refocus. It’s obviously not the start you  want, it’s picture perfect for them and for us I think it’s a nightmare,” the captain reflected.

“It’s just about moving on. There’s nothing you can do to change that, it’s about what you do next.”

Frank Lomani added to Fiji’s advantage about four minutes later, but the Canadians clawed their way back. Flesch crashed over for an important five-pointer in the seventh minute, before fullback Takoda McMullin knocked over a penalty later on.

Openside flanker Sion Parry scored just before the break, with Canada trailing by nine going into the sheds. Fiji went on a 19-point unanswered run early in the second term, but again Canada fought their way back with 12 of their own.

Kyle Tremblay and Flesch scored a try each, and the side sitting in 24^th spot on the World Rugby rankings continued to search for more points. Canada finished with more turnovers won, and a slightly better tackle completion percentage.

“I’m really proud of the boys. We stepped up from last week [against Japan].

“Am I happy with the performance completely? No. There’s still a lot we have to work on, there’s still basic errors that we’re making. We need to really tighten it up if we want to compete, though it was a good step forward for a younger group.”