Canada overcome ‘tough’ start to claim their biggest win of 2026

Canada have bounced back from a heavy defeat to Georgia in the World Rugby Nations Cup with a statement 38-17 victory against Hong Kong China, who have also secured their place at Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia.

It’s the biggest win of the international season for the Canadians, who have now improved their record to 2-2-1 in the Nations Cup. But the USA Eagles can’t be caught in Pool B, securing top spot with one round still to play.

The Canadians were coming off a 45-point defeat to eventual Pool A champions Georgia, which was their equal biggest defeat of 2026. But Canada bounced back in a big way against Hong Kong China, piling on 33 unanswered points during the final 30 minutes.

Canada went down to 14 men during the first half after outside centre Isaac Olsen was shown a yellow card, but the North American side remained in the contest. Hong Kong China led 10-0 deep in the first half, before winger Nic Benn hit back for Canada.

Five points separated the teams at half-time, and Hong Kong China were actually the first to strike during the second term as well. But it was one-way point-scoring traffic from then on, with utility back Takoda McMullin starring during the second 40.

“We work really hard and we play to earn victories on the weekend. It felt like last weekend’s performance, especially the second half, wasn’t reflective of us as a team,” first-time Canada captain Ben LeSage said post-game.

“To come out today, to have a really tough first 20 minutes, Hong Kong [China] really battled against us, kudos to them.

“The second half, you finally saw the type of rugby we’re trying to play and a bit of confidence. Really proud of the guys.”

It was a one-score game at half-time, but a focus on getting “back to basics” helped Canada take control of the contest. Canada finished with 71 per cent possession in the final 10 minutes, and scored 12 points during that same period.

Backrower Josh Hrstich conceded a yellow card and Hong Kong China went down to 14 men around the 50-minute mark, with a penalty try also going in favour of the Canadians. It was a three-point game and the Canadians appeared supremely confident from there.

Spencer Jones, Sam Miller and McMullin all made their mark with a five-pointer each as Canada ran out big winners in the end. Canada now prepare to face Romania next weekend, in the final round of the Nations Cup.

“We had to play quick ball. We had to take care of the ball in the ruck. We wanted to get fast ball and we wanted to the space you saw, starting to put the ball in behind a bit and play in the right areas of the field,” LeSage added.

“It’s something that we talk about all week but it’s hard to do on game day under pressure. You saw it start to come to fruition in the second half.”