Lucas Rumball has had to wait a long time to feel this good about matches against USA. For a long stretch the Canada back-row continually had to soak up the pain and frustration of losing to their nearest rivals, making his debut during a 12-game stretch where Canada failed to defeat the Eagles.
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Which is why victories like Canada’s 19-16 recent win over the USA mean so much, a tight game sealed by Rumball’s late turnover to ensure that Canada finished third in the Pacific Nations Cup.
“Oh, it’s really emotional for us here,” he explains to RugbyPass. “You always want to beat your friends and your close neighbours. There’s a little bit more chat, a little bit more friendly head rubs, things like that. It just gives you an extra edge when you’re playing.
“Everyone involved really wants to win, to be involved in that game, to put one over them. You know, they’ve probably had our number in the past few years, a bit more than I’d like, that’s for sure.”
Part of that hunger, beyond the obvious national pride, is that for those Canadian players a victory proves to the world that they can compete, following the collapse of the Toronto Arrows in 2023.
“[What] happened in the MLR, Canadians losing domestic status, I think we really wanted to put our hand up, to show the quality of player we can put out there. So I think it just gave us all the motivation to really dig in and win what was a tight game, but I feel like we did leave some points on the table in bits of that game. So I was really proud of the performance.”
The Arrows’ demise took Rumball to Chicago, where the Hounds have been more than happy to have him. Rumball captained Chicago to this year’s MLR title, as a side featuring former England centre Ollie Devoto defeated California Legion.
Rumball speaks effusively about life in Chicago, “a home that kind of found me through unfortunate circumstances”, name-checking Giordano’s at the best destination for pizza – while trying to stay away from the deep dish during the season given “you don’t want to be putting the kgs on” – and hailing the support from the Hounds fans.
“To put a show on like we did last year for them, I was so happy. Those fans, they’ll go out there in the cold, in the rain, the heat, whatever’s out there, they don’t care. They’re there, they’re cheering, they’re having a good time. So to get them the shield was awesome for me.”
We don’t really have a pro domestic comp in Canada, so guys really have to go overseas to find good-quality rugby at closer to international standard.
His back-row partner from that final, Mason Flesch, is off to pastures new. Newcastle Red Bulls announced the signing in October of Flesch, the MLR forward of the year for 2026. Rumball is both sad and elated in equal measure to see him go.
“I’m over the moon for the guy. I first started playing with him when he was just a young kid in Toronto, and I’ve watched him develop into an outstanding player. He gets through so much quality work on the field, and to see him grow over the last, you know, two, three years, really come into who he is as a player and find his identity, he’s been awesome. We roomed together last year, and I’m sad, but happy to be losing a roommate at the same time.”
By heading to Tyneside, Flesch will become the latest Canadian international based overseas. The collapse of the Arrows has led to Canada’s players being scattered across the globe. In Steve Meehan’s squad for the Pacific Nations Cup there were players called up from clubs based in 10 different countries – Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, Ireland, New Zealand, Portugal, USA, Uruguay and Wales. Logistically, you could file that under ‘not ideal’, with players based in France including veterans Tyler Ardron and Evan Olmstead also returning for November.
“We don’t really have a pro domestic comp in Canada, so guys really have to go overseas to find good-quality rugby at closer to international standard, you know?” explains Rumball.
“So, guys will pack up their boots, pack their bag, and go wherever they can get a gig, be in a full-time training environment, be exposed to fast, physical rugby. If there’s a pro gig somewhere, a guy’s gonna take it. They’re gonna pack up, they’re gonna chase their dream.”
Right now that dream includes next year’s Rugby World Cup in Australia. Canada have recently had a look at Spain (a 42-42 draw) in the Nations Cup and Fiji (losing 45-29) in the Pacific Nations Cup ahead of facing them in Pool C alongside Argentina.
Rumball’s hair and beard are being grown out for the big event, veering towards peak Sebastian Chabal territory, which is helpful when it comes to spotting his big moments on the field but “unfortunate” for his wife, who insisted that everything was cut back for their wedding last year.
Now 31, he was part of the 2019 Canada squad whose final game at the Rugby World Cup in Japan against Namibia in Kamaishi was called off due to Typhoon Hagibis.
Because Kamaishi was area that’s been devastated before by natural disaster, we were just doing whatever we could.
The town had been hit hard in the past by natural disasters including the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, which led to the construction of the Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium for the tournament, the location for Uruguay’s shock win over Fiji earlier in the pool stages.
With the Namibia game cancelled in the early hours of the morning, Canada’s senior players got together and decided to head into Kamaishi to see how they could help.
“We felt bad we couldn’t play a game for them, so we thought let’s just see what we can do with the time we have there. Because it’s an area that’s been devastated before by natural disaster, we were just doing whatever we could.”
That generosity has led to a lasting bond between Canada’s side and the people of Kamiashi.
“That small token has really gone far in that community. We still connect every year. They still send people to see us, and send us flags that we carry with us. So there’s a really good connection that’s come out of that.”
Returning to another World Cup with Canada will be a source of immense pride for Rumball. Last year he became the first player in MLR history to record a thousand tackles, a testament to his work-rate.
“As a back-row, if you’re not over at least 10 tackles in a game, you almost feel like you haven’t done much,” he admits. “So I’m always striving to find work and just get my head stuck in where I can. I really do love the gritty kind of confrontational side of rugby, and it’s something I enjoy doing.”
Canada’s next block of games in the Nations Cup, taking on Georgia, Hong Kong and Romania, will be another pivotal step towards Australia, helping to bed in the more adventurous approach Canada are trying to perfect under head coach Steve Meehan.
For us, it’s always about growth. It’s always about improving on those small margins every tour. Keep pressing forward, keep being bold, keep playing what’s in front of us.
“We’re still growing into that. We want to be attacking, we want to be playing into space, playing what’s in front of us, not as structured and rigid as we might have been in the past,” Rumball explains.
“And I think for us, it’s always about growth. It’s always about improving on those small margins every tour. Keep pressing forward, keep being bold, keep playing what’s in front of us.”
Canada certainly have an industrious and affable captain in Rumball, whose high work ethic will set the tone both in the Nations Cup this November and beyond.
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Canada, like their neighbours to the south, has always been involved in rugby as a consequence of their Commonwealth legacy.
But being a nation better suited to winter conditions the sport has always been limited in its growth with almost nowhere in the country able to facilitate year-round performance.
Their women's and 7s programs have been able to leverage off the funding that has been injected into the sport as a result of being an Olympic sport and that has been hugely positive.
But the men's team has long struggled to make any inroads, due largely to a severely limited schedule and only getting to play for a few months of the year.
Men's world rugby has been around a lot longer than 7s or women's rugby has been and has been fully professional for more than twice as long as either of the others (even though arguably women's rugby and the 7s emerged during the 1870s in England and Scotland respectively).
Given the absence of a robust domestic competition, Canada was already well behind the 8-ball when professionalism commenced in 1996 globally (1991 for Europe) and now they're not just having to catch up to where they should have been then but to where everyone else is now.
Even the US is better equipped to deliver consistently improving results.
In Canadia they need a huge investment of a resources into the game if they're to become the world class program that they have the potential to be.
Canadians have long had entree into European rugby but have never been able to translate that high level exposure into performance at the international level.
Occasionally getting bragging rights over the Eagles is obviously enjoyable.
But it surely can't be considered near enough given that their women's team, which is still woefully under resourced, is the second best side in the women's game.
The men should be aiming to do something similar and there's absolutely no reason that with the high levels of wealth and large population that they should not be able to achieve it some day.
Everything starts with how you make the most of the opportunities afforded to you through the competitions and fixtures you currently participate in.
The Nations Cup is a perfect environment for Canada to seriously start establishing themselves as a proper competitor on the world stage and I for one hope they get there.
Imagine seeing a World Cup final where Canada is playing France for the top honour. How awesome would that be. Well, there's only one way to make that happen.