By Canadian Press

Canada rugby coach Steve Meehan names 59-player long list ahead of summer tests

Jun 12, 2025 | 1:13 PM

Canada rugby coach Stephen Meehan has announced a long list of 59 players, including 20 who are uncapped, ahead of the team’s summer test matches.

The 24th-ranked Canadian men take on No. 22 Belgium on July 12 and No. 16 Spain on July 18 at Edmonton’s Clarke Stadium. They then start Pacific Nations Cup play Aug. 22 in Calgary against the 15th-ranked U.S. before facing No. 13 Japan on Aug. 30 in Sendai.

The Pacific Nations Cup playoffs start Sept. 14 in Denver, with the finals set for Sept. 20 in Salt Lake City.

The six-team tournament, which also includes No. 9 Fiji, No. 14 Samoa and No. 19 Tonga, is Canada’s first opportunity to qualify for the 2027 World Cup.

The summer tests are the first for Meehan as Canada’s coach. The 59-year-old Australian was named coach in December, succeeding former Wales captain Kingsley Jones, who stepped down after seven years at the helm.

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Rugby Canada said the long list was chosen after analyzing the 50-plus Canadians playing in the MLR and those overseas with Christiaan Esterhuizen, head coach of the Pacific Pride and Canadian men’s under-20 team, and outgoing men’s sevens coach Sean White.

Several new Canadian-eligible players were identified in the process.

“The work that has been undertaken over the last few months to prepare for the 2025 season and develop this extended player list has been substantial and valuable,” Meehan said in a statement. “The players identified in this list are those who will be considered for our matches this year, and we are looking forward to getting on the pitch in Edmonton in a few weeks to kick off our campaign to qualify for the 2027 Rugby World Cup.”

Meehan, who officially started in April, has clearly looked long and hard for new talent. The 20 uncapped players include talent from Australia, England, Northern Ireland and the U.S.

The uncapped group includes Jamie Armstrong, Kyle Tremblay, Morgan Di Nardo and Ethan Turner, who are capped in sevens but not 15s.

There is also a return for Evan Olmstead, a 34-year-old forward who last played for Canada at the 2019 World Cup. A six-foot-five 247-pounder with a wild mane of hair, he was hard to miss.

Olmstead is currently playing for SU Agen in France’s second tier.

Olmstead was born in Canada but moved to Australia when he was three. His father, John, elected to move the family Down Under to join a friend who had a startup company in Sydney.

John Olmstead, who died in 2008 at 52, was once offered a contract by junior hockey’s Edmonton Oil Kings and went on to become a rugby player of some renown himself. A past president of the Capilano Rugby Football Club in North Vancouver, he is honoured when the Capilanos play UBC in the annual John Olmstead Memorial Cup game.

Evan’s great-uncle is Hockey Hall of Famer Bert Olmstead, who played for Chicago, Montreal and Toronto from 1948 to 1962.

Evan Olmstead, who has also played flanker, had interest from Australian age-grade selectors but played for Canada at the 2011 World Rugby Under-20 Trophy in Georgia.

A trained accountant, he quit his job as a logistics analyst for a medical devices company in 2015 to focus on rugby.

Caden Wilson, Jack Carson, Jack Reeves, Johnny Franklin and Josh Larsen declined invitations for a mix of personal reasons, ranging from family to work, according to Rugby Canada.

Players can be added to the extended roster, which will be cut down in early July ahead of the Edmonton tests.

Canada Long List (x- denotes uncapped in 15s play)

Forwards

Andrew Quattrin, Holland Landing, Ont., New England Free Jacks (MLR); x-Austin Creighton, Edmonton, Nor’Westers Athletic Association; x-Barnaby Waddell, Exeter, England, Bridgend Ravens; x-Bryce Worden, Sussex, N.B., Burnaby Lake RFC; x-Caleb Ashworth, Crowborough, England, Harlequins FC; Calixto Martinez, White Rock, B.C., Old Glory DC (MLR); Callum Botchar, Vancouver, NOLA Gold (MLR); Cole Keith, Sussex N.B., New England Free Jacks (MLR); Conor Young, Sydney, Australia, RFC LA (MLR); Dewald Kotze, Edmonton, Seattle Seawolves (MLR); Donald Carson, Tsawwassen, B.C., Britannia Lions; x-Emerson Prior, Brockville, Ont., Utah Warriors (MLR); Evan Olmstead, Vancouver, SU Agen (France); x-Evan Roy, Ottawa, Mount Maunganui Rugby Club; Foster Dewitt, Courtenay, B.C., New England Free Jacks (MLR); x-Griffin Phillipson, Ballymoney, Northern Ireland, City of Armagh RFC; Izzak Kelly, White Rock, B.C., Capilano RFC; James Stockwood, Bowmanville, Ont., Oshawa Vikings; x-Jeffrey Young, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Jesse Mackail, Palmerston North, New Zealand, Seattle Seawolves (MLR); x-Karl Hunger, Beaconsfield, Que., Pacific Pride; Kyle Steeves, Winnipeg, New England Free Jacks (MLR); Lucas Rumball, Toronto, Chicago Hounds (MLR); Mason Flesch, Cobourg, Ont., Chicago Hounds (MLR); Matt Heaton, Godmanchester, Que., RFC LA (MLR); Matthew Oworu, Calgary, Chicago Hounds (MLR); Piers Von Dadelszen, Vancouver, New England Free Jacks (MLR); x-Reid Davis, White Rock, B.C., Utah Warriors (MLR); Sam Miller, Mount Denson, N.S., Southern Districts; Siôn Parry, Cardiff, Wales, Ebbw Vale RFC; Tyler Matchem, Pictou County, N.S., Pictou County Rugby Club.

Backs

Andrew Coe, Markham, Ont., RFC LA (MLR); Ben LeSage, Calgary, New England Free Jacks (MLR); Brock Gallagher, Edmonton, Seattle Seawolves (MLR); Cooper Coats, Halifax, NOLA Gold (MLR); x-Cormac Saint, Rescue, Calif., University of California, Berkeley; x-Ethan Turner, Maple Ridge, B.C., Kalinga Black Tigers; Isaac Olson, Vernon, B.C., New England Free Jacks (MLR); x-Jamie Armstrong, Ottawa, University of Ottawa; Jason Higgins, Cork, Ireland, Chicago Hounds (MLR); x-Josh McIndoe, Victoria, Greerton Marist Rugby Club; Josiah Morra, Toronto, New England Free Jacks (MLR); Kainoa Lloyd, Mississauga, Ont., United Rugby Sports Club; x-Kyle Tremblay, White Rock, B.C., Pacific Pride; x-Maddox MacLean, Brisbane, Australia, Souths Rugby Club Brisbane; Mark Balaski, Castlebar, Ireland, Southern Districts; x-Morgan Di Nardo, Toronto, University of Victoria; Nic Benn, Caves Beach, Australia, Utah Warriors (MLR); Noah Flesch, Cobourg, Ont. Chicago Hounds (MLR); Peter Nelson, Dungannon, Northern Ireland, Dungannon RFC; Rhys James, Kelowna, B.C., Pacific Pride; Shane O’Leary, Ballina, Ireland, Miami Sharks (MLR); x-Spencer Cotie, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Spencer Jones, Cambridge, New Zealand, Utah Warriors (MLR); x-Stephen Webb, Toronto, UBC; Takoda McMullin, White Rock, B.C., UBC; Talon McMullin, White Rock, B.C., UBC; Tiarnan Neville, Curracloe, Ireland, Galwegians Rugby Club; x-Will Grant, Sydney, Australia, Randwick Rugby Club.

Injury Pending

Ethan Fryer, Seattle, New England Free Jacks (MLR); Lindsey Stevens, Sydney, Australia, New England Free Jacks (MLR_) Michael LaPlaine, Montreal, Concordia University.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 12, 2025

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press