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Current World Ranking: 14<\/a> (69.49 points)2026-09-12 \u2013 Japan 63, USA 14 (Osaka)
2026-08-15 \u2013 USA XV 25, Argentina XV 24 (Fort Lauderdale)
2026-07-18 \u2013 USA 29, Spain 22 (Cary)
2026-07-11 \u2013 USA 31, Zimbabwe 15 (Charlotte)
2026-07-04 \u2013 USA 30, Portugal 29 (Denver)<\/p>\n
1 7 10 12 14 2 7 9 10 both sides come into the match off defeats\u2026 Canada put in a spirited performance against defending champions Fiji, while the USA looked flat and well off the pace against hosts Japan \u201cOne of the biggest things we can control is our mindset as we go into this game. When we reflect on that Canada game last year, we let them get over us a little too soon. So for me, it\u2019s just coming out, setting the tone, and throwing our bodies around early, letting them know we\u2019re here\u2026 and making sure that we\u2019re sticking to our plan and controlling what we can control.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe were happy with some of the rugby we played against Fiji, good continuity, close passing and some really good passages of play. We want to become a team that keeps the opposition guessing.<\/p>\n \u201cThe USA are a disciplined side and have a style they\u2019ve been very reliant on. I completely understand the rivalry and, frankly, I really enjoy it. It was quite an emotional night in Calgary after our win last year, seeing people coming together after the game, singing the national anthem and celebrating the occasion. It was a lovely moment.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re trying to develop something here, and the longer we spend together, the greater the understanding the players will have of how we want to play and of one another. Their skills and understanding of the game have developed over the last 15 months, and collectively and individually they\u2019ve been getting better every week. Hopefully, that trend continues.\u201d<\/p>\n Cloudy and humid but cooler conditions from last week are expected at kickoff. Perhaps the extra week of acclimatization will improve a lackluster Eagles outfit who had \u2013 until last week \u2013 won all of their 2026 matches. Aside from the natural rivalry, players on both sides will be makes their case for inclusion the Nations Cup squad, and ultimately next year\u2019s World Cup. Canada were the better side last week and are led by their outstanding back row trio, while the USA are spearheaded by a dynamic midfield pairing. Current world rankings and the experience of Ruben de Haas over his opposite tips the scales towards the Eagles, but not by much. USA are slight favorites in Tokyo.<\/p>\n Replacements: 16 Joe Taufete\u2019e, 17 Payton Telea-Ilalio, 18 Mason Pedersen, 19 Sam Golla, 20 Benjam\u00edn Bonasso, 21 Michael Baska, 22 Chris Hilsenbeck, 23 Tavite Lopeti<\/p>\n Replacements: 16 Dewald Kotze, 17 Emerson Prior, 18 Bryce Worden, 19 Barnaby Waddell, 20 Cody Nhanala, 21 Stephen Webb, 22 Spencer Jones, 23 Liam James<\/p>\n Date: Saturday, September 19 Referee: Katsuki Furuse (Japan) HEAD-TO-HEAD (67): ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789697423_268_logo-canada-2018-thumbnail.png\"){kind=logo}
Current World Ranking: 24<\/a> (60.37 points)
2026-09-12 \u2013 Fiji 45, Canada 29 (Osaka)
2026-09-05 \u2013 Japan 57, Canada 12 (Niigawa)
2026-07-18 \u2013 Canada 23,\u00a0Zimbabwe 19\u00a0(Winnipeg)
2026-07-11 \u2013 Canada 14, Portugal 38\u00a0(Edmonton)
2026-07-04 \u2013 Canada 42, Spain 42 (Edmonton)<\/p>\n
\nIN
\nOUT<\/p>\n
\nFaka\u2019osi Pifeleti
\nPayton Telea-Ilalio<\/p>\n
\nLance Williams
\nPaddy Ryan<\/p>\n
\nLuke Carty
\nChris Hilsenbeck<\/p>\n
\nCassh Maluia
\nTavite Lopeti<\/p>\n
\nJulian Roberts
\nMark O\u2019Keeffe<\/p>\n
\nIN
\nOUT<\/p>\n
\nFoster DeWitt
\nDewald Kotze<\/p>\n
\nEthan Fryer
\nSion Parry<\/p>\n
\nJesse Kilgour
\nJason Higgins<\/p>\n
\nCooper Coats
\nSpencer Jones<\/p>\n
\nScott Lawrence has responded with five changes to his staring Eagles lineup\u2026 the most notable addition is uncapped midfielder Cassh Maluia\u2026 the 27-year-old is a former NFL player and while he has trimmed down to adapt to his new sport, Maluia remains a formidable ball carrier who will test the Canadian defense
\n21-year-old scrumhalf Jesse Kilgour makes his second start for Canada, as Cooper Coats returns in the No10 shirt\u2026 Pe\u00f1arol flanker Ethan Fryer makes his first test start since suffering a serious head injury two years ago
\nwhile Major League Rugby once provided the bulk of the Canadian squad, only 3 starters and 1 reserve appeared in the American competition in 2026\u2026 former Zebre hooker Shilo Klein is the only Eagles match day squad inclusion not attached to an MLR side this year
\nboth teams are absent their leading overseas professionals due to club commitments\u2026 names like AJ MacGinty, David Ainu\u2019u, and Jack Iscaro\u2026 while Canada is without Tyler Ardron, Andrew Quattrin, and Evan Olmstead, among others<\/p>\n Scott Lawrence<\/a> (Head Coach)<\/p>\n Steve Meehan<\/a>\u00a0(Head Coach)<\/p>\n
USA
1 Faka\u2019osi Pifeleti, 2 Shilo Klein, 3 Tonga Kofe, 4 Jason Damm (capt.), 5 Nathan Den Hoedt, 6 Marno Redelinghuys, 7 Lance Williams, 8 Makeen Alikhan, 9 Ruben de Haas, 10 Luke Carty, 11 Noah Brown, 12 Cassh Maluia, 13 Dom Besag, 14 Julian Roberts, 15 Mitch Wilson<\/p>\n
CANADA
1 Sam Miller, 2 Foster DeWitt, 3 Kyle Steeves, 4 Daragh Doyle, 5 Izzak Kelly, 6 Mason Flesch, 7 Ethan Fryer, 8 Lucas Rumball (capt.), 9 Jesse Kilgour, 10 Cooper Coats, 11 Jamie Armstrong, 12 Ben LeSage, 13 Jacob Ince, 14 Kyle Tremblay, 15 Takoda McMullin<\/p>\n
Venue: Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, Tokyo
Kickoff: 16:00 local (03:00 Eastern, midnight Pacific)
Weather Forecast: cloudy, 77\u00b0F (25\u00b0C), wind NE 9-14mph (15-22km\/h)
Broadcasts: TSN 4<\/a> (Canada), Paramount+<\/a> (USA), RugbyPass TV<\/a><\/p>\n
Assistants: Koki Yamauchi (Japan) & Ibuki Tetsuka (Japan)
TMO: Matthew Rodden (Hong Kong)<\/p>\n\u00a0Canada 40, USA 25, Draw 2
2025-08-22 \u2013 Canada 34, USA 20<\/a> (Calgary) *RWC Qualifier
2024-08-31 \u2013 USA 28, Canada 15<\/a> (Carson)
2021-09-11 \u2013\u00a0USA 38, Canada 16<\/a> (Glendale) *RWC Qualifier
2021-09-04 \u2013\u00a0Canada 34, USA 21<\/a> (St. John\u2019s) *RWC Qualifier
2019-09-07 \u2013\u00a0Canada 15,\u00a0USA 20<\/a> (Vancouver)
2019-07-27 \u2013\u00a0USA 47, Canada 19<\/a> (Glendale)
2019-03-08 \u2013\u00a0USA 30, Canada 25<\/a> (Seattle)
2018-06-23 \u2013\u00a0Canada 17,\u00a0USA 42<\/a> (Halifax)
2018-02-10 \u2013\u00a0USA 29, Canada 10<\/a> (Sacramento)
2017-07-01 \u2013\u00a0USA 52, Canada 16<\/a> (San Diego) *RWC Qualifier<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The North American rivals collide at the neutral venue of Tokyo on Saturday. It\u2019s their first meeting since…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":896011,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,282941,760,85],"class_list":["post-896010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-pacific-nations-cup","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/896010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=896010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/896010\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/896011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=896010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=896010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=896010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}