\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
![\"BROOK](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4408945_web1_BJ-20260718CanadaVsZimbabweWorldRugbyNationsCup17.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBROOK JONES\/FREE PRESS
\nTeam Canada player Noah Flesch (No. 11) runs towards the ball while Team Zimbabwe Brandon Mudzekenyedzi (No. 13) covers him during first half action at Princess Auto Stadium on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lovely bit of history,\u201d said Canada\u2019s head coach Stephen Meehan. \u201cFirst time in 33 years, to come here to win, to beat Zimbabwe in our first-ever international between the two countries \u2014 so we\u2019re on the right side of the history books.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo do it in front of these supporters and to be in a place where there\u2019s obviously a passion and an interest in the game and a drive for it, we\u2019re delighted to be here. We\u2019ve had a great week, and this just caps it off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perhaps no one will have fonder memories from this rain-soaked evening than Kyle Steeves, the homegrown talent who returned to Winnipeg for the first time as a member of the national team.<\/p>\n
The 26-year-old was serenaded by a thunderous ovation from a home crowd that included nearly 100 close friends and family as he checked into the match in the 46th minute, while Canada was protecting a lead.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs soon as they saw me take off that pinny, everyone sort of erupted, and I don\u2019t think there was a better feeling than that,\u201d Steeves told the Free Press.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike, just having everyone behind you \u2014 I\u2019m getting emotional talking about it \u2014 but running off the field after and seeing my family, I couldn\u2019t look anyone in the eye. Tears were coming out, and it was \u2014 this is absolutely the highlight of my career, and I imagine it will be for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Steeves, a tighthead prop who does the dirty work that often goes unnoticed, made several impressive plays and did his part in the middle of scrums. Though he came off the bench on this night, he is in the midst of competition for a starting role when Canada returns to next year\u2019s Rugby World Cup in Australia.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s so special,\u201d said teammate Peter Nelson. \u201cI don\u2019t know how many people he had at the game time \u2014 I think it was over 100 of his mates and family. That\u2019s class. We want people to be able to play in front of their family and friends, and just delighted we were able to get the win for him, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n After beginning the tournament with a draw and a loss, Canada improved to 1-1-1 as the first portion of the Nations Cup and Canada\u2019s home summer tour came to an end. The second half of the schedule will begin in November. Zimbabwe has now lost each of its first three matches in the tournament.<\/p>\n Zimbabwe \u2014 which received scores from Liam Larkan (56th minute), Cleopas Kundiona (70\u2019) and Dion Khumalo (80\u2019) \u2014 had three tries to Canada\u2019s two \u2014 Mason Flesch (41\u2019) and Calixto Martinez (58\u2019) \u2014 but the difference for the hosts was Nelson\u2019s leg.<\/p>\n The fullback went three-for-four on penalty goals and made both of his conversions, accounting for 11 points in total.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Nelson, who hails from Dungannon in Northern Ireland, plays club for the Toronto Arrows of Major League Rugby. On this night, however, the 33-year-old represented the Red and White admirably in his 36th career cap since 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cWe stuck to (our game plan) pretty well. We knew that (Zimbabwe had) really dangerous players, especially in their back three; we didn\u2019t want to kick loosely to them,\u201d said Nelson. \u201cWe needed our kick just to be on point, and I thought for the majority of the game it was. So I was able to slot into that game plan quite well with my kicking game and stuff. So thankfully, for the most part, it went pretty well.\u201d<\/p>\n Nelson made a pair of three-point penalty goals to give the Canadians a 6-0 lead when the match was suspended in the 32nd minute due to severe weather in the area. Play was suspended for nearly an hour before resuming.<\/p>\n Canada showed no rust had built up during the delay. Izzak Kelly broke through the line in the 38th minute but coughed the ball up deep in Zimbabwe territory. The Canadians maintained their excellent territorial advantage, however.<\/p>\n Shortly after, Nelson lofted a high-arching kick to the far-side pylon, where Flesch waited to haul the ball in before scoring the first try of the match, lifting the home crowd to its collective feet as Canada took a 13-0 lead into halftime.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t During the halftime break, select alumni of the Wanderers Rugby Football Club were honoured as the club celebrated its centennial anniversary.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I really liked was the eight minutes that we played after we had to stop for that lightning strike,\u201d said Meehan. \u201cI think that eight minutes probably won us the game in some respects. I thought the players focused; they really managed that period off the field really well. And so when they came back on, they were ready to go, and bang, great eight minutes. So, really happy.\u201d<\/p>\n Zimbabwe came alive in the 56th minute after a lineout turned into a maul and the visitors drove the ball right down to the Canadian try line, where it appeared Larkan was short of the line to gain. After video review, it was determined that Larkan successfully broke the plane, cutting the Canadian lead to eight points.<\/p>\n On the ensuing kickoff, Zimbabwe muffed a pass that was scooped up by Kelly, who took it deep into the visitor\u2019s territory. After the reset, Martinez barrelled his way through a pair of defenders for a successful try and immediate response from the hosts.<\/p>\n \u201cWe reacted really well,\u201d said Steeves. \u201cThere\u2019s some stuff that obviously doesn\u2019t go your way. The lightning delay is something we can\u2019t really control, but having the ability to come out \u2026 and just give it absolutely everything, knowing that we\u2019re going to get a break right away, emptying the tank, playing the best rugby we can, and taking advantage of the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Zimbabwe made it interesting down in the final minute when Khumalo punched in a hard-fought try after Canada denied several attempts at the goal line, but the hosts once again responded well, milking the last few seconds to put the match away.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \u201cWe showed even a couple of weeks ago against Spain that we have the ability to soak things up and bounce back, and strike. I\u2019m glad that we did it, obviously, but I would have liked to have seen us continue with that momentum, continue with that pressure. We didn\u2019t execute a few things particularly well off the back of that and allowed them back into the game, but we worked well enough to get the score on the board, and they were chasing.\u201d<\/p>\n Canada and Zimbabwe were the second part of a double-header that began with No. 15 Portugal defeating No. 20 Tonga 32-28 in a thrilling opener in front of a crowd of more than 4,000.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t A back-and-forth match saw Otunuku Jr Pauta (17th minute), Taniela Filimone (25\u2019), Telusa Veainu (48\u2019) and Solomone Kata (64\u2019) score tries for Tonga.<\/p>\n Patrick Pellegrini struggled on conversions, making just one after Veainu\u2019s score.<\/p>\n Raffaele Storti (21\u2019, 44\u2019), Manuel Cardoso Pinto (30\u2019), Nuno Mascarenhas (35\u2019) and Andre Cunha (62\u2019) responded for the Portuguese, while Samuel Marques successfully made a pair of conversions.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Portugal improved to 2-0-1 in pool play, while Tonga now owns a 1-0-2 record.<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/joshuafreysam<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Joshua Frey-Sam Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Josh produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBROOK JONES\/FREE PRESS
\nTeam Canada player Cooper Coates (No. 10) runs with the ball while Zimbabew player (No. 7) and Zimbabew teammate (No. 1) try to tackle him during first half at Princess Auto Stadium on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBROOK JONES\/FREE PRESS
\nTeam Canada player Kyle Tremblay (No. 14) runs with the ball while Team Zimbabwe player Tinotenda Mavesere (No. 6) and Zimbabwe teammate Brandon Mudzekenyedzi (No. 13) try to tackle him during first half action at Princess Auto Stadium on Saturday. <\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBROOK JONES\/FREE PRESS
\nTeam Canada player Noah Flesch (No. 11) runs with the ball while Team Zimbabwe Brandon Mudzekenyedzi (No. 13) and Zimbabwe teammate Matt McNab (No. 14) tackle him during first half action at Princess Auto Stadium on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBROOK JONES\/FREE PRESS
\nTeam Canada player Noah Flesch (No. 11) runs with the ball while Team Zimbabwe Brandon Mudzekenyedzi (No. 13) covers him during first half action at Princess Auto Stadium on Saturday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBROOK JONES\/FREE PRESS
\nAva Funk (left) and her dad Jason Funk, who are from Brandon, hold a Canadian flag during O Canada at Princess Auto Stadium on Saturday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Reporter
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n