Canada to test Flying Fijians

The Canada men's rugby team is on a high after they qual­ified for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.

With their primary objective of RWC qualification being achieved, the team remains focused on ad­vancing further in the Pacific Nations Cup (PNC) where they will face the Flying Fijians in the sec­ond semi-final in Denver, Colorado, next Monday.

"A bit of a nice moment when we all realised that it happened," said Canada coach Steve Meehan.

"A lot of the boys were (watching) in the team room. They enjoyed themselves."

Canada has long been a consistent participant in all editions of the RWC, missing only the 2023 tour­nament in France.

They will aim to replicate history in Australia by reaching the knockout phase, a feat they last achieved in the 1991 RWC.

Canada becomes the 21st team to secure their spot for rugby's pinnacle competition and will take part in their 10th men's Rugby World Cup.

The Flying Fijians landed in Den­ver, United States on Monday after­noon and wasted no time getting back into preparation mode.

The players took to the Lowry Sports Complex Fitness Centre on Tuesday for their gym session fol­lowed by a clarity run.

The Tevita Ikanivere-captained side trained indoors because of lightning risk from the bad weath­er.

The Flying Fijians head coach Mick Byrne said they've been working on their slow start.

He had to address the issue at halftime when they were trailing Manu Samoa 12-15 in Rotorua, New Zealand, last Saturday.

Ikanivere admitted they talked about an early start but were in for a shock instead.

However, he was grateful that the team dug-deep and fought back to win.

Meanwhile, Japan head coach, Eddie Jones said their 47-21 win over USA has put them on track in their campaign to win the PNC from Fiji.

Jones was pleased with his side's seven-tries-to-three performance, although he and his team will be under no illusion that they will need to step up their game to have any chance of taking out this year's title.

"We got out to a good lead in the first half then got a bit sloppy. But in the second half we played some good tough rugby against the wind so that will stand us in good stead for the semi-final against Tonga.

"Tonga is a big physical team who will come through the front door, so we've got to be able to stop that. We've got to be able to take away their go-forward."

The first semi-final between Ja­pan and Tonga will kick-off at 9.35am followed by the Fiji, Canada clash at 12.35pm.

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