Belgium edges young Canadians 25-18 in rugby test match
Canada, which led 13-12 at halftime at Clarke Stadium, was undone by a clinical Belgian counterattack and some self-inflicted miscues at crucial times.
Still, the squad felt good about its first showing under new head coach Stephen Meehan.
Wing Josiah Morra, hooker Andrew Quattrin and replacement Siôn Parry crossed the try line for the Canadians, who fielded a youthful squad that included test debuts for fullback Brenden Black and substitute Kyle Tremblay. Halifax's Cooper Coats added a first-half penalty.
Belgium — ranked one spot above Canada at No. 23 in the World Rugby Rankings heading into the match — made the most of limited opportunities, scoring three tries and adding a pair of late penalty goals from Hugo de Francq to keep the hosts at arm's length.
'It was a first run-out with the new setup we're running, and it's really exciting,' said second row Piers Von Dadelszen, who earned Teck Player of the Match honours.
'There's a lot we can take away from this — a few passes not sticking, and Belgium were awesome on the counterattack — but that's how we want to play. We're trying to bring a more exciting brand of rugby to Canadian fans, and we're looking forward to it all coming together going forward.'
Canada opened the scoring in the seventh minute with a penalty-kick from Coats, before Belgium responded with a converted try from centre Florian Remue, set up by a line-breaking run from his brother Matias. A clever chip from Coats over the top led to Morra's first test try in the 22nd minute, but Belgium struck back three minutes later with a try of their own.
Quattrin's try from a rolling maul just past the half-hour mark gave Canada a narrow 13-12 lead at the half, but the second half saw momentum swing repeatedly. A yellow card to Belgium's Remue appeared to give Canada the edge, but the visitors capitalized even while down a man, with Soenen finishing off a cross-field kick following an interception to restore their advantage.
A pair of second-half penalties allowed Belgium to extend their lead, while Canada continued to press, eventually breaking through in the final play through Parry and ending the match with Canada's third and final try.
Captain Lucas Rumball acknowledged the disappointment post-match but struck a note of optimism.
'We're pretty gutted,' said Rumball. 'We created some opportunities, but credit to Belgium — when we made mistakes, they capitalized. There's a lot of potential here. We just have to get things right and keep building. Thanks to the fans here in Edmonton for coming out and supporting us.'
Saturday's match marked Belgium's first-ever victory over Canada in four test meetings and their first time scoring points against the Canadians since 2021.
UP NEXT
Canada will complete its two-match home series at Edmonton's Clarke Stadium with a clash against Spain on Friday, July 18.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 12, 2025.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Montreal Gazette
5 hours ago
- Montreal Gazette
Tides surprise Roses with 1-0 NSL road victory
The Roses were far from discouraged on Saturday, despite a heartbreaking setback that ended the Montreal team's five-game unbeaten streak. Daphnée Blouin scored a gift goal in the 87th minute of a scoreless match to lift the visiting Halifax Tides to a 1-0 win over the Montreal Roses in Northern Super League action on Saturday at Stade Boréale in Laval. The Tides, who are last in the six-team Canadian pro women's soccer circuit, have shown signs of improvement in the past few weeks, but the road win over the second-place Roses has to be a highlight for the team's progress. Returning to action after a nearly three-week hiatus, the Roses were dominant throughout the match, finishing with 59 per cent possession and outshooting Halifax 14-10. They had a 2-0-2 record in their last four games before this matchup, but were shut out for the second straight game. Anika Toth registered the clean sheet in the Tides' net. The Roses had more corners (6-2) and more yellow cards (2-1). After the match, midfielder Charlotte Bilbault and head coach Robert Rositoiu had nothing but positive words to describe the club's performance, with one small caveat: a lack of opportunism. 'We did everything we could to score,' said Rositoiu. 'I think we did enough to get a better result. We played a good game, and if we score and win, I think it's a great game. That's where football can be cruel sometimes.' 'I really felt my team was in control today,' he added. The Roses return to action on Friday night when they host AFC Toronto, who sit first in the Northern Super League standings. Montreal is second, four points behind. 'It's the most important match because it's the next one, as usual,' said Rositoiu when asked about the importance of this match. Fatal mistake The Roses had the best scoring chances in this match, but Toth had six saves, including two masterful saves in a matter of seconds after a corner kick in the second half. The two teams seemed headed for a second 0-0 draw, but Montreal goalkeeper Anna Karpenko, who was aiming for a fourth clean sheet in her eighth start, missed a routine pass in the 87th minute. Nearby, Blouin, who came on as a substitute in the 72nd minute, seized the opportunity. The striker recovered the ball and placed it in an empty net to score her first-ever NSL goal. 'It's a good goal,' Blouin admitted. 'Personally, it will give me rhythm and confidence for the upcoming games. But it also represented something very important for the team: our first winning streak.' Last in the NDL with a 3-6-1 record, the Tides were playing their second game since Stephen Hart replaced Lewis Page as head coach. The club won both games, but the new coach was clearly not satisfied on Saturday. 'We have to be honest: we weren't ourselves in the first half, defensively and offensively,' the coach said. 'I told them at halftime: 'Forget tactics, we have to get back to basics.' Today, it worked. Today, we were lucky.' Protecting Anna Bilbault makes no secret of it: conceding a goal in the final minutes and the result, which doesn't reflect the pace of the match, are frustrating. But like a good teammate, she delivered a vibrant defence of Karpenko, who made four saves. 'When a goalkeeper makes a mistake, you see it right away. But there are also games where we could have lost if Anna hadn't been in goal,' Bilbault argued. 'Players who don't make mistakes are players who don't take responsibility, who don't take initiative. 'Anna did her job. She's important to everyone. Today, I don't want us to talk about Anna, I want us to talk about the team. We don't need that,' she insisted. Rositoiu echoed the same sentiment. While he declined to say who will start in goal against AFC Toronto, he intends to give Karpenko a chance to redeem himself. 'We're asking Anna to play, we have to accept that she'll make mistakes,' he said. 'It's just that the (goalkeeper) position can be punishing. We have complete confidence in Anna, she'll continue to be the No. 1. Gabrielle (Lambert) will get opportunities because she deserves to play, but nothing changes.' Tough conditions Already having to deal with the fact that they hadn't played since June 22, the Roses players also had to contend with the sweltering heat — just like the Tides. The temperature reached 32 degrees Celsius throughout the game, and numerous hydration breaks were necessary. While the Roses praised the work of the fitness coaches, Hart, from the other side, said the conditions were not healthy for the players. 'This heat is not healthy — for both teams. It's not healthy,' Hart said. 'It's 10 degrees warmer on the synthetic surface than the surrounding air. That means it was over 40 degrees on the field. That can't be healthy.' Calgary 2, Vancouver 1 In Calgary, the host Wild got first-half goals from Serita Thurton and Meggie Dougherty-Howard and hung on for a 2-1 victory over the visiting Vancouver Rise at McMahon Stadium. Jessica De Filippo scored on Wild goalkeeper Stephanie Bukovec in the 82nd minute to set up an intense finish. The Rise had possession 60 per cent of the time. Both teams had nine shots but the Wild led 6-4 in on-target shots. The Wild took two of the three yellow cards handed out in the match and the Rise led in corners (6-3). With the victory the Wild move into fourth place, two points ahead of the Rise.
CBC
5 hours ago
- CBC
Belgium edges young Canadian squad in men's rugby test match in Edmonton
Moral victories usually don't sit well with competitive players on losing teams, but Canada's men's rugby team accepted a 25-18 test loss to Belgium with an air of optimism on Saturday in Edmonton. Canada, which led 13-12 at halftime at Clarke Stadium, was undone by a clinical Belgian counterattack and some self-inflicted miscues at crucial times. Still, the squad felt good about its first showing under new head coach Stephen Meehan. Wing Josiah Morra, hooker Andrew Quattrin and replacement Sion Parry crossed the try line for the Canadians, who fielded a youthful squad that included test debuts for fullback Brenden Black and substitute Kyle Tremblay. Halifax's Cooper Coats added a first-half penalty. Belgium — ranked one spot above Canada at No. 23 in the World Rugby Rankings heading into the match — made the most of limited opportunities, scoring three tries and adding a pair of late penalty goals from Hugo de Francq to keep the hosts at arm's length. "It was a first run-out with the new setup we're running, and it's really exciting," said second row Piers Von Dadelszen, who earned Teck Player of the Match honours. "There's a lot we can take away from this — a few passes not sticking, and Belgium were awesome on the counterattack — but that's how we want to play. We're trying to bring a more exciting brand of rugby to Canadian fans, and we're looking forward to it all coming together going forward." Canada opened the scoring in the seventh minute with a penalty-kick from Coats, before Belgium responded with a converted try from centre Florian Remue, set up by a line-breaking run from his brother Matias. A clever chip from Coats over the top led to Morra's first test try in the 22nd minute, but Belgium struck back three minutes later with a try of their own. Quattrin's try from a rolling maul just past the half-hour mark gave Canada a narrow 13-12 lead at the half, but the second half saw momentum swing repeatedly. A yellow card to Belgium's Remue appeared to give Canada the edge, but the visitors capitalized even while down a man, with Soenen finishing off a cross-field kick following an interception to restore their advantage. A pair of second-half penalties allowed Belgium to extend their lead, while Canada continued to press, eventually breaking through in the final play through Parry and ending the match with Canada's third and final try. Captain Lucas Rumball acknowledged the disappointment post-match but struck a note of optimism. "We're pretty gutted," said Rumball. "We created some opportunities, but credit to Belgium — when we made mistakes, they capitalized. There's a lot of potential here. We just have to get things right and keep building. Thanks to the fans here in Edmonton for coming out and supporting us." Saturday's match marked Belgium's first-ever victory over Canada in four test meetings and their first time scoring points against the Canadians since 2021.
Winnipeg Free Press
6 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Truro City FC rising up the English soccer ladder with Canadian helping hand
Eric Perez brought pro rugby league to Canada in the form of the Toronto Wolfpack. Now the Toronto native is helping Truro City FC climb the ranks in English soccer. Truro City is already on the move, having won the National League South title to become the first club ever from Cornwall in the southwest tip of England to win promotion to the National League, the fifth tier of English football. The club, founded in 1889, has already come a long way. 'We took over this club and it was averaging 75 diehard fans a game,' said Perez, who is Truro City's chairman and CEO. 'It was playing an hour and a half away in Plymouth. It hadn't been home for years. One of the previous owners had sold the (football) ground … And when we took it over (in November 2023), it was second to last in the table. 'Fast forward to now and we just got promoted to the National League, we've got our own ground (in Truro) — we averaged almost 1,990 fans a game this year, multiple sellouts as well. And we won the league with a much lower budget than some of the other teams.' The next goal is to get the team into League 2, the bottom tier of the English Football League which operates under the Premier League. Perez, who had ties to the region in a previous role as chairman of the Cornwall RLFC rugby league club, led a Canadian consortium in purchasing Truro City from Kernow Sport, who also owns the Cornish Pirates rugby union team. Looking at the region, he saw an opportunity for the soccer team if he could get it back in front of its home fans. 'To be fair, the fans showed up in their droves from the first game on,' he said. 'It was not like we had to slowly win them over. They were so happy to have their club back in Truro. It had been gone for four years. 'They showed up and they kept showing up all season.' Perez says the ownership consortium numbers around a dozen and is mainly comprised of Canadians, mostly from Toronto, with some Americans. 'People I have known for most of my life,' he said. Promotion came down to the final round of matches, with Truro heading into the weekend atop on goal difference and the title up for grabs among the top six. But Truro defeated St Albans City 5-2 on April 26 before a record crowd of 3,597 at the Truro Community Stadium to seal the deal, finishing ahead of Torquay United on goal difference of just two goals to secure the lone automatic promotion place. Fans invaded the pitch after the final whistle. 'Unbridled elation,' said Perez. 'Nobody, nobody thought we could do this. Nobody.' Truro wasted little time on Decision Day, racing into a 3-0 lead after just 10 minutes. Truro's success even drew kudos in the House of Commons. 'I start by congratulating Truro City football club, who have gone from homelessness to league champions in one season,' Jayne Kirkham, Labour MP for Truro and Falmouth, told the House on April 30. 'Can I add my congratulations to Truro,' added Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In an open letter to supporters the day after promotion was secured, Perez called it 'a historic moment in the proud history of Truro City Football Club, a moment that belongs to every single one of you.' Truro begins pre-season play Wednesday against League One's Plymouth Argyle ahead of its opening game in the National League on Aug. 9 at Wealdstone FC. At home, 800 seats have been added to the Truro stadium, upping the capacity to 4,100. Other teams in the Enterprise National League, as it is known, include Aldershot Town, Carlisle United, Hartlepool United, Rochdale and Scunthorpe United. 'We do have a lot of work cut out for us but we were favoured to go down this year,' said Perez. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Half the playing roster was professional and the other half semi-pro last season. This season, all the players will be pros. Perez was a founder of Toronto Wolfpack, eventually stepping away in a bid to establish a second rugby league side in Ottawa before the pandemic put paid to the plan. The Wolfpack made it to the top tier of English rugby league but folded in 2020 after standing down during the Super League season, saying it could not afford to play the remainder of the season with the pandemic preventing games from being played in Canada. — This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2025.
