COMMERCE CITY - Fiji ran in nine tries in overwhelming Canada 63-10 in semifinal play at the Pacific Nations Cup men’s rugby tournament Sunday.
The 24th-ranked Canadian men had no answer for the ninth-ranked Pacific Islanders’ athleticism and physicality. Fiji led 43-3 after a six-try first half and kept the scoreboard turning, albeit a little slower, in the second.
It was the most points conceded by a Canadian men’s side since a 70-14 loss to England, then ranked third in the world, at Twickenham in July 2021.
“A very difficult score line to take in,” said Canada captain Mason Flesch. “We were really looking to back up our performance against Japan. We had a pretty competitive first half against them (Canada trailed 17-10 at the break). We were just looked to build off that but I think Fiji, they just outworked us in the first half.”
Brock Gallagher scored Canada’s lone try while Peter Nelson kicked a conversion and penalty.
After Nelson’s seventh-minute penalty cut Fiji’s lead to 7-3, the Pacific Islanders scored 51 unanswered points before Gallagher scored in the 59th minute.Â
No. 13 Japan thumped No. 16 Tonga 62-24 in the earlier semifinal at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park to set up a rematch with Fiji in next Saturday’s championship game at America First Field in Sandy, Utah. Fiji won 41-17 when they met in last year’s final.
Canada will face Tonga in the third-place game, also in Sandy. The Canadian men lost 30-17 to Tonga in last year’s fifth-place match.
Kalaveti Ravouvou scored three tries for Fiji with Taniela Rakuro adding two more. Mesake Vocevoce, Etonia Waqa, Eroni Mawi and Joji Nasova scored singles. Kemu Valetini, the older brother of Australian international Rob Valetini, booted six conversions and two penalties.
“The last couple of games we’ve been a little bit slow out of the blocks and I thought today we started with some real vigour and some real good intent and put some score on the board,” said Fiji coach Mick Byrne, an Australian who has spent time as a consultant and sevens coach with Rugby Canada.
“We sort of lost the way a little bit with the discipline but we were able to still put points on the board.”
Fiji outscored Canada 3-0 while reduced to 13 men for 10 minutes early in the second half due to ill-discipline.
Fiji has won six of the 16 previous editions of the Pacific Nations Cup while finishing runner-up five times, third three times and fourth twice. Samoa has won the tournament four times while Japan has three titles.
Canada’s best showings at the tournament were runner-up to Fiji in 2013 and third in 2014.
In earlier play Sunday, the 19th-ranked U.S. Eagles booked their ticket to the 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup in Australia by defeating No. 14 Samoa 29-13 in the fifth-place game. The Americans are the 22nd team to secure World Cup qualification.
The Fiji game was the first for the Canadians since they secured World Cup qualification by virtue of Japan’s 47-21 win over the U.S. last Saturday in Sacramento, Calif.
The six-team Pacific Nations Cup sends three teams to the World Cup but the qualifying path was eased by the fact that Fiji and Japan had pre-qualified by virtue of their performance at the 2023 World Cup.
The Americans join Canada and Tonga in qualifying for the sport’s showcase.
Samoa will now face Chile in a two-legged South America/Pacific Playoff on Sept. 20 in Salt Lake City and Sept. 27 in Viña del Mar, Chile, with the series aggregate winner becoming the 23rd team to qualify for the World Cup while the loser moves on to the Nov. 8-18 Final Qualification Tournament in Dubai to decide the final tournament entry.
Canada and the U.S. both missed out on the 2023 tournament. The Canadian men watched from the sidelines for the first time after losing two-legged qualifying series to the U.S. and Chile. After dispatching Canada, the U.S. then lost series to Uruguay and Chile.
The Canadians, arm in arm, watched in a line as the Fijians performed the Cibi, their traditional pre-match war dance.
Flesch captained Canada for the first time, with skipper Lucas Rumball and vice-captain Ben LeSage both injured. The 25-year-old from Cobourg, Ont., was joined in the Canadian starting 15 by his brother Noah.
Canada finished second in Pool B after beating the U.S. Eagles 34-20 on Aug. 22 in Calgary and losing 57-15 to Japan on Aug. 30 in Sendai. Fiji topped Pool A by defeating Tonga 32-10 and Samoa 29-15.
Canada fell to 3-10-0 all-time against Fiji, having lost seven of the previous eight meetings with the Pacific Islanders.
Sunday’s game was the fifth in charge for Canada coach Steve Meehan, whose record slipped to 1-4-0.
The Pacific Nations Cup is sponsored by Asahi.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2025.
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation