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