Canadian men headed back to Rugby World Cup, thanks to Japan win

The Canadian men are headed back to the Rugby World Cup.

Ranked 24th in the world, they qualified for the 2027 tournament in Australia by virtue of No. 13 Japan's 47-21 win over the 18th-ranked United States in Pacific Nations Cup play on Saturday in Sacramento, California.

The result meant Canada (1-1-0) finishes second behind Japan (2-0-0) in Pool B and can place no lower than fourth at the six-team tournament.

The Pacific Nations Cup serves as a World Cup qualifier, sending three teams to the sport's showcase in 2027 in Australia. But with No. 9 Fiji and Japan already qualified by virtue of their performance at the 2023 World Cup and guaranteed to finish in the top four at the Pacific Nations Cup, Canada has assured itself one of those automatic berths by joining them in the semifinals.

Fiji downed No. 14 Samoa 29-15 in Rotorua, New Zealand, on Friday to complete Pool A play. That result earned No. 17 Tonga, the runner-up in Pool A, a ticket to the World Cup.

Canada opened Pool B play by defeating the U.S. 34-10 on Aug. 22 in Calgary, before losing 57-50 to Japan eight days later in Sendai.

The Pacific Nations Cup semifinals and fifth-versus-sixth game are scheduled for Sept. 14 in Denver, with the championship and third-place game Sept. 20 in Salt Lake City.

Canada will play Fiji (2-0-0) in one semifinal, while Japan faces Tonga (1-1-0) in the other. The U.S. (0-2-0) meets Samoa (0-2-0) for fifth place.

Thanks to Fiji and Japan, the fifth-place team also qualifies for the World Cup.

The Canadian men missed out on the World Cup for the first time in 2023, losing two-legged qualifying series to the U.S. (59-50) and Chile (54-26). Canada had been to the nine previous tournaments, reaching the quarterfinals in 1991.

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