Namibia records first-ever victory over Canada's men's rugby team

AMSTERDAM — Canada's men's rugby team dropped a 43-37 decision to Namibia on Saturday to conclude their two-game European fall tour.

The Canadians led with less than a minute to play, before Namibia's scrum half TC Kisting dove over the line for the winning try to give the Namibians their victory in history over Canada.

Corey Thomas and Andrew Quattrin scored two tries apiece while Cooper Coats added 17 points with his foot for Canada.

"We learned a hard lesson today," said coach Kingsley Jones. "Really disappointed obviously with a lot of belief going into this game. I felt we should have been further in front at half-time, which cost us as well. We took away the Namibian lineout, managed the contact area and I thought our physicality was excellent but unfortunately, we didn’t get enough time in their territory."

Coats' penalty kick from about 15 metres out put Canada up 37-36 with just under a minute remaining, but on the ensuing kick-off, Canada was called for a knock on before taking two scrum infractions which resulted in a penalty for the opposition.

Namibia was successful on the conversion after Kisting's try.

Lucas Rumball and Ben LeSage captained a mixed roster of veterans and young players. Starting prop Djustice Sears-Duru earned his 40th cap while Winnipeg native Kyle Steeves and 2022 Toronto Arrows draft pick Owain Ruttan earned their first caps for Canada as second-half substitutes.

The Canadians beat host Netherlands 37-25 on Nov. 12 to open the two-game fall trip.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 19, 2022.