Rugby Canada announces men's roster for HSBC SVNS Vancouver

Sixteen players have been named to Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team ahead of the invitational men's sevens tournament taking place alongside HSBC SVNS Vancouver.

Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team will play Japan and Trinidad and Tobago in a double round robin at BC Place over February 21 and 22 ahead of participating in the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger, the next step in the journey towards qualifying for the 2026 HSBC SVNS series.

Passes to HSBC SVNS Vancouver will give fans access to this men’s invitational tournament, with full ticket details available at vansevens.com.

Amongst the 16 on the roster are Thomas Isherwood and Elias Hancock, who both played in the SuperSevens finale with professional club Monaco Rugby Sevens earlier this month.

Three Pacific Pride players have made the squad, Rhys James, James Thiel, and Kyle Tremblay. Tremblay made his international sevens debut in the fall, as did Johnny Franklin, at Rugby Americas North (RAN) Sevens, which Canada won to progress to the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger.

Kal Sager returns to the squad for the first time since last June’s World Rugby Sevens Repechage following recovery from injury.

Noah Bain, who made his return to international sevens play in the fall, signed a short-term contract with the New England Free Jacks earlier this month, playing in their pre-season match against the Miami Sharks before making his MLR debut this past weekend against RFC LA.

“Since returning from RAN Sevens, we’ve had a lot of players in a lot of places. Being a decentralized training program has allowed us to encourage players not training in Langford to explore new endeavours, whether that be in the MLR or Europe or the ability to continue their studies,” said Head Coach Sean White.

“This has also provided opportunities for us to run camps and identify new players to our sevens program. We’ve been in camp for about a week here in Langford and there's a real excitement and energy within the walls at the Al Charron Centre. I feel there's a good mix of size and speed, youthfulness and experience. With four games in Vancouver, we will be able to continue to work on our cohesion and fine tune our game in front of one of the best crowds on the series.”

Following the tournament in Vancouver, Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team will travel to Cape Town for the first two tournaments in the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger, which take place in South Africa on back-to-back weekends, kicking off on March 1. Canada’s roster for Cape Town will be announced following HSBC SVNS Vancouver.

Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team will then compete in the final World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger stop in Krakow, Poland over April 11 to 12.

The top four teams from the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger will secure a spot in the promotion and relegation play-off competition at the HSBC SVNS World Championship taking place May 3 to 4 in Los Angeles, at which four HSBC SVNS 2026 berths are up for grabs.

MEN’S INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE

Friday February 21
Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team vs Trinidad and Tobago
1:30pm PT / 4:30pm ET
Watch on TSN+

Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team vs Japan
6:57pm PT / 9:57pm ET
Watch on TSN

Saturday February 22
Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team vs Trinidad and Tobago
3:30pm PT / 6:30pm ET
Watch on TSN

Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team vs Japan
6:19pm PT / 9:19pm ET
Watch on TSN+

CANADA’S MEN’S SEVENS TEAM ROSTER

1. Rhys James (Kelowna, BC) - UBC Okanagan / Pacific Pride
2. James Thiel (Abbotsford, BC) - Abbotsford RFC / Pacific Pride
3. Ethan Turner (Maple Ridge, BC) - Burnaby Lake Rugby Club
5. Alex Russell (Bracebridge, ON) - McGill University
10. Noah Bain (Abbotsford, BC) - UBCOB Ravens / New England Free Jacks
13. Brenden Black (Oakville, ON) - Oakville Crusaders / Guelph University
15. Ethan Hager (Brantford, ON) - Brantford Harlequins
18. Morgan Di Nardo (Toronto, ON) - Toronto City Rugby / University of Victoria
20. Jamie Armstrong (Ottawa, ON) - Ottawa Irish / University of Ottawa
22. Kyle Tremblay (White Rock, BC) - UBC Okanagan / Pacific Pride
23. Thomas Isherwood (Okoktoks, AB) - Foothills Lions RFC
27. Johnny Franklin (Bowen Island, BC) - Capilano RFC
33. Kal Sager (Peterborough, ON) - Peterborough Pagans / Trent University
64. Elias Hancock (Ottawa, ON) - Bytown Blues / University of Ottawa
66. Ben Greenstein (Vancouver, BC) - UBCOB Ravens / Queen’s University
82. Michael Laplaine (Montreal, QC) - TMR Rugby / Concordia University