Canada has a line on World Cup spot
Win means upper hand against Hong Kong for the repechage finale
MARSEILLE, FRANCE—Canada moved a step closer to the Rugby World Cup on Saturday with a 29-10 win over Germany at a last-chance qualifying tournament.
Canada, ranked 21st in the world, can book its place at 2019 World Cup in Japan with a win or tie against No. 24 Hong Kong in the repechage finale on Friday. “We still have one more (game),” captain Phil Mack said. “So again just like last week, we’ve got to reflect on this, carry on and then hopefully we’ll get a trip to the World Cup.” The Canadian men top the four-team round-robin with 10 points after their second straight bonus-point win while Hong Kong has five points, Germany four and Kenya none. Saturday’s loss eliminated the 26th-ranked Germans.
Hong Kong needs a bonuspoint win over Canada — scoring four or more tries — while denying the Canadians a bonus point (scoring four tries or losing by fewer than eight points) to move into first place.
The first tiebreaker in the event of a tie is the result between the two tied teams.
The repechage winner will complete the World Cup field, slotting into Group B at the 2019 tournament in Japan alongside top-ranked New Zealand, No. 5 Australia, No. 13 Italy and No. 22 Namibia.
Gord McRorie scored a try, kicked a penalty and added three conversions for Canada, which led 10-7 at the half. Tyler Ardron, Matt Evans and Lucas Rumball also scored tries.