Canada coach Kingsley Jones has made five personnel and two positional changes to his starting 15 for Saturday’s third-place against Brazil at La Vila International Rugby Cup.
Cole Keith switches to loosehead prop with Djustice Sears-Duru sidelined by injury. Conor Young slots in at tighthead prop position and Kyle Baillie moves into the second row from blindside flanker with Mason Flesch replacing him at No. 6.
Mitch Richardson, Kainoa Lloyd and Andrew Coe move into the backs.
Canada’s matchday 23 features six members of the Major League Rugby champion New England Free Jacks and five Toronto Arrows.
The 18th-ranked U.S. takes on No. 19 Spain for first place Saturday at El Pantano Stadium.
Canada, ranked 23rd in the world, lost 42-20 to Spain last Saturday while the Americans hammered No. 26 Brazil 48-3. Canada trailed 35-6 at the break, having conceded five tries in the first half.
“We were very disappointed with the performance against Spain, in particular how we started the match.” Jones said in a statement. “The group has worked hard over the last few days, with a particular focus on mental prep before everything we do. We need to see a good start against Brazil.”
Canada beat Brazil 31-14 the last time they met, in a non-capped development match in October, 2022.