Pre-season.

Leinster Rugby have announced that the province will face Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team in a pre-season friendly on 24 August at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario.

The stadium is the home of the Hamilton TigerCats of the Canadian Football League and Forge FC of the Canadian Premier Soccer League. The venue will be set to a capacity of 14,245 with an ability to expand if required, however, fans are encouraged to buy their tickets early to avoid missing out.

“As a club, this will be the first time we have travelled to Canada for our pre-season preparations,” said Leinster Head Coach Leo Cullen.

“We are looking forward to the visit and the challenge of taking on a full international side which we haven’t done in quite some time. It will be an excellent opportunity for a number of our players to get some great experience ahead of the 2019/20 season.”

The game will be a part of Canada’s Rugby World Cup preparations where they will face Italy, New Zealand, South Africa and Namibia in Pool B.

Canada head coach Kingsley Jones, said:

“This fixture is crucially important for our preparation for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Leinster are one of the top clubs in all of Europe – they will bring a wealth of experience and provide high-quality opposition for us as we build towards facing Italy on September 26. The rugby community has continued to support our journey to the World Cup, and I look forward to a large home crowd for this match.”