Leinster will face the Canadian national side in a friendly fixture in Ontario as part of their pre-season preparations on August 24th.
As Leinster head to prepare for the 2019/20 season their hosts will be stepping-up preparations for the World Cup in Japan.
The two will play at the Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, which is the home ground for both the Hamilton TigerCats and Forge FC, of the Canadian Football League and Canadian Premier Soccer League respectively.
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen is excited by the prospect of playing against an international side and give players a chance to play at the highest-level.
“As a club, this will be the first time we have travelled to Canada for our pre-season preparations. 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,” he said.
The game will provide Leinster players who fail to make it to the World Cup squad a massive opportunity to lay a marker for the coming season and onward.
Canadian head coach Kingsley Jones, whose side will face New Zealand, South Africa, Italy and Namibia in Japan, is looking forward to hosting the reigning European Champions.
“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. 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,” he said.
Leinster will be hoping to head to Canada with another European crown under their belt along with a possible Pro 14 title. However, the boys in blue must face Saracens in the Champions Cup final this Saturday as well as Munster in the Pro 14 semi-finals before thinking ahead any further.
