Article content

Canada will host the U.S. at Hamilton’s Tim Hortons Field on June 24 in the first leg of their Rugby World Cup qualifying showdown.

The 17th-ranked U.S. Eagles and No. 22 Canadians will decide the two-game aggregate series a week later on July 1 in San Diego.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Hamilton to host Rugby World Cup qualifier between Canada and U.S. Back to video

It marks the first time the Canadian men have played a test match in Hamilton. In recent years, Canada has opted to play most of its Ontario matches at Toronto’s BMO Field.

The crowd edge should go to Canada in the June series. Torero Stadium, home to the University of San Diego football team, has 6,000 seats while Tim Hortons Field has 23,500.

The winner of the two-game aggregate series moves on to the 2019 World Cup in Japan. The loser has two more chances to qualify, starting with a home-and-away series against the surviving Americas team (excluding Argentina which has already qualified) with the winner booking its ticket.

The loser of the South American playoff has one more chance to get to Japan, via a world repechage tournament.