After a thrilling first weekend which saw 59 tries, upsets, late drama and the highest-scoring draw in test history, the World Rugby Nations Cup 2026 returns for round two on Saturday with fans able to follow all the action unfold live on RugbyPass TV where there is no local broadcaster.
Pool A had the greater number of winning sides with Samoa, Chile, Tonga and USA all looking to build on their opening day wins with Georgia the only team in Pool B to taste victory as Spain and Canada played out a remarkable 42-42 draw.
The action again begins in Montevideo as Uruguay take on Romania and will conclude with Canada back in Edmonton to face Portugal.
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Uruguay v Romania
Venue: Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo
Referee: Jordan Way (Australia)
The round two opener is between Uruguay and Romania, who will both be eager to bounce back strongly after losses to Georgia and Chile.
This is the eighth meeting between the two sides, with Los Teros winning both encounters in in 2025 to take their record run to five matches. One of those was at this venue, with Uruguay securing a record 70-8 victory last July.
Los Teros have opted to keep the same matchday squad that lost 41-34 to Georgia, although there is a positional switch with Francisco González Capdevila moving to the left wing and Juan González to full-back. They began the game incredibly strongly and were in it until the end. With a more disciplined showing, they’ll be extremely confident they can get a win against an opposition they’re extremely familiar with.
The Oaks, on the other hand, have completely changed up the squad from the 48-31 loss to their more clinical hosts Chile, with only seven players retaining their starting position and six new starters. They’ve gone for an entirely new half-back pairing of Alin Conache and Hinckley Vaovasa, who played his first game for Romania against Uruguay in 2021.
Samoa v Georgia
Venue: Estadio Sausalito, Viña del Mar, Chile
Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)
Since these sides first met in 2003, all five contests have never been decided by a margin of more than 10 points.
The opening victories for both sides could not have differed more. Manu Samoa cruised to a 66-19 win against Hong Kong China, with debutant Warren Solomona stealing the show with a brace, while Georgia opened the tournament with a battle in Montevideo in which they held out a spirited Los Teros side.
Manu Samoa have gone for a very similar squad, with only one change to the starting line-up as Ere Enari is picked at scrum-half after not featuring last weekend. Replacement hooker Richie Asiata, who played for the First Nations and Pasifika XV against the British and Irish Lions last year, will make his Samoa debut if he comes off the bench.
The Lelos have nine players retaining their starting position, and three who didn’t make the matchday squad who appear as replacements in Vakhtang Jintcharadze, Ioane Iashagashvili and Tedo Abzhandadze. With his side being down to 14 men twice, Lelos captain Davit Niniashvili (who himself was sin-binned) highlighted that the “discipline needs to improve and we’ll work on that before Samoa.”
Tonga v Spain
Venue: Clarke Stadium, Edmonton
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (Italy)
Spain return to the scene of their game-for-the-ages against Canada, the highest draw in test history at 42-42. They may still be somewhat in disbelief that they conceded on the final play of the game, and now face a Tonga side who scored two late tries to just beat their Men's Rugby World Cup 2027 Pool F rivals, Zimbabwe 36-26 in Denver, Colorado.
The ‘Ikale Tahi have gone for a largely unchanged squad, with only two changes in the starting line-up. Sione Tui, who plays his rugby for Stade Francais, will make his international debut if he comes off the bench.
Captain Sonatane Takulua retains his place, extending his record to 64 caps. The veteran scrum-half played when these sides first met 10 years ago, converting his own try and three others in a 28-13 win.
Los Leones have kept almost the same backline, which showed great attacking flair. In particular, scrum-half Estanislao Bay, who scored twice, and fly-half Gonzalo Lopez, who was pulling the strings. They have, however, made five new changes to the forwards pack, including number eight Manex Ariceta, who plays in the Top 14 for Bayonne and started in their Rugby Europe Men's Championship 2026 semi-final loss to Portugal.
Chile v Hong Kong China
Venue: Estadio Sausalito, Viña del Mar
Referee: Tomás Ninci (Argentina)
This is only the third time these two nations have faced, and it will be the first since they were both drawn in Pool A for next year’s Rugby World Cup.
Chile depart west from the capital to the coastal city of Viña del Mar, where they hope to delight another home crowd after an impressive win over Romania, in which they kept on finding a response to any momentum gained by the Oaks.
Hong Kong China will be hoping for a stronger start, as they were 26-0 down after the first quarter against Samoa. Despite responding well at the start of the second half with two tries in quick succession, they’ll deem it essential to be out of the blocks quicker. Captain Pierce Mackinlay-West stressed this after the defeat, saying, “We’re probably not used to this level of competition, but we’ve just got to get used to the pace of it quicker.”
They’ve only made four changes to the starting line-up, with Alexander Post, Lachlan Doheny and Isaac Campbell-Wu called up from the bench, and Zac Cinnamond going straight into starting tight-head. James Rivers will make his international debut if he comes off the bench, the 25-year-old second-row currently plays for Major League Rugby side San Diego Legion.
With fly-half Rodrigo Fernández forced to come off after only 23 minutes, Matías Garafulic will start in his place. The utility back played a prominent role in Los Condores’ historic qualification and eventual Rugby World Cup 2023 campaign. Chile’s all-time leading points scorer, Santiago Videla, returns to the starting line-up at inside centre, while 19-year-old Marco Alvano will make his first appearance if he’s brought on.
USA v Zimbabwe
Venue: American Legion Memorial Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
Referee: Damian Schneider (Argentina)
This is the first-ever meeting between these two nations, and following their late win against Rugby Europe Men's Championship winners Portugal, the USA will be a formidable opponent for Zimbabwe.
The Eagles will be looking to build on the momentum of that fantastic win by taking on the Sables, who narrowly lost to Tonga but played some sublime rugby in the process.
The Sables keep seven of their starting XV from last week, with a full squad that features a strong core of players who helped secure Zimbabwe’s qualification for the Rugby World Cup 2027, including Tinotenda Mavesere, Hilton Mudariki, Jason Fraser and Matthew McNab. The squad also includes exciting young talent such as Liam Larkan and Edward Sigauke, although they have lost Farai Mudariki to an injury.
The Eagles, on the other hand, have four changes to their starting side for this weekend. Flanker Lance Williams, who has played for the USA Sevens team, will make his international debut in his first start at the age of 33. All eyes will again be on Chris Hilsenbeck, whose goal-kicking heroics sealed the 30-29 win over Portugal.
Canada v Portugal
Venue: Clarke Stadium, Edmonton
Referee: Jérémy Rozier (France)
This week’s Nations Cup action concludes in Edmonton as Canada takes on Portugal. They've played six times with Canada winning the first four (though the last being in 2013), with Portugal following with two narrow wins, including a 33-27 victory last year.
Os Lobos captain Jose Madeira, following their late loss to The Eagles, said there’s “no way we can compete with that kind of discipline.” What began as a classy display from Portugal, scoring three tries in 25 minutes, soon became a constant uphill battle as they received one yellow and two red cards. It resulted in gifting the Eagles numerous penalties, including the one which won it for them late on. This was despite Manuel Cardoso Pinto’s best efforts as the sensational winger scored four tries.
Portugal have picked a similar team, with the few changes mostly accommodating the suspended Manuel Vareiro and Pedro Vicente. Hugo Aubry, who appeared last week, starts at fly-half in place of Vareiro.
Canada coach Stephen Meehan has made four changes to the starting team while adding uncapped back-row Cody Nhanala and back Liam James to the matchday 23. Captain Lucas Rumball and Tyler Ardron will miss this fixture due to prior commitments, while Evan Olmstead comes in to start at openside flanker, Siôn Parry at number eight, Peter Nelson slots into the fly-half position and Takoda McMullin comes in at full-back.
“To come back and earn a draw in the final minutes showed real resilience and belief, but we're not satisfied with a draw; we want to be winning those games. With a number of players stepping into bigger roles, every match is helping build the experience and confidence we'll need moving forward,” said Meehan. “Portugal are a well-organised side with a clear identity. They're strong in the kick chase, work hard to control field position, and are very effective through the middle of the field.”