Canada are on the verge of clinching the final spot in next year’s Rugby World Cup after beating Germany 29-10 in France on Saturday. A losing bonus point against Hong Kong in the final match of the tournament this weekend would be enough for the Canucks to claim a spot at the showpiece event in Japan 2019.

Darlington Mowden Park’s Matt Heaton has been involved in both games so far, which have seen his side claim maximum points. Despite coming away with 4 try bonus points in each of their opening fixtures, the 25 year-old insisted their focus lay more on the defensive side of their game: “We haven’t really put a big focus on what we want out of the games aside from wins and good defensive stands. The bonus points haven’t been a focus of the team, we came into the tournament with 3 wins in mind and minimal points scored against.”

Heaton’s side have certainly achieved that so far, conceding just 29 points across their opening 2 games. They now face Hong Kong in their final repechage game, with the 2 sides ranked 21st & 22nd in the world respectively. Despite knowing they only need a single bonus point, Heaton insisted their approach wouldn’t change: “Our mind set hasn’t changed from game one till now. We wanted to win all three and that’s what we’re targeting now.”

Should they qualify, Canada go through to face New Zealand, South Africa, Italy and Namibia in the Pool B in Japan. Stressing the importance of World Cup Qualification, Heaton added: “For the team and the Union it’s huge, it’s no secret we’ve been having a bad run internationally in the past few tours. As a whole Union players, staff and supporters we’ve been working toward qualification and to finally be here is exciting.”

“On a personal level it’s huge for me, I started this about 5 years ago when a coach said I’d be in the running for 2019 World Cup and that I should get prepared for it! So it’s really satisfying knowing everything I’ve worked for has paid off.”

On behalf of the club we’d like to wish Matt and his Canada teammates the very best of luck in their final repechage game on Friday.