Canada beats Kenya in first Rugby World Cup qualifying repechage tournament

MARSEILLE, France — DTH van der Merwe scored three tries to power Canada to a 65-19 win over Kenya on Sunday in the opening game of the 2019 Rugby World Cup repechage tournament.

Theo Sauder and Brett Beukeboom each scored two tries while Tyler Ardron, Matt Evans and Mike Sheppard had the others. Gordon McRorie added seven conversions and Sauder had one.

Canada, ranked 23rd in the world, dropped into the repechage after losing qualifying series against the 15th-ranked U.S. Eagles and No. 18 Uruguay.

Kenya, No. 28, qualified for the repechage by finishing second at the 2018 Rugby Africa Gold Cup. Sunday’s match was the first ever meeting between the Canadians and Kenyans.