Canada coach Kieran Crowley has dismissed the idea that his side could cause an upset against Six Nations champions Ireland in their Pool D opener on September 19.

The New Zealander wants his team to target a top-three finish in Pool D, which would assure them of a place in the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

"A good World Cup for us will be qualifying for the next World Cup, so you have to finish third in your pool for that. We would consider that success. You have got to win at least two games to be assured of that," the 54-year-old told reporters.

"We had the same sort of thing at our last World Cup and we won one and drew one, but we have hopes we can do it this time. Ireland are likely to top the group. They are one of the favourites to be there at the business end of the tournament and they are European champions.

"We have improved though, and we have been playing some reasonable rugby. We just need to learn to take our opportunities and be a little more accurate in a lot of areas, such as ball security and game management."

Canada will face Italy, France and Romania in their subsequent Pool D fixtures.