In Memory Of…. July 2026
In Memory of Joan Porter – BC Rugby Hall of Famer Passes Away at Age 89
The BCRU remembrance is posted below, there’s also a tribute by long time friend Connie McGinley posted on Facebook.
from BCRU
BC Rugby is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of BC Rugby Hall of Famer Joan Porter, whose lifelong dedication, passion and support helped shape rugby in British Columbia for more than six decades.
Inducted into the BC Rugby Hall of Fame in 2019 alongside her beloved husband, Jim, Joan was a tireless champion of rugby and one of our community’s greatest ambassadors. Introduced to rugby together while attending Magee Secondary School in 1952, Joan and Jim became inseparable figures in BC’s rugby community, with each making an extraordinary contribution to the game in their own way.
Summer 7s Tournaments 2026
Sevens Tournaments This Summer in BC Starting in July
The following are a list of summer 7s tournaments in BC that we’re aware of. SFU’s Highland 7s kicks off July 18th, Bayside 7s is August 8th and Westshore 7s is August 22nd. Usually there’s a 7s tournament at Burnaby on the weekend in between, August 15th, but we haven’t seen that posted yet. If we missed one mention it in the comments section.
Summer Camps 2026
Summer Rugby Camps in BC from June to September
We’ve put together a list of summer rugby camps, we’ll keep updating the list throughout the summer. If you know of a summer rugby camp in BC, tag us on social media with the poster, Instagram is the best choice, @bcrugbynews – or add a link and description in the comment section.
NPC Starts This Weekend – A List of Canadian Players Who Have Competed in the NPC
WXV Global Series Challenger 2026 match schedule confirmed
➡️Hong Kong China to host six-team competition across three match weekends from 13-26 September
➡️Announcement follows the news that Mitsubishi Electric has joined the competition as presenting partner
⬇️ Full WXV Global
2004 BC Premier Championship – From the Archives
Capilano Win 2004 and 2005 Rounsefell Cup: Articles from Quarter-finals to Finals by Ben Buan and Jeremy Dalton
There’s a large collection of BCRN articles going back to 2004 that I haven’t had time to migrate to the new site yet, this is one from the spring of 2004 covering the playoffs for the BC Premier Rounsefell Cup, along with Div 1, 2 and 3. Names like Ben Buan, Jeremy Dalton, Jan-Christian Sorensen show up in the article credits, long time readers will recognize the names and contributions they made. Bayside made the semi-finals in the Premier in 2004, timely as they return to the BC Premier this coming season. The Saratoga Cup is coming up soon, it’s now for interior teams only (Kootenays, Okanagan, Central Interior) but back in 2004 the two 3rd div finalists got an invite to the tournament as well. Some of the try scorers back in 2004 will also cause readers to reflect as many are now involved in rugby as coaches and administrators. Ian Hyde-Lay reffed the Premier final, noted at the time as his last officiating assignment. There’s also the write up of the 2005 final appended at the end.
NZ NPC Competition – 2026
NPC Starts This Weekend – A List of Canadian Players Who Have Competed in the NPC
I noticed the NZ NPC started this weekend, there’s only one game result at time of writing, Waikato 38–26 Bay of Plenty. That started me on a research thread, how many Canadian internationals have played in the NPC? I’ve come up with 13 names to date, here’s the process, I asked Bob my Ai assistant and came up with 7 names after some to and fro questioning. I then went to a human expert, Bryan Ray, he added 4 more names. I then used social media feedback, and I got 2 more names there. Here are the 13 names, below that are the prediction odds for the current season if you’re interested, then below that is a reflection on how Ai should be used in research, a subject that applies beyond rugby.
Update: Nic Benn is in the reserves, #23 for Hawkes Bay vs Wellington this weekend, he’ll be #14.
HSBC 2027 SVNS Series
Schedule for 2027 SVNS Series Announced: Vancouver March 6-7
The Vancouver 7s returns for 2027 in the same time slot, after Perth and before New York, on March 6-7. Again it’s a two day event on Saturday and Sunday. The Canadian women’s team came 5th in Vancouver last year and were 3rd overall in the series. The men played a Challenger series in Vancouver against Chile and Japan, Rugby Canada haven’t announced the details of that event yet for 2027. The 2027 SVNS series kicks off on November 28-29 in Dubai.
BCRU Updates – July 2026
BCRU Hiring Administrative Coordinator for a Temporary Contract
The BCRU put out a job posting today for a temporary Admin Coordinator that basically covers the fall season, starting late August and going until near the winter break in December. Application deadline is August 1st and it pays $4,200 a month. Details and how to apply are mentioned below.
BC Summer Games – 2026
Fraser River Win Gold, Island Silver, Fraser Valley Bronze
The regional U17 girls rugby 7s wrapped up at the BC Summer Games on Sunday. Fraser River won Gold, Island won Silver and Fraser Valley won Bronze. Fraser River is the Burnaby/Surrey area and Fraser Valley is the Abbotsford/Langley area. In the top 4 semi-finals it was Fraser River defeating Fraser Valley 20-10 and Island defeating Okanagan 22-5. In the medal games it was Fraser Valley over Island 22-5 for Gold/Silver and Fraser Valley over Okanagan 22-17 in the Bronze/4th match. Finishing 5th were Vancouver, 6th Cariboo, 7th Kootenays and 8th Northwest. Overall at the games Vancouver won 122 medals (43 gold, 45 silver, 34 bronze) and Island won 121 medals (44 gold, 39 silver, 38 bronze), finishing top two, the winner depending on whether you count total medals or gold medals.
U19 Canadian Rugby Championship 2026
Ontario Win Gold, BC Silver in Men’s and Women’s U19 Championship
It wasn’t to be the day for BC as they lost both final matches against Ontario on Sunday. The women came close, leading for most of the match but giving up two tries in the last 5 minutes to lose 17-7. The men were defeated 44-12 and trailed in the match from the beginning. Jack Gore the Ontario #10 and team captain scored 29 points. The BC U17 teams wrapped up their 3 game series on Saturday, Ontario won both matches. The bright spot for BC were the U17 women who, despite losing Saturday’s game, won the series against Ontario with 2 wins and 1 loss. The BC U17 men had a record of 1 win and 2 losses. Kudos to host Ontario who claim the title of top province this year in age-grade rugby. We haven’t heard where next year’s tournament will be held yet.
Stories from the Rugby Community
Community Rugby Stories – Alexandra Schlosser from Trail RFC
At the beginning of the month we ran a promo on Instagram, send us your rugby story and we’ll send you a BCRN rugby ball. Alexandra Schlosser from Trail RFC jumped on that like a loose forward at a ruck, we can tell she’s the type of rugby player you want on your team. Below is her rugby story on how she discovered rugby and what it means to her. We’ll give away one ball a month, if you’re interested in entering, email editor@bcrugbynews.com your rugby story (about 500 words) and you could be August’s winner.
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