Author Archive: BCRN

Ultimate Sevens 2026

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Ultimate 7s Kicks Off in September in Europe: Features Seven Canadian Players

What is Ultimate 7s? I only noticed recently since a number of Canadian women showed up on the rosters. It’s a series of 7s tournaments taking place in September in Europe. There are six teams and four tournaments in Madrid, Cardiff, Biarritz and London. There are seven Canadian women distributed over five of the teams, Krissy Scurfield, Carmen Izyk, Savannah Bauder, Charity Williams, Eden Kilgour, Breanne Nicholas and Larah Wright. I set Bob my Ai assistant loose on this and it compiled an overview and extracted the team rosters from the social media posts. That’s all listed below along with the main sources used.

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U18 Updates – August 2026

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Canadian Howlers U18 in Argentina; Rugby Canada Announces U18 Camp Attendees

There are a couple of U18 events overlapping in August. The Canadian Howlers, formerly the Dog River Howlers, are taking an elite team of Canadian U18 players to Argentina for three matches. Their program is linked below. Also Rugby Canada are holding U18 camps for men and women. The Howlers itinerary, roster and full tour program are listed below. Also the names of the players attending the Rugby Canada camps are listed below.

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Saratoga Cup 2026

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Saratoga Cup Tournament This Weekend, August 8-9, in Fernie

The Saratoga Cup for interior regions, Okanagan, Kootenays, Central Interior, will take place this weekend in Fernie. The men’s tournament is XVs and the women’s tournament is 7s. In the men’s tournament it will be Vernon, Terrace, Rocky Mountain, and Elk Valley competing. The women’s tournament also have Elk Valley and Rocky Mountain with the addition of Trail, Yeti (Salmon Arms), Penticton and a new team called Valhalla Valkyries (Nelson). The BCRU are providing a live stream, likely the VEO Ai system, the link is below as well as the full schedule.

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In Memory Of… August 2026

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Former Rugby Canada Media Manager Peter McMullan Passes at Age 90

There are probably not many in the rugby community who would remember Peter, but a reader noticed and sent his obituary in. Peter was the Rugby Canada media manager for 10 years, from 1986 to 1996, before Ian Kennedy took over. He was unique in that after working for Rugby Canada in that capacity he went on to work for World Rugby, at that time called the International Rugby Board, iRB. He worked out of Dublin for four years as the iRB Media Manager before returning to Vancouver Island and enjoying his retirement. He was into fishing in a big way and wrote several books on the subject and wrote articles for fishing magazines. I started with Rugby Canada around 1998 as their website manager so I didn’t overlap with him but he followed BCRN and he would frequently communicate his thoughts on rugby, we met up in Nanaimo for a rugby chat and beverage. It’s news that saddens me but he led a full life, if there is a place in the after life for rugby media folk, he’s there enjoying rugby and fishing.

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High School Rugby – August 2026

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Which High Schools Produce the Most Canadian Internationals?

I was browsing through Linkedin and came across this interesting post by Bob Skinstad on South African high school rugby. It was a map of which high schools produce the most Springboks. It had me thinking about Canadian high school rugby factories, which high schools produce the most Canadian internationals (XVs)? That picture changes over time but I thought I’d at least broach the subject as I don’t think Rugby Canada or the provincial unions track that information. I’ve started a basic list for BC and hopefully readers will help add to the list, I’ll also reach out to some school administrators to see if they maintain comprehensive lists from their school.

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Players in the News – August 2026

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Nic Benn Gets 1st Cap in NZ NPC with Hawke’s Bay

Nic Benn came on at the 66′ mark in Round 1 of the NPC for the Hawke’s Bay Magpies to gain his 1st NPC cap. He’s only 1 of 14 Canadian internationals who have played in the NPC. He has 13 caps for Canada but was unavailable for Canada’s 2026 summer internationals. Playing at NPC level puts him top of the selection list for outside backs for Canada. The NZ NPC competition is higher than MLR and is more on par with France Pro D2 or the UK Championship.

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In Memory Of…. July 2026

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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.

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2004 BC Premier Championship – From the Archives

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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.

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NZ NPC Competition – 2026

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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.

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