RWC 2023 Qualification Series

Posted on July 1, 2021December 26, 2023 by BCRN

Canada Announce St John’s for First Round of RWC 2023 Qualifying vs USA – Langford for October Series with South American Team

It was August 12 2006 when Canada and USA met in St. John’s, Newfoundland for the RWC 2007 qualifier. Canada went on to win that match 56-7 and go through as Americas #1. Ric Suggit was coach and Mike James and Morgan Williams were the player reps at the press conference. I remember it well, I had flown out from Vancouver Island for the week and stayed at the modest Memorial University residences to cover the match for BCRN.

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MLR 2021 – Week 15

Posted on June 30, 2021December 26, 2023 by BCRN

Week 15 Wrapup: Wins for NY, NOLA, Utah, Atlanta, Austin and LA

There’s 3 weeks left in the regular season with some teams down to 2 matches left. LA and Utah continue atop the West division with Austin still in with a chance if Utah stumble in their remaining two matches. It’s looking a high probability of a LA and Utah 1/2 finish in the West. Utah play Atlanta and LA in their remaining matches, two tough games. Austin finish against LA and DC while LA have NOLA, Austin, Utah. LA needs to win 2 of those 3 matches to assure top spot.

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Canada Summer Tests 2021

Posted on June 29, 2021December 26, 2023 by BCRN

Canada Add Four Names to Touring Squad for Wales and England Tests

Injuries have forced head coach Kingsley Jones to make 2 changes to the 30 player squad, he’s also named 2 extra players for a total of 32 on tour.

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Olympic 7s Updates – June 2021

Posted on June 28, 2021December 26, 2023 by BCRN

Pools Announced for Olympic 7s: Men: Canada, Fiji, GB, Japan; Women: Canada, France, Fiji, Brazil

The pools were announced for the Olympic 7s, July 26-31 2021.

As expected it’s going to be a tougher journey for the men to make the QF than for the women. There are 12 teams in each competition, 8 make the quarter-finals. The top two finishers in each of the 3 pools plus the 2 best 3rd place finishers will go through.

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Canada at the 2021 Olympics

Posted on June 25, 2021December 26, 2023 by BCRN

Canada Announce Men’s and Women’s 7s Teams for Olympics

Canada announced their men’s and women’s teams for the Olympics in July. Thirteen players are listed per team, with 12 selected for match day and 1 alternate. There’s no mention of who the non-playing alternate is on each squad. The USA women announced their roster earlier this month and identified an alternate plus two travelling reserves for a 15 player squad. The USA men haven’t announced their squad yet.

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Rugby Books

Posted on June 24, 2021December 26, 2023 by BCRN

Local BC Writer, A Retired Rugby Player and High School Teacher, Has Two Children’s Rugby Novels Published

Mike Levitt has turned a love of rugby and a skill at writing into a post retirement career. He already has had local media articles published highlighting his books aimed at a youth readership. The Williams Lake Tribune article noted “Retired high school teacher and former Williams Lake rugby coach Mike Levitt has penned his second book about the sport: Rugby Rookies, released this month by Lorimer publishing.” The Kamloops This Week article opened with, “Kamloops author Mike Levitt split the uprights with his first kick at a childrens book.”

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Thunder Indigenous Rugby – June 2021

Posted on June 21, 2021December 26, 2023 by BCRN

Thunder Indigenous Rugby in Partnership with Canadian Rugby Foundation Launch Fund for Annual Indigenous Youth Rugby Tour – National Indigenous Peoples Day

On National Indigenous Peoples Day it merits looking at what rugby is doing to help Indigenous Peoples in BC. That conversation would quickly turn to the Thunder Indigenous Rugby organization featuring former national team players Bobby Ross (Songhees Nation) and Phil Mack (Toquaht Nation) as leading figures. Director of Thunder Rugby is John Lyall, a rugby player for over 25 years, who is of Kwakwakawakw descent. They’re focused on creating opportunities through rugby for Indigenous youth.

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MLR 2020 – Week 14

Posted on June 20, 2021December 26, 2023 by BCRN

MLR Week 14 Results: LA, Utah, NOLA, Atlanta and Austin with Weekend Wins

Next weekend will be the last MLR action for many of the internationals who will be leaving for the July tests in Europe right after their matches. Some may be back in action for the final regular season weekend on July 17th.

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