Author Archive: BCRN

Canadian Coaches in the News

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Lesley McKenzie, Canadian Coach from Fort Nelson BC, Named to Portugal Men’s Coaching Staff

Rugbypass.com published a story a few days ago that hasn’t had much exposure in Canada, Lesley McKenzie the Canadian coach from Fort Nelson, BC has been added to the Portugal men’s coaching staff. Formerly, she was in charge of the Japan women’s team for six years 2019-2025 and guided them through two world cups. She had 25 caps playing for Canada then coached UBC for five years. She went to NZ for three years as a development officer before going to Japan to start as assistant coach in 2018, and then head coach in 2019. Now she’s in Portugal getting professional experience in the men’s game. She’ll also be assistant coach of the Europe Super Cup side Lusitanos which plays out of Lisbon and is the feeder for the Portugal national team.

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Champ Rugby – Tier 2 English Rugby

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Rugby Canada Signs Deal with Champ Rugby (Formerly RFU Championship) to Cover Relocation Costs for Canadian Players

It used to be called the RFU Championship, now called Champ Rugby, the second tier of English rugby. Currently there are 14 teams, full list shown below, and there are currently a few Canadian internationals in the league [updated] Shane O’Leary (Nottingham), Dewald Kotze (Rotherham), Rob Povey (Rotherham). There will be more coming with the new agreement between the league and Rugby Canada. Rugby Canada “will support players’ relocation costs such as flights and visas”.

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BCRU Updates – September 2026

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John Tait Named as CEO of BC Rugby Union

The BCRU have finally chosen John Tait as the permanent CEO after two stints as interim CEO. Hopefully this provides some stability and direction to BC Rugby. I’ve lost track of all the CEO options the BCRU have tried over the last decade, none of them had a Canadian rugby background, or are memorable for what they accomplished in BC Rugby. Perhaps the best of the bunch was Jeff Sauve (2004-2013), he then went on to Field Hockey Canada and is now with Scouts Canada I believe. He at least had some understanding of Canadian rugby coming in, as he was with Rugby Canada in the marketing department previously. Then was Jim Dixon, back in Australia, Annabel Kehoe, back in Australia, and then David Newson from Semiahmoo Hockey, thinks he’s back with them, and Matthew Carter from Lotus F1, think he’s still operating his consulting company.

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2026 FISU World University Championship Rugby Sevens

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Canada Win Gold in FISU Tournament

The Canadian women’s university team have claimed the title as top Rugby 7s team in the world. They defeated Australia and France along the way to claim the title. Canada’s only loss was to Australia in the final pool match on Day 2. That result put them in the quarter-finals against host South Africa, they won that game 24-14 and earned a rematch with Australia in the semi-finals. Canada got their revenge for the pool loss with a 19-14 win over Australia, Canada then blanked France 20-0 in the Gold medal match. France won Silver, Japan Bronze, Australia were 4th, Ireland 5th, USA 6th. In the men’s competition host South Africa won Gold, Uganda Silver, Argentina Bronze.

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BC Rugby Weekend of September 5th 2026

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Two Important University Matches Kick Off the Season in BC: Men UBC v TWU and Women UVic v UBC – Friday Night UBC 66 – TWU 0; Saturday Vikes Women Dominate UBC

The BC Premier kicks off next weekend, and a chance to see what the rosters will look like for the new season but this weekend gives us a taste of things to come with two important university matches. For the men it’s a first look at UBC and TWU head to head, their game is on today at 6pm at the Ken Woods Field at UBC . TWU are hosting the university championships this year so have an automatic berth but UBC will have to battle UVic for the remaining one BC spot left. On the women’s side it’s the top two contenders for the women’s university title this year and they go head to head on Saturday at 1pm at Wallace Field.

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Canada v Japan – September 5th 2026

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Japan 31 – Canada 7 at the Half: Final 57-12 for Japan

Not much to say, the game was over by the half. Takoda McMullin had some good moments and scored the first try. Izzak Kelly had a few strong runs. Canada gifted a couple of tries to Japan from simple errors. Japan dominated the scrums and lineouts. Disappointing overall, the last two results against Japan were -42 and -27, this -45 speaks for itself. The match commentary is below from last night and the Rugby Canada summary article published this morning.

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Kamloops 7s 2026

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Kamloops 7s Youth Tournament September 19th and 20th – App Shows 123 Teams Registered

Billed as the “largest youth Rugby 7s tournament in Canada that attracts teams from across British Columbia and beyond” the Kamloops 7s takes place September 19th and 20th at McArthur Island Park, 1655 Island Pkwy, Kamloops. Last year there were 128 teams in 10 divisions competing over 10 fields, in 2024 there were 122 teams. It will be interesting to see the team count this year. The Kamloops 7s website hasn’t published the numbers yet but the Kamloops 7s app does have the teams entered, we’re not sure if it’s complete but we’ll go through the divisions. The total, based on the App info on September 2nd, is 123 total teams, 55 boys, 68 girls. Interesting stat compared to last year, the boys are down 8 teams, the girls up 3 teams.

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Men’s University Championship 2026

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New CUMRC Format Means UVic or UBC Will Be Omitted from University Championship for First Time

The McTavish Cup awarded to the top men’s University team was started in 2017. It has been won by UBC five times in its eight year history (no tournament due to COVID in 2020), UVic have won it once. UBC have placed top three in all eight years, UVic have finished top three in five of the eight years, 4th one year, 5th twice. Despite being the two most successful teams in the competition, one of them won’t be going to the championship this year. Organizers have decided on the following regional allocations this year.

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World Rugby Nations Cup – November Schedule

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World Rugby Announces November Schedule for Nations Cup: Canada Play Georgia, Hong Kong in France, Romania

The men’s XVs team are in Japan for three matches in September, return home to catch their breath, maybe get in a BC Premier match or two for some of the players, then off to Europe for matches November 7th, 14th and 20th. They play Georgia in Tbilisi on November 7th, then Hong Kong in Chambery, France on November 14th, and finally Romania on November 20th in Bucharest.

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Officiating Updates – September 2026

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Level 1 Officiating Courses Offered in September in Courtenay, Abbotsford, Victoria, Vancouver

The BCRU are putting on Level 1 Officiating courses in Courtenay, Abbotsford, Victoria, Vancouver, Kelowna, Coquitlam, Vernon, Cranbrook, Terrace this season from September to May. There are four in September in Courtenay, Abbotsford, Victoria, Vancouver and one in October in Kelowna. It’s important to get new officials continually coming through the system to support the approximately 700 senior league games this season, not to mention the junior club games and the high school games in the spring. The information from the BCRU and registration link is below.

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