Author Archive: BCRN

Canada v Spain – July 2026

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Canada Draws with Spain 42-42: Last Minute Heroics to Claim 3 Points

It was a match of ups and downs. The highlight for Canada was the come from behind equalizer with time expired. That showed some character to put together multiple phases with no allowance for error. Noah Flesch ended up being the hero as he picked the ball up from the base of the ruck and decided to go himself, getting one of the few line breaks for Canada in the match. From there it went quickly to the outside where Tyler Ardron made the key pass to set Kyle Tremblay across the line. Takoda McMullin showed nerves of steel to take the conversion as Cooper Coats had been injured on the play. Noah may have been the last minute hero but it was his brother Mason who was selected player of the match with two tries.

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BC Premier 2026-27

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Rowers and Bayside Announce Entry into 2026-27 BC Premier – Eleven Team League in 2026-27

The Vancouver Rowing Club and the Bayside Sharks have announced their acceptance into the BC Premier league for the 2026-27 season. It looks to be an 11 team league next year, Langley, long reported to be eyeing a jump up to the Premier have apparently withdrawn their application for promotion. With the Pacific Pride not entering a team next year (the status of the program is unknown) the league will consist of the nine teams from last season plus the two new teams. Both clubs, Bayside and Rowers, have a history in the BC Premier and are returning after a rebuilding phase in Division 1.

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Canada Nations Cup Squad – Summer 2026

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Meehan Announces 32 Player Squad for Summer Nations Cup Matches: Tyler Ardron, Evan Olmstead and Cooper Coats All Available – Updates

UPDATES: Rob Povey out with injury, Lockie Kratz brought in as a replacement. Daragh Doyle U20 lock also brought in. Rob Povey has been ruled out due to injury which leaves Cooper Coats and Peter Nelson as #10 starting options in game #1 against Spain. Daragh Doyle was a late addition, he played second row for the U20 team last year. 

Stephen Meehan has named his 32 player squad for the summer Nations Cup matches against Spain, Portugal and Zimbabwe. The good news is the trio of Evan Olmstead, Tyler Ardron and Cooper Coats, who were instrumental in Canada’s only win under Meehan, are available.  All three have been missing from the Canada roster recently. Also good news is the return of Andrew Quattrin. There are a number of players missing from Meehan’s recent selections, Callum Botchar, Emerson Prior, Austin Creighton, James Naylor who were part of the November 2025 rosters didn’t get a mention in the injured/unavailable list. Botchar had earned a starting role with the Seattle Seawolves and Prior was outstanding in the BC v Ontario series. Brock Webster who has been outstanding with MLR champions Chicago Hounds has been marked unavailable/injured.

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Canada Day 2026

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Happy Canada Day 2026 – A Look Back at the Men’s 2025 Roster

With the Nations Cup kicking off on Saturday it seemed fitting to look at the men’s roster for 2025. This graphic is courtesy of the World Rugby media guide. The current Media Manager for Rugby Canada is Maxine O’Leary so I’m guessing she is responsible for putting this together. Well done!

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The Business of Rugby

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Vegas Golden Knights Owner Bill Foley Buys Exeter Chiefs Rugby Franchise

This was a news story all over the internet today. Bill Foley, an american billionaire who owns several sports franchises including the NHL Vegas Golden Knights, buys the Exeter Chiefs. Interesting side note is he lived in Ottawa for a while while growing up, his dad was posted there as part of the US Air Force. He also went to West Point where the sport teams are called the Black Knights, he created the Black Knight Sports & Entertainment group in 2016 and Black Knight Rugby in 2026. The inevitable question we saw on social media is, as an american why didn’t he invest in MLR. We turned that question as well as a dive into Bill Foley, Black Knight Rugby and the Exeter Chiefs purchase over to our Ai assistant, Bob. Take it away Bob, and include references.

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Premier Women’s Rugby – June 2026 – Finals

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Saracens Dominant in Championship Win Over Trailfinders: Ten Canadians in Final

The Saracens featuring six starting Canadian players were dominant in their march to the championship title in the English Premier Women’s competition. Julia Omokhuale was selected player of the match and she opened the scoring for the Saracens at the 12′  mark. The Sarries were ahead 33-0 at the half and it was basically game over. Alysha Corrigan scored the first try of the second half and it was 38-0. Maya Montiel scored the Trailfinder’s first try 8′ into the second half to make it 38-7 but Saracens added two more tries to the Trailfinder’s one to cruise to victory, 52-14. The full match video link is below and the RugbyPass player rankings for the Canadian starting players.

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BCRU logo 2024

BCRU AGM 2026

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BCRU AGM This Saturday: A Look at Playing Numbers and Club Vote Allocations

The BCRU has a membership of 9,598 (members who have paid annual dues to BC Rugby). That number is made up of players, coaches, referees, directors, physios, basically anyone who has to register to participate in rugby in BC. Of that 9,598 there are 8,418 players categorized by senior players 3,276, junior players 3,341, and minis 1,801. Most of the registrations, 7,860, are through the 57 voting member clubs, there are also 10 non-voting member clubs. The Premier league clubs CW, Meraloma, JBAA, Westshore, Ravens, Burnaby, Capilano, UBC (including Thunderbirds), UVic account for 2,721 votes. That could increase to 3,664 if Langley (440), Bayside (437) and Rowers (66) go up to Premier next season. The top 10 clubs in terms of size (members registered with BCRU) are Capilano, Castaway Wanderers, Langley, Bayside, Meraloma, Abbotsford, United, James Bay, Kelowna, Westshore.

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Referee News – June 2026

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CTV Article on Robin Kaluzniak: Edmonton Teacher Referees Major League Rugby Final

This was a story we missed from last weekend when the Chicago Hounds with three Canadians in the roster won the MLR title. The referee in the match was Edmonton teacher, Robin Kaluzniak. The article from CTV News is posted below. We took a quick look through our recent archives, 2023 he was in Nairobi, Kenya reffing the Junior World Rugby Trophy tournament. In 2024 he was announced as one of the referees in the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series, then was assistant referee in two USA international tests against Romania and Scotland. Also in 2024 and 2025 he shows up in the archives reffing MLR matches. Going farther back we have an article from 2017 when he was assistant referee in the Americas Rugby Championship held in Langford. The CTV article mentions he’ll be AR at some USA test matches this summer. Congrats Robin!

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Summer 7s Tournaments 2026

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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.

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MLR Final 2026

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Chicago Hounds Top Off Perfect Season with Championship Win Over California Legion, 35-17

Chicago dominated the game leading 32-3 through three quarters with California scoring two consolation tries in the last 20 minutes. Mason Flesch was one of the try scorers for Chicago. Chicago opened with a penalty by flyhalf Chris Hilsenbeck at 4′, hooker Theo Fourie added a try two minutes later, converted by Hilsenbeck for a 10-0 lead. California closed the gap with a penalty before Mason Flesch scored at 26′, again converted by Hilsenbeck and Chicago led 17-3 at the half. Hilsenbeck opened the second half with a penalty, 20-3. Chicago would score two more tries, the first by winger Peyton Wall at 47′ and the second by second row Nathan den Hoedt at 53′ and it was a commanding 32-3 lead. California would score two tries in the last quarter before Hilsenbeck ended the match with a penalty kick, final 35-17.

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