Author Archive: BCRN

Editorial – January 2025

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Thoughts for the New Year: Where’s the Next Taylor Paris – Senior Cap in 7s at 17; Senior Cap in XVs at 18 and Canada U20 Rosters from 2012 to 2024

I was thinking on January 1st I’d write an article about what I hoped for in 2025 for Canadian rugby. Obviously the women to do well at the World Cup in England and the men in the World Cup qualifiers but my thoughts turned to the U20 men, that’s where I really was hoping we would see some improvements in 2025. I don’t know what Rugby Canada and their high performance director, Stephen Aboud, have planned for them.

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2024 Recap – November/December 2024

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Top Rugby Stories in BC and Canada During November/December 2024: UBC Win Women’s University Title; ETS Win Men’s University Title; Men Lose to Chile & Romania; New Men’s XVs Coach Hired; Women Compete at Dubai and Cape Town 7s

The big news in November and December was the change in head coach for men’s XVs team, Kingsley Jones was out and Steve Meehan was in. A lot of people were hoping Jamie Cudmore would  make a comeback but it wasn’t to be. UBC won the women’s university title, a first for BC and ETS won the men’s university title, a first for Quebec.

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2024 Recap – September/October

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Top Rugby Stories in BC and Canada During September/October 2024: BC Rugby Starts Season, Coastal Cup, BC Premier; Canada Men Finish 6th in Pacific Nations; Canada Women Finish 2nd in WXV1; Howlers Complete Sweep at Gran Jaguar 7s Tournament; Island Win Dunbar Keg U20 Title

In  September the BC leagues started, first with the Coastal Cup, then the BC Premier and lower divisions. In national team news the men’s XVs lost to Tonga to finish last in the Pacific Nations Cup, in 2025 it will serve as the World Cup qualifier. The women’s XVs defeated France in their first match of the WXV1 which was being hosted in Vancouver.

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Olympic silver

2024 Recap – June/July/August

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Top Rugby Stories in BC and Canada During June, July, August 2024: Women Win Olympic 7s Silver; Highlanders Complete Debut Season; New England Win MLR with 9 Canadians in Roster; U20 Women Win Trans-Atlantic Series

The summer months clearly pointed out the different directions the national men’s and women’s programs were going.  The women’s 7s won Olympic Silver, the men’s 7s failed to qualify for the Olympics. The U20 women shone in Wales winning the Trans-Atlantic Quad series which included Wales, England and  USA. The U20 men lost the JWRT qualifier series to USA  74-39 over two games. The women’s XVs had just won the Pacific Four title in May, the men lost their Pacific Nations Cup matches.

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2024 Recap – April/May

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Top Rugby Stories in BC and Canada During April and May 2024: BC Club Season Wraps Up, UBCOB Ravens Premier Champions; BC High School Season Begins; Canada Women Win Pacific Four Title; Canada Compete at Hong Kong and Singapore 7s

In April the BC club season reaches the semi-finals stage, the high school rugby season is just kicking off. On the national team scene the Hong Kong 7s wraps up and the Canada women start their Pacific Four campaign with a win over USA. Rugby Canada issues its AGM reports and financials and Sally Dennis steps down as Chair of the Board.

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2024 Recap – February/March

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Top Rugby Stories in BC and Canada During February and March 2024: BC Premier Re-Starts at Week 7; Vancouver & LA 7s; Rugby Canada Announce Summer Tests; Canada Selects vs Seattle Seawolves; National U20 and 7s Coaching Announcements; Tropical 7s; MLR Season Starts

We look at some of the top rugby stories in BC and Canada during February and March 2024. The BC Premier re-started in February with Week 7, mini-rugby ramped up, the BCRU announced its high performance pathways for the year. The Vancouver 7s and the invitational youth tournament took place. Rugby Canada announced the 3 home tests during the summer for the men’s XVs team. World Rugby announced Scotland as the host of the JWRT U20 championships. MLR preseason started with Seattle taking on the Canada Selects.

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Vancouver Highlanders

2024 Recap – January

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A Look at the 2024 Stories in January 2024: Vancouver Highlanders Player Announcements; Adam Roberts Resigns U20 Coach; Phil Mack Appointed Men’s XVs Attack Coach; World Rugby Invests in MLR Charlotte; BC Rugby Season Restarts; Perth 7s; Pacific Four Series Announced… and More

There were a lot of key rugby events and announcements in January 2024. The Vancouver Highlanders came on the scene and announced they would name their 25 player roster over the following 12 weeks. We’ll see next week  whether there’s some Highlanders activity to kick of the new year.

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Holiday Message 2025

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Message of Hope Over the Holiday Season

There’s been some gloom in the rugby community going into the holiday season, especially around the hope that Jamie Cudmore would be the new Canadian coach, that Canadians would take back the men’s XVs program going into 2025. It wasn’t to be this year however there are some positive thoughts to share over the holiday season.

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Rugby Canada Updates – December 2024

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Steve Meehan Named as Canadian Men’s XVs Head Coach

I have to admit, most of the Canadian rugby community feels sucker punched by Stephen Aboud right now. Instead of hiring Jamie Cudmore, who was the Canadian choice, he went for Australian Steve Meehan. I’ve had a few messages from Canadian rugby fans but as I’ve explained when you hire an American CEO and an Irish High Performance Director, you can’t expect a Canadian solution. Thank the current and previous Rugby Canada Board for that.

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