Canadian Ambassadors Inaugural Tour – Letter from Aaron McLelland
The Canadian Ambassadors is a new rugby inititative, started by players, for players. The goal is to provide club players from across the country with the opportunity to go on tour and play against developing nations. The program follows a similar concept that New Zealand has been running with the Czech Republic for the past fifteen years. Over that time the Czech Republic has risen significantly through the IRB rankings (currently #34). The inaugural tour is set for Cancun, Mexico from October 9-15th, to play Mexico National XV. Mexico are ranked #43 in Mens IRB Rankings, behind Czech Republic (34) and Canada (22), but ahead of Barbados (72) who the Highlanders played during the summer.
The Canadian Ambassadors has taken off and grown some traction in following through Instagram (@canadianambassadorsxv), and the generous support of our fantastic sponsors, HB builders, Cavendesh Farms, Fortune Cove Farms, PEI Brewing, Red Truck Brewing, Lone Oak Brewing, Pure Solar and Langara Fishing Adventures. We have also been liasing with the Canadian Embassy in Mexico who are very supportive of promoting rugby in their region. Rugby in the Americas is growing and will continue to grow as we approach 2031 when America will host the Rugby World Cup. As we tour to developing countries, there is an element of diplomacy and relationship building we are aiming to achieve through the delivery of coaching clinics to youth.
The team heading down to Mexico has been 80% selected and currently consists of players from five different provinces and ten different clubs. There is still the potential for players to join the team for what promises to be an unforgettable tour. Those interested should reach out to canadaxvrugby@gmail.com
If your club would like to organize a game vs the Canadian Ambassadors we welcome you to reach out via email. Our goal is to tour at least once per year and to grow and celebrate grassroots rugby across the country. In doing so, we hope that players will get exposure to other players from different provinces, and develop the opportunity to travel and play rugby year round in Canada. In the past, we have seen players from Eastern Canada relocate to play in the BC League and some BC players head over to Calgary for the summer. With the absence of any Senior Mens CRC competition to connect players across the provinces, we hope this program will offer some sort of provincial unity and prepare those interested in joining the Canadian Classics program later in their careers.
A huge thank you to everyone that has been following us to date and we look forward to our upcoming tour to Mexico in October to kickstart the Ambassadors rugby program.
All the best,
Aaron McLelland
Canada Ambassadors Rugby