From the Editor’s Desk – October 2025

BCRU Offers Invitation to “Develop Your Game in BC” this Winter, RC Starts “Task Force” on University Rugby

There were a couple of media releases last week that caught my eye, the first was the BCRU official invitation to players from across Canada to come west to play in the BC leagues this winter. I like it, it’s a no brainer for me. When we had national team coaches who were immersed in Canadian rugby, it was a given, they recognized it was the only place in Canada to play rugby in the winter. They would encourage players to move west. Now that we have coaches on the men’s side that have no background in Canadian rugby, the BCRU have to state the obvious. The last Canadian coach of the men’s program was Ric Suggitt in 2008, it’s crazy, 17 years since we’ve had a Canadian at the helm of the men’s program. The BCRU media release is posted below, hopefully we’ll see some results. A lot will depend on what happens with the MLR and where players who don’t pick up contracts will go. The national team coach will have an impact based on the message he’s sending to players.

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From the Editor’s Desk – September 2025

From BC Premier to UFC; BC Premier Week 2 Photographers; Docuseries on Women’s Rugby Team

A few items on the Editor’s Desk this Sunday. Michelle Montague from rugby to MMA professional, the photographers who shoot in the BC Premier and a docuseries on the women’s XVs team set to be released in 2026.

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From the Editor’s Desk – August 2025

Andrew Quattrin Signs in Pro D2 France; Super Rugby Schedule Announced; BC University Tours and Nationals Qualification Schedule; Curry Hitchborn Named Capilano Director of Rugby

A few stories of interest as we wait for the men’s and women’s national team rosters to be announced on Thursday/Friday. As a reminder it’s Canada v Japan men at 1am PT on TSN and Canada v Wales women at 4am PT. Hopefully TSN will have both matches in their Games on Demand archive on Saturday.

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From the Editor’s Desk – August 2025

Thunder Indigenous Rugby in NZ Claim First Wins; Junior PanAm 7s Kicks Off Saturday; World Rugby Introduces New Concussion Mouthguard for Women’s World Cup

A few news items for Thursday, the Thunder Indigenous Rugby program is in NZ, playing their final match in Wellington as this goes to press. They notched up their first wins in NZ earlier in the week, so congrats to them. The Junior PanAm 7s kick off on Saturday for the U20 women and World Rugby is introducing a new concussion mouthguard for the Women’s Rugby World Cup, details and links below.

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From the Editor’s Desk – August 2025

MLR Down to 8 with Miami Leaving, BC U17 Camp Update, Tragically Hip Get on Board with Women’s Fundraising

A few news items from midweek, MLR purportedly down to 8 teams with Miami the latest casualty. The BC U17 camp is on and the first games played, the women defeated Alberta and the men lost a game to a UK touring team. The Tragically Hip have jumped on the Women’s World Cup fundraising drive with a limited edition T-Shirt with proceeds to the women’s team.

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Questions from Readers

Question from Reader: What Happened to Provincial/Regional Teams and Competition

The exact question from the reader, in the comments section, was: I remember being young and reading about rugby matches between BC Bears and Ontario Blues and Atlantic Rock. I think there was a team in the Prairies too. Do these teams still exist? What happened to them? Weren’t they supposed to be the step below the national team; a feeder for the national team?

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Rugby Models Around the World – Argentina

A Look at Argentine Rugby Through Telegraph Interview with Les Cusworth: What’s the Canadian Perspective

I came across this article through Karl Fix who is planning on taking a U19 team down to Argentina in 2026 and his contact there is Les Cusworth. From a Canadian perspective we’re always looking for lessons that can be learned and applied to make our rugby better, specifically our men’s XVs program, which has hit a low patch. So what is Argentina doing right and what might be relevant in a BC and Canadian context? As a side note I’ll have an opportunity to have a chat with Les Cusworth, so if readers have additional questions they would like me to ask, mention them in the comments or email editor@bcrugbynews.com

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From the Editor’s Desk – June 2025

Tyler Duguid Selected for France XV; Liam Poulton Top Canadian Try Scorer in RPL India; MLR Semis Include 15 Canadian Players

A couple of stories from across the world involving Canadian rugby players. Tyler Duguid who plays for Montpellier in the Top 14 has been selected for the France XV vs England  XV. It’s unclear whether this is the official France “A” team which would capture Tyler for France and eliminate him from potential Canada selection down the road or if this is just a France XV which doesn’t officially capture him for France.  Either way the chances of him playing for Canada now seem very slim. The match will be streamed on rugbypass.tv on Saturday.

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