Abbotsford set the standard this year in Girls rugby winning both the U16 and U18 finals in comfortable fashion. CW won the Boys U18 title and Capilano won the Boys U16 title. The BCRU write-ups are posted below along with photos of the winning teams, courtesy of BOLD Photos by Shelly.
Canada defeated Fiji in the 5th place semi-final but lost to Japan in the 5th place final to finish 6th at the tournament. The two 6th place finishes have put them in 7th place overall in the standings. Canada have lost to Japan all three times so far this season which is a concern. Japan currently sit in 3rd place and are the surprise team of the season. Australia and NZ have already distanced themselves from the pack as the top two teams in the women’s division. In the men’s division South Africa, Fiji, New Zealand are all tied in top spot.
It’s the wrap up of the fall season, the last matches before the Dec/Jan winter break. Play resumes January 24th. UBC defaulted their match to Westshore, they’ve chosen to take a game in South Carolina versus USA #2 Life University. That puts Westshore top of the table going into the break, the Ravens have caught UBC in a 2nd/3rd place tie, Capilano sit in 4th place, Burnaby drop to 5th and the Bays claim 6th. The women’s Premier wrapped up their fall season last weekend.
Two Canadian coaches have been hired by other countries to lead their women’s rugby programs. Francois Ratier who led the Canadian women’s XVs team to a 2nd place finish at the 2014 World Cup is being appointed as the new France women’s XVs head coach. Jack Hanratty who led the Canadian women’s 7s team to a 2nd place finish, Silver Medal, at the 2024 Olympics is being appointed as the new USA women’s XVs head coach.
The pools for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia have been announced and Canada are in Pool C with Argentina, Fiji and Spain. The format is the top 2 teams from each of the 6 pools move to the next round, along with the 4 best 3rd place finishers, for a round of 16. Canada’s chances of making the round of 16 likely come down to winning the match versus Spain and keeping the scoreline reasonable against Argentina and Fiji.
Both KRC Senior squads were on the road this weekend for their final game of the first half. The men were away to Kats at Balaclava Park, while the women were playing Capilanos. However, due to field closures at Khlanie Park, the fixture was being played at Meralomas.
Week 9 in the BC Premier sees some Friday night matches, we’ve got both the Friday and Saturday predictions and rosters in now. The BCRU and universities have put some effort into promoting these matches so hopefully they’ll see some positive results in attendance. The BCRU write-ups are included below as well.
Canada finished 6th in Dubai with a 5th place semi-final win over France but a loss to USA in the 5th place final. Canada fly to Cape Town now for next weekend’s 7s tournament, they’ll be in a pool with Australia, Japan and France. Krissy Scurfield came out in the 9th minute of the Japan match and didn’t show up in the roster for the France and USA matches.
World Rugby has released the tournament schedules for the Div 2 and Div 3 tournaments which is of interest to the Canada men’s 7s who are entered in the Div 3, SVNS 3, tournament after winning the RAN 7s tournament last weekend. They now know they will play in the 17–18 January 2026 tournament being held in Dubai. They know they have to finish top 2 against these other teams: Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Hong Kong China, Italy, Madagascar, Samoa, Tonga. It’s an achievable goal. If they can finish top 2 in that tournament then they move on to the Div 2 tournaments being held in Nairobi, Montevideo and Sao Paulo in Feb/March.
It was a gumboot day for the fans but the pitch was in good shape for this anticipated tilt between two upper table hopefuls and long-time rivals. The first half was an even affair with the Ravens cashing in for tries at 15 and 18 minutes and the home team being held off the scoresheet. Ravens prop Louis Kassapian finished off a Billy Wickham quick tap and run for the first try and left winger Jean-Claude Koorsten put on a burst down the line after a long miss pass from Andrew Coe for the second score. Burnaby had its chances but after Napo Bolaca quick tapped and beat the line his long pass to send his support free was knocked on and at 40 minutes another threat ended with Wickham jackalling at the tackle near the Ravens’ line.