Category Archives: Front Page

MLR 2025 – Round One

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MLR Round One Results: Wins for New England, Chicago, New Orleans, Old Glory, San Diego: Jesse Mackail Scores Two Tries as Impact Player

There were 21 Canadian players in action (out of 46) in MLR Round One, 11 starting, 10 in reserves and 25 not in action. Looking through the match stats for impact players, Mason Flesch has the high tackle count (12) for Chicago in their win over Houston. Andrew Coe was 3rd in metres made in the LA match with 62, Piers von Dadelszen was 4th in tackles made with 19 for New England. Cooper Coats was 4th in defenders beaten (2) in his match with New Orleans. Jesse Mackail made a big impact coming in as reserve hooker for Seattle and scoring 2 tries.

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BC Rugby Weekend of February 15th 2025

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BC Premier Make-Up Weekend: Men’s Premier Pacific Pride Dominate 2nd Half for Win Over James Bay; Women’s Premier Westshore Blank CW

It’s a make up weekend, family day weekend, but most of the games have been cancelled again due to field closures. The Ravens v Burnaby game at Jericho was a late cancellation. There’s only the one men’s Premier game, Pride v Bays, again Starlight Stadium to the rescue. The women’s Premier game Westshore v CW was moved from Westshore to CW and from Friday evening to Saturday afternoon.

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Stephen Aboud Returns to Italy

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Stephen Aboud Returns to Italy as High Performance Manager: Rugby Canada States Reason as “Closer to Family”

File this under more Rugby Canada mismanagement and poor decisions. After two years of wasting time in Canada and no doubt enjoying the beauty of Vancouver Island, the holiday has ended and Stephen Aboud has returned to Italy to take up the High Performance role there. Rugby Canada and former board members continue with the charade of well wishes, not wanting to own up to the fact their poor decisions have put Canada two years behind in implementing an effective high performance strategy.

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Editorial: A Conversation with Ai on the BC Premier

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Down the Rabbit Hole: A Conversation with Ai on BC Premier Rugby and What a Semi-Pro League Would Look Like

I started this article after the first weekend of BC Premier cancellations/postponements on Feb 1st. The match at Klahanie was cancelled due to field closures and the West Vancouver Parks & Recreation website had a terse warning, “Please note that fields damaged by play when they should not be used (as described below) may result in closure of that field for the season and potentially a fine to the league.” I had always thought the Capilano RFC owned that facility, including the field, but obviously not, it’s under the jurisdiction of West Vancouver Parks & Recreation.

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Rugby World Cup 2027 Updates

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Georgia, Spain, Portugal, Romania Qualify for World Cup After Weekend Action – 8 Places Remain

Georgia, Spain, Portugal and Romania have all qualified for the RWC 2027 after weekend action that saw the countries secure semi-final spots in the European Championships. There are now 8 places left in the expanded 24 team World Cup in Australia. Those spots available are Pacific 1 to 3, Africa 1, Asia 1, South America 1, South America/Pacific playoff winner, Repechage winner.

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BC Rugby Weekend of February 8th 2025

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BC Premier Week 10 Results: Pride Edge Westshore at Starlight Stadium; Four Premier Matches Cancelled Due to Field Closures; Women’s Premier UBC Narrow Win in Seattle

The cold February weather has wreaked havoc on the BC Premier schedule with municipal fields closing. Jericho Park, Connaught Park and Windsor Park all unavailable. The turf at Starlight Stadium is still a go with the Pride hosting Westshore. The UVic v JBAA game was a late cancellation due to field conditions. The women’s Premier game in Seattle vs UBC is still on.

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From the Editor’s Desk – February 2025

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BC Rugby Policies Regarding Weather and Match Cancellations; Canada U20 Women Tour to Ireland in May; Broadcast Announcements by MLR on ESPN and Rugby Canada on TSN

A few rugby mentions on this chilly Thursday on the west coast. Locally there have been a number of game cancellations for this weekend with chilly weather predicted. Most of the pitches are owned by the municipality and largely those decisions are made by the parks & recreation departments with consultation with the rugby clubs. All the Mainland Premier games have been cancelled at the time of writing, the Ravens at Jericho Park, and the Lomas at Connaught Park are cancelled. On the Island UBC @ CW at Windsor Park has been cancelled. The Pride v Westshore game on the turf at Starlight Stadium is still showing a go at the time of writing, as is the JBAA v UVic game at Wallace Field.

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Guest Author: Monty Weatherall

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Opinion: The BC Premier League Has a Crucial Role to Play in the Path to Sustainable Growth

Today’s guest author, Monty Weatherall, has a unique rugby background that gives weight to his opinion on the BC Premier league. He played for Wasps Academy in England growing up, then attended McGill University in Montreal, Quebec where he completed a BA in International Development and Entrepreneurship. He played on the McGill University team for 4 years, and was captain in his final year when the team won silver at the Canadian University Men’s Rugby Championship (CUMRC). He then moved to BC to play for the Meraloma rugby club in the BC Premier. He worked full time while pursuing his rugby ambitions and in his words “was well supported by the club”. He was later drafted by the Toronto Arrows of the MLR, he made preparations to move to Toronto but when the franchise ceased operation he made a last minute decision to return to the UK and go to Law school. He obtained a post graduate law degree and currently works in Mental Health law and is on the path to qualifying as a Barrister. As he noted, “moving back to Canada is always on my mind, and I will see where a career in Law will take me.”

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