1954 NZ All Blacks Tour to BC
1954 Tour Program – NZ All Blacks Visit BC for Matches vs Victoria, UBC, Mainland After 31 Games in UK, Ireland, France
In March 1954 the NZ All Blacks wrapped up a gruelling 36 match tour of the UK, Ireland, France and North America. By the time they reached BC they had played 31 matches and had 5 more to go, 3 of them in BC and 2 in California. They won the matches in BC handily, 39-3 against Victoria, 42-3 against UBC and 37-11 against the Mainland.
Meehan Names Match 23 to Face Spain: Three New Caps in Roster
Rowers and Bayside Announce Entry into 2026-27 BC Premier – Eleven Team League in 2026-27
Vegas Golden Knights Owner Bill Foley Buys Exeter Chiefs Rugby Franchise
Junior World U20 Championship – 2026
Round One Results: South Africa Looks Ominous – USA, Uruguay, Spain Pummelled
World Rugby expanded the JWC to 16 teams but the Tier 2 countries were pummelled in Round One. Uruguay lost by -97, USA by -64, Spain by -68. Fiji kept is closer at -30 and Japan were respectable in a -17 loss to NZ in a lightning shortened match. The close matches were England v Ireland, Georgia v Wales, Italy v Scotland. Round Two continues on Thursday, match highlights are on the World Rugby YouTube channel.
BCRU AGM 2026
BCRU AGM This Saturday: A Look at Playing Numbers and Club Vote Allocations
The BCRU has a membership of 9,598 (members who have paid annual dues to BC Rugby). That number is made up of players, coaches, referees, directors, physios, basically anyone who has to register to participate in rugby in BC. Of that 9,598 there are 8,418 players categorized by senior players 3,276, junior players 3,341, and minis 1,801. Most of the registrations, 7,860, are through the 57 voting member clubs, there are also 10 non-voting member clubs. The Premier league clubs CW, Meraloma, JBAA, Westshore, Ravens, Burnaby, Capilano, UBC (including Thunderbirds), UVic account for 2,721 votes. That could increase to 3,664 if Langley (440), Bayside (437) and Rowers (66) go up to Premier next season. The top 10 clubs in terms of size (members registered with BCRU) are Capilano, Castaway Wanderers, Langley, Bayside, Meraloma, Abbotsford, United, James Bay, Kelowna, Westshore.
Referee News – June 2026
CTV Article on Robin Kaluzniak: Edmonton Teacher Referees Major League Rugby Final
This was a story we missed from last weekend when the Chicago Hounds with three Canadians in the roster won the MLR title. The referee in the match was Edmonton teacher, Robin Kaluzniak. The article from CTV News is posted below. We took a quick look through our recent archives, 2023 he was in Nairobi, Kenya reffing the Junior World Rugby Trophy tournament. In 2024 he was announced as one of the referees in the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series, then was assistant referee in two USA international tests against Romania and Scotland. Also in 2024 and 2025 he shows up in the archives reffing MLR matches. Going farther back we have an article from 2017 when he was assistant referee in the Americas Rugby Championship held in Langford. The CTV article mentions he’ll be AR at some USA test matches this summer. Congrats Robin!
Summer 7s Tournaments 2026
Sevens Tournaments This Summer in BC Starting in July
The following are a list of summer 7s tournaments in BC that we’re aware of. SFU’s Highland 7s kicks off July 18th, Bayside 7s is August 8th and Westshore 7s is August 22nd. Usually there’s a 7s tournament at Burnaby on the weekend in between, August 15th, but we haven’t seen that posted yet. If we missed one mention it in the comments section.
MLR Final 2026
Chicago Hounds Top Off Perfect Season with Championship Win Over California Legion, 35-17
Chicago dominated the game leading 32-3 through three quarters with California scoring two consolation tries in the last 20 minutes. Mason Flesch was one of the try scorers for Chicago. Chicago opened with a penalty by flyhalf Chris Hilsenbeck at 4′, hooker Theo Fourie added a try two minutes later, converted by Hilsenbeck for a 10-0 lead. California closed the gap with a penalty before Mason Flesch scored at 26′, again converted by Hilsenbeck and Chicago led 17-3 at the half. Hilsenbeck opened the second half with a penalty, 20-3. Chicago would score two more tries, the first by winger Peyton Wall at 47′ and the second by second row Nathan den Hoedt at 53′ and it was a commanding 32-3 lead. California would score two tries in the last quarter before Hilsenbeck ended the match with a penalty kick, final 35-17.
Rugby Premier League 7s 2026 – Round 5 Updates
Canadians Shine in HSBC Sponsored 7s League in India
Currently after 5 rounds the teams with the largest Canadian contingents are sitting top of the table. The Chennai Bulls women’s team with four Canadians top the table and Savannah Bauder is the top points scorer with 73 points, 23 points ahead of the next player. Savannah Bauder is 2nd in tries scored with 9, Adia Pye and Eden Kilgour are tied in 3rd place with 5 tries and Lara Wright is close behind with 4 tries. Carmen Izyk is top tackler in the women’s competition with 18 tackles. In the men’s competition the Mumbai Dreamers top the table and have two Canadian players, Demetri Patterson was selected player of the match in Round 5 as he scored 2 tries in Mumbai’s win.
Saratoga Cup – June Updates
Williams Lake Undefeated in Interior, Yeti/Vernon Battle for Top Spot in Okanagan, Rocky Mountain Rogues Dominant in Kootenays
The Saratoga Cup final tournament takes place August 8th/9th in Fernie with the top team from the three regions getting an invite with host Elk Valley automatically qualifying. The current standings for the three regions are listed below courtesy of the BCRU.
SPONSORS
