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.
BC Rugby Weekend of May 9th 2026
BC Premier Final Results: Men’s Premier Ravens Grind Down UVic; Women’s Premier Thunderbirds Defeat Westshore – Rowers Men’s Div 1 Champs, Capilano Women’s Div 1, Kelowna Men’s Div 2, Kelowna Women’s Div 2, Burnaby Men’s Div 3
The BC Premier games went as expected with the Ravens claiming their 3rd men’s title and the Thunderbirds their 5th women’s title. Both teams reaching dynasty level in the current time period. Rowers and Capilano won the men’s and women’s Div 1 titles respectively. Kelowna owned Div 2 winning both men’s and women’s. Burnaby won the Div 3 title.
Men’s Premier – Ravens 30 v UVic 3
Women’s Premier – Thunderbirds 38 v Westshore 17
Men’s Division 1 – Rowers 29 v Capilano 20
Women’s Division 1 – Capilano 44 v Kamloops 7
Men’s Division 2 – Kelowna 21 v Kamloops 15
Women’s Division 2 – Kelowna 28 v Chilliwack 12
Men’s Division 3 – Burnaby 43 v Rowers 10
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Canadian Howlers U18 Team Battles to Close Loss Against Virreyes Senior Team - Howlers U18 team have 3 matches in the Buenos Aires area, great learning experience. Matches are live streamed.
NPC Starts This Weekend – A List of Canadian Players Who Have Competed in the NPC
WXV Global Series Challenger 2026 match schedule confirmed
➡️Hong Kong China to host six-team competition across three match weekends from 13-26 September
➡️Announcement follows the news that Mitsubishi Electric has joined the competition as presenting partner
⬇️ Full WXV Global
High School Rugby – August 2026
Which High Schools Produce the Most Canadian Internationals?
I was browsing through Linkedin and came across this interesting post by Bob Skinstad on South African high school rugby. It was a map of which high schools produce the most Springboks. It had me thinking about Canadian high school rugby factories, which high schools produce the most Canadian internationals (XVs)? That picture changes over time but I thought I’d at least broach the subject as I don’t think Rugby Canada or the provincial unions track that information. I’ve started a basic list for BC and hopefully readers will help add to the list, I’ll also reach out to some school administrators to see if they maintain comprehensive lists from their school.
Players in the News – August 2026
Nic Benn Gets 1st Cap in NZ NPC with Hawke’s Bay
Nic Benn came on at the 66′ mark in Round 1 of the NPC for the Hawke’s Bay Magpies to gain his 1st NPC cap. He’s only 1 of 14 Canadian internationals who have played in the NPC. He has 13 caps for Canada but was unavailable for Canada’s 2026 summer internationals. Playing at NPC level puts him top of the selection list for outside backs for Canada. The NZ NPC competition is higher than MLR and is more on par with France Pro D2 or the UK Championship.
In Memory Of…. July 2026
In Memory of Joan Porter – BC Rugby Hall of Famer Passes Away at Age 89
The BCRU remembrance is posted below, there’s also a tribute by long time friend Connie McGinley posted on Facebook.
from BCRU
BC Rugby is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of BC Rugby Hall of Famer Joan Porter, whose lifelong dedication, passion and support helped shape rugby in British Columbia for more than six decades.
Inducted into the BC Rugby Hall of Fame in 2019 alongside her beloved husband, Jim, Joan was a tireless champion of rugby and one of our community’s greatest ambassadors. Introduced to rugby together while attending Magee Secondary School in 1952, Joan and Jim became inseparable figures in BC’s rugby community, with each making an extraordinary contribution to the game in their own way.
2004 BC Premier Championship – From the Archives
Capilano Win 2004 and 2005 Rounsefell Cup: Articles from Quarter-finals to Finals by Ben Buan and Jeremy Dalton
There’s a large collection of BCRN articles going back to 2004 that I haven’t had time to migrate to the new site yet, this is one from the spring of 2004 covering the playoffs for the BC Premier Rounsefell Cup, along with Div 1, 2 and 3. Names like Ben Buan, Jeremy Dalton, Jan-Christian Sorensen show up in the article credits, long time readers will recognize the names and contributions they made. Bayside made the semi-finals in the Premier in 2004, timely as they return to the BC Premier this coming season. The Saratoga Cup is coming up soon, it’s now for interior teams only (Kootenays, Okanagan, Central Interior) but back in 2004 the two 3rd div finalists got an invite to the tournament as well. Some of the try scorers back in 2004 will also cause readers to reflect as many are now involved in rugby as coaches and administrators. Ian Hyde-Lay reffed the Premier final, noted at the time as his last officiating assignment. There’s also the write up of the 2005 final appended at the end.
NZ NPC Competition – 2026
NPC Starts This Weekend – A List of Canadian Players Who Have Competed in the NPC
I noticed the NZ NPC started this weekend, there’s only one game result at time of writing, Waikato 38–26 Bay of Plenty. That started me on a research thread, how many Canadian internationals have played in the NPC? I’ve come up with 13 names to date, here’s the process, I asked Bob my Ai assistant and came up with 7 names after some to and fro questioning. I then went to a human expert, Bryan Ray, he added 4 more names. I then used social media feedback, and I got 2 more names there. Here are the 13 names, below that are the prediction odds for the current season if you’re interested, then below that is a reflection on how Ai should be used in research, a subject that applies beyond rugby.
Update: Nic Benn is in the reserves, #23 for Hawkes Bay vs Wellington this weekend, he’ll be #14.
HSBC 2027 SVNS Series
Schedule for 2027 SVNS Series Announced: Vancouver March 6-7
The Vancouver 7s returns for 2027 in the same time slot, after Perth and before New York, on March 6-7. Again it’s a two day event on Saturday and Sunday. The Canadian women’s team came 5th in Vancouver last year and were 3rd overall in the series. The men played a Challenger series in Vancouver against Chile and Japan, Rugby Canada haven’t announced the details of that event yet for 2027. The 2027 SVNS series kicks off on November 28-29 in Dubai.
BCRU Updates – July 2026
BCRU Hiring Administrative Coordinator for a Temporary Contract
The BCRU put out a job posting today for a temporary Admin Coordinator that basically covers the fall season, starting late August and going until near the winter break in December. Application deadline is August 1st and it pays $4,200 a month. Details and how to apply are mentioned below.
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