Meehan Names Match 23 to Host Zimbabwe in Winnipeg: Coats and Rumball Return to Roster
BC Rugby Announce U19 and U17 Teams Travelling to Ontario for National Championships
2025 in Review – January to March
A Review of 2025 from January to March: U18, MLR, BC Rugby Season, Men’s and Women’s 7s, U20, High School, University, Pacific Pride, Editorials
We posted over 300 articles last year and we’ll go through some of the key ones from January to March. We’ve highlighted 21 articles that give a quick overview of the first quarter of the season, starting with U18, to MLR, BC Rugby season, men’s and women’s 7s, U20, high school, university, Pacific Pride, guest posts and Rugby Canada shenanigans at the admin level.
Happy Holidays 2025
It’s that time of year, time to take a rest, rejuvenate, enjoy friends and family and put rugby on the back burner for a day or two. We’ll be back on December 26th to start our review of the year’s highlights and look at what’s coming for 2026.
So Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Solstice whatever name you put to the end of year celebrations. See you in a couple of days to review the year and look ahead to the new year.
Mark
Editor BCRN
BCRU Updates – December 2025
What’s Happening with BCRU Board? Two Recent Resignations; Hall of Fame Nominees Not Ratified and HoF Event Cancelled
The recent media release from the BCRU (see below) was short and to the point, Board President Andy Margolis was resigning. I received a message from a long time member of the BC Rugby community shortly after, “Can’t believe the guy quit or was relieved after three months [ed. more like 5 months], I have a hard time accepting someone of his calibre changes his mind about the state of rugby in BC in just three months. Any hard hitting journalism about the BCRU coming out?” I was being called out, probably the only person resembling a rugby journalist in BC nowadays, what’s Patrick Johnston doing these days, and Dan Fumano, they’re real journalists but they have real jobs as well. OK, I’ll spill my guts and tell you what I know.
Premier Women’s Rugby – December 2025 – Round 8
Update on the English Premier Women’s Rugby (PWR) Round 8 – 9 Canadians in Action
The PWR wrapped up their season until January 30th. There were 9 Canadians in action with Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps and Alysha Corrigan crossing the line for tries. Exeter with 5 Canadians in the roster had a bye week and there are still some injuries, including Sophie de Goede who shared her injury status on social media, “Last couple months have been frustrating, ones dealing with a cartilage defect in my right knee requiring surgery round 3, feels like this one moment a year and a half ago is still holding me down and rehab won’t let me out of its grips, trusting the process and my body though, and looking forward to getting back to doing what I love most asap.” We’re all wishing the best for Sophie on her recuperation.
Global Youth Sevens 2025
Global Youth Sevens Wrap Up: BC Bears Finish 13th, MacDowell Girls 23rd, MacDowell Boys 35th in 72 Team Tournament
It is the premier youth 7s tournament in the world, 72 teams, 40 boys and 32 girls, converge on NZ each December for elite rugby 7s. This year there were 6 teams from North America, 3 from Canada and 3 from USA. The 3 Canadian teams were BC girls, the MacDowell Academy girls and the MacDowell Academy boys. The MacDowell Academy is based in Cowichan on Vancouver Island with academies across western Canada in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The USA sent two national teams USA girls and USA boys, the Belmont Shore club in California also sent a boys team.
Rugby Canada Updates – December 2025
Shawn Bullock Named as High Performance Director for Rugby Canada
Shawn Bullock, who has been working as a High-Performance consultant with Rugby Canada since 2022, has been named High Performance Director, replacing Stephen Aboud. According to his Linkedin profile, he also was working as the interim High-Performance Director for Nordiq Canada, the cross-country skiing NSO, during his time consulting with Rugby Canada. Nordiq Canada is based out of Canmore, Alberta. Prior to that he had time with Biathlon Canada (Canmore) as a High-Performance Consultant, and Hockey Canada as Director of Men’s National Teams (Calgary).
SVNS Series Updates – December 2025
USA Men’s 7s Announce 18 Players for Residency Contracts at High Performance Centre in Chula Vista, California
The USA men are preparing for the upcoming 7s season which for them means starting in the SVNS 2 Series in February and hoping they make the top 4 in that series to make it to the SVNS World Championship series of tournaments starting in April. They have a centralized residency program operating out of the High Performance Center based in Chula Vista, California. The Canadian men are starting at the SVNS 3 level and hoping to finish top two in the one off tournament in Dubai in January. A top two finish will mean they’ll be joining USA in the SVNS 2 series and competing for the four open spots in the SVNS World Championship.
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