BC Rugby League Standings – March 10th 2024
BC Rugby League Standings for Men’s Premier, Premier Reserve, Div 1, Div 2, Div 3, Women’s Premier/Div 1, Div 2
Thanks to Peter Muirhead who put together these league tables for the weekend ending March 10th 2024.
BC Premier Week 2 Predictions & Rosters: Rowers @ Bayside, Caps @ Westshore, Burnaby @ UBC, Lomas @ Ravens
Meehan Names 23 for USA Match: Cooper Coats Returns to Flyhalf
Canada v Fiji – September 2026
Fiji 45 – Canada 29: Canada Give Better Performance After Falling Behind 14-0 in First Five Minutes
It was a better performance by Canada, a -16 loss this year compared to -53 last year against Fiji. Canada didn’t make it easy on themselves going down 7-0 in the first 30 seconds and 14-0 in the opening five minutes. Canada did show some composure after that and put together some phases with Mason Flesch crossing the line for a 14-7 scoreline which held until 23 minutes. A prop dropping a pass gave Fiji a counter-attack opportunity which they finished off with flair, 19-7. A scrum penalty gave Fiji their next chance, finished off from a lineout play, 26-7. Canada got one back before the half, Sion Parry, on the outside scored, 26-17, as McMullin had slotted a penalty in before that. Not a bad result for Canada, again errors had gifted the opposition scoring tries, a blocked box kick, a dropped ball, a scrum penalty all leading to Fiji tries. McMullin looked solid, Parry had a try and a poach, Jones was managing the game well when Canada had possession. The scrum started going backwards when Steeves came off due to injury. The lineout was hit and miss, the final stat for the match was 67% lineout success for Canada, not good enough yet.
Canadian Coaches in the News
Lesley McKenzie, Canadian Coach from Fort Nelson BC, Named to Portugal Men’s Coaching Staff
Rugbypass.com published a story a few days ago that hasn’t had much exposure in Canada, Lesley McKenzie the Canadian coach from Fort Nelson, BC has been added to the Portugal men’s coaching staff. Formerly, she was in charge of the Japan women’s team for six years 2019-2025 and guided them through two world cups. She had 25 caps playing for Canada then coached UBC for five years. She went to NZ for three years as a development officer before going to Japan to start as assistant coach in 2018, and then head coach in 2019. Now she’s in Portugal getting professional experience in the men’s game. She’ll also be assistant coach of the Europe Super Cup side Lusitanos which plays out of Lisbon and is the feeder for the Portugal national team.
Champ Rugby – Tier 2 English Rugby
Rugby Canada Signs Deal with Champ Rugby (Formerly RFU Championship) to Cover Relocation Costs for Canadian Players
It used to be called the RFU Championship, now called Champ Rugby, the second tier of English rugby. Currently there are 14 teams, full list shown below, and there are currently a few Canadian internationals in the league [updated] Shane O’Leary (Nottingham), Dewald Kotze (Rotherham), Rob Povey (Rotherham). There will be more coming with the new agreement between the league and Rugby Canada. Rugby Canada “will support players’ relocation costs such as flights and visas”.
BCRU Updates – September 2026
John Tait Named as CEO of BC Rugby Union
The BCRU have finally chosen John Tait as the permanent CEO after two stints as interim CEO. Hopefully this provides some stability and direction to BC Rugby. I’ve lost track of all the CEO options the BCRU have tried over the last decade, none of them had a Canadian rugby background, or are memorable for what they accomplished in BC Rugby. Perhaps the best of the bunch was Jeff Sauve (2004-2013), he then went on to Field Hockey Canada and is now with Scouts Canada I believe. He at least had some understanding of Canadian rugby coming in, as he was with Rugby Canada in the marketing department previously. Then was Jim Dixon, back in Australia, Annabel Kehoe, back in Australia, and then David Newson from Semiahmoo Hockey, thinks he’s back with them, and Matthew Carter from Lotus F1, think he’s still operating his consulting company.
2026 FISU World University Championship Rugby Sevens
Canada Win Gold in FISU Tournament
The Canadian women’s university team have claimed the title as top Rugby 7s team in the world. They defeated Australia and France along the way to claim the title. Canada’s only loss was to Australia in the final pool match on Day 2. That result put them in the quarter-finals against host South Africa, they won that game 24-14 and earned a rematch with Australia in the semi-finals. Canada got their revenge for the pool loss with a 19-14 win over Australia, Canada then blanked France 20-0 in the Gold medal match. France won Silver, Japan Bronze, Australia were 4th, Ireland 5th, USA 6th. In the men’s competition host South Africa won Gold, Uganda Silver, Argentina Bronze.
BC Rugby Weekend of September 5th 2026
Two Important University Matches Kick Off the Season in BC: Men UBC v TWU and Women UVic v UBC – Friday Night UBC 66 – TWU 0; Saturday Vikes Women Dominate UBC
The BC Premier kicks off next weekend, and a chance to see what the rosters will look like for the new season but this weekend gives us a taste of things to come with two important university matches. For the men it’s a first look at UBC and TWU head to head, their game is on today at 6pm at the Ken Woods Field at UBC . TWU are hosting the university championships this year so have an automatic berth but UBC will have to battle UVic for the remaining one BC spot left. On the women’s side it’s the top two contenders for the women’s university title this year and they go head to head on Saturday at 1pm at Wallace Field.
Canada v Japan – September 5th 2026
Japan 31 – Canada 7 at the Half: Final 57-12 for Japan
Not much to say, the game was over by the half. Takoda McMullin had some good moments and scored the first try. Izzak Kelly had a few strong runs. Canada gifted a couple of tries to Japan from simple errors. Japan dominated the scrums and lineouts. Disappointing overall, the last two results against Japan were -42 and -27, this -45 speaks for itself. The match commentary is below from last night and the Rugby Canada summary article published this morning.
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