The Island Tide v Ontario Blues match coming up Sunday at 4:15pm PT. Tide released their 28 player roster and Blues announced their 28 player travelling roster. Some interesting potential matchups.
1876 Where Rugby in BC Began: The Canteen Grounds in Esquimalt – Vancouver Island Rugby Union 150th Anniversary @JasonBeck82 @bcrugbyunion
BC Premier Finals Predictions & Rosters: Men’s Premier #1 Ravens vs #6 UVic; Women’s Premier #3 Thunderbirds vs #4 Westshore – Full Rosters All Divisions
Updates from French Rugby – July 2025
Jamie Cudmore Announced as a Forwards Coach at Nissa Rugby in Nice, France – Completes DESJEPS Postgraduate Coaching Diploma; Josh Thiel Signs with Monaco Rugby
Congratulations to Jamie Cudmore and Josh Thiel on new appointments in French rugby. Jamie has been announced as a Forwards Coach at Nissa Rugby, formerly called Stade Niçois Rugby. They were relegated last season from Pro D2, and will be playing in Nationale for 2025/26. They’ll no doubt be looking for promotion back to Pro D2 next season. Josh Thiel picked up a contract in French rugby playing for AS Monaco, they play in Fédérale 2 and just missed out on promotion to Fédérale 1, no doubt a goal for the upcoming season.
BC Bear U15 – 2025
BC Rugby “Build a Bear” Camps for Select U15 Players Takes Place This Week at Shawnigan
Almost 90 U15 athletes have been invited to the Shawnigan “Build a Bear” Camp from July 27-August 1. The focus is on skill building and game understanding under the tutelage of an impressive list of coaches. The U17 camp takes place the following week and includes a few matches, that press release can be viewed here.
Canadian U19 Rugby Championships 2025
BC Women Win Gold at U19 National Championships: Men Take Silver
What a result for the BC U19 women’s program, from last place in 2024 to 1st in 2025, kudos to the coaching team and the players. It will be interesting to see what Jake Thiel can do with the new Ravens women’s program in the 2025-26 season. The men returned as Silver medallists after losing a close match to Ontario, who claim their second consecutive Gold.
Officiating Courses – July Update
BCRU Offering Level 1 Officiating Courses in Victoria, Comox, Vancouver, Surrey, Abbotsford, Salmon Arms
The BCRU are running Level 1 Officiating courses in September and October in the following locations. Their media release is posted below with a highlight on local referee Kristine Lovatt who recently officiated the Brazil vs Netherlands match. The registration page is here.
Editorial: A Tale of Two Committees
A Tale of Two Committees: Canada’s Women’s Rugby Triumph and Men’s Decline
I analyzed the July rankings for Canadian men and women XVs programs from 2004 to 2025. It tells a tale of two programs.
Questions from Readers
Question from Reader: What Happened to Provincial/Regional Teams and Competition
The exact question from the reader, in the comments section, was: I remember being young and reading about rugby matches between BC Bears and Ontario Blues and Atlantic Rock. I think there was a team in the Prairies too. Do these teams still exist? What happened to them? Weren’t they supposed to be the step below the national team; a feeder for the national team?
Canada v Spain July 2025
Canada Drop Close Match 24-23 to Spain: Full Match Video Added
Canada were leading right up to the final whistle but made some poor decisions in the last 5 minutes and lost the match on a Spain penalty kick at the whistle. It’s a game Canada should have won, up a player in the final minutes and camped at the Spain 5 metres due to multiple penalties against Spain. Canada could have kicked for the 3, they could have spun it wide with the penalty advantage, but they decided to keep grinding in the forwards and eventually gave up a penalty. Spain won their lineout, won a couple of penalties in Canada’s half and eventually chose the posts at the whistle. It was a cruel loss for a team that hasn’t had many successes on the field.
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