MLR Updates – January 2025
2024 Recap – November/December 2024
Top Rugby Stories in BC and Canada During November/December 2024: UBC Win Women’s University Title; ETS Win Men’s University Title; Men Lose to Chile & Romania; New Men’s XVs Coach Hired; Women Compete at Dubai and Cape Town 7s
The big news in November and December was the change in head coach for men’s XVs team, Kingsley Jones was out and Steve Meehan was in. A lot of people were hoping Jamie Cudmore would make a comeback but it wasn’t to be. UBC won the women’s university title, a first for BC and ETS won the men’s university title, a first for Quebec.
2024 Recap – September/October
Top Rugby Stories in BC and Canada During September/October 2024: BC Rugby Starts Season, Coastal Cup, BC Premier; Canada Men Finish 6th in Pacific Nations; Canada Women Finish 2nd in WXV1; Howlers Complete Sweep at Gran Jaguar 7s Tournament; Island Win Dunbar Keg U20 Title
In September the BC leagues started, first with the Coastal Cup, then the BC Premier and lower divisions. In national team news the men’s XVs lost to Tonga to finish last in the Pacific Nations Cup, in 2025 it will serve as the World Cup qualifier. The women’s XVs defeated France in their first match of the WXV1 which was being hosted in Vancouver.
2024 Recap – June/July/August
Top Rugby Stories in BC and Canada During June, July, August 2024: Women Win Olympic 7s Silver; Highlanders Complete Debut Season; New England Win MLR with 9 Canadians in Roster; U20 Women Win Trans-Atlantic Series
The summer months clearly pointed out the different directions the national men’s and women’s programs were going. The women’s 7s won Olympic Silver, the men’s 7s failed to qualify for the Olympics. The U20 women shone in Wales winning the Trans-Atlantic Quad series which included Wales, England and USA. The U20 men lost the JWRT qualifier series to USA 74-39 over two games. The women’s XVs had just won the Pacific Four title in May, the men lost their Pacific Nations Cup matches.
2024 Recap – April/May
Top Rugby Stories in BC and Canada During April and May 2024: BC Club Season Wraps Up, UBCOB Ravens Premier Champions; BC High School Season Begins; Canada Women Win Pacific Four Title; Canada Compete at Hong Kong and Singapore 7s
In April the BC club season reaches the semi-finals stage, the high school rugby season is just kicking off. On the national team scene the Hong Kong 7s wraps up and the Canada women start their Pacific Four campaign with a win over USA. Rugby Canada issues its AGM reports and financials and Sally Dennis steps down as Chair of the Board.
2024 Recap – February/March
Top Rugby Stories in BC and Canada During February and March 2024: BC Premier Re-Starts at Week 7; Vancouver & LA 7s; Rugby Canada Announce Summer Tests; Canada Selects vs Seattle Seawolves; National U20 and 7s Coaching Announcements; Tropical 7s; MLR Season Starts
We look at some of the top rugby stories in BC and Canada during February and March 2024. The BC Premier re-started in February with Week 7, mini-rugby ramped up, the BCRU announced its high performance pathways for the year. The Vancouver 7s and the invitational youth tournament took place. Rugby Canada announced the 3 home tests during the summer for the men’s XVs team. World Rugby announced Scotland as the host of the JWRT U20 championships. MLR preseason started with Seattle taking on the Canada Selects.
2024 Recap – January
A Look at the 2024 Stories in January 2024: Vancouver Highlanders Player Announcements; Adam Roberts Resigns U20 Coach; Phil Mack Appointed Men’s XVs Attack Coach; World Rugby Invests in MLR Charlotte; BC Rugby Season Restarts; Perth 7s; Pacific Four Series Announced… and More
There were a lot of key rugby events and announcements in January 2024. The Vancouver Highlanders came on the scene and announced they would name their 25 player roster over the following 12 weeks. We’ll see next week whether there’s some Highlanders activity to kick of the new year.
Holiday Message 2025
Message of Hope Over the Holiday Season
There’s been some gloom in the rugby community going into the holiday season, especially around the hope that Jamie Cudmore would be the new Canadian coach, that Canadians would take back the men’s XVs program going into 2025. It wasn’t to be this year however there are some positive thoughts to share over the holiday season.
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