Meehan Names Match 23 for Japan Clash on Saturday (Friday Evening in BC)
New CUMRC Format Means UVic or UBC Will Be Omitted from Canadian University Men's Rugby Championship for First Time - two most successful men's university programs in Canada but only one place at the tournament
Meehan Names 32 Player Squad for September Tests in Japan - 6 starters missing from Zimbabwe match, new skills coach
BC Rugby League Standings – Start of Spring Season 2025
BC Rugby League Standings for Men’s Premier, Div 1, Div 2, Div 3, Women’s Premier, Div 1, Div 2
Thanks to Peter Muirhead who put together these league tables, they represent the league standings going into the spring season which starts next weekend, January 25th in most leagues, February 1st for the BC Premier.
Editorial: Men’s High Performance Rugby, Comparing USA and Canada
RugbyPass Publishes Article on USA Rugby Head Coach Scott Lawrence; Reviewing Rugby Canada High Performance Plans
RugbyPass, owned by World Rugby, published an article on Scott Lawrence, the USA head coach (and GM), this week. It’s worth a read, it outlines his plans for the men’s XVs rugby program and how the U20 and U18 teams fit into that picture. It also talks about the results he’s getting, 3 wins in November against good teams, Portugal, Spain, Tonga, raising USA to #15 in the world rankings.
Rugby Canada Hall of Fame 2024
Rugby Canada HOF Committee Name Nine Inductees for Class of 2024: Eddie Evans, Ed Fairhurst, Barbara Mervin, Ian Hyde-Lay, DTH van der Merwe, Rick Powers, Joyce Henry, Colette McAuley, John Hutchinson
Congratulations to the nine 2024 Hall of Fame inductees. Their profiles are linked below but I have favourite memories for several of them who I’ve crossed paths with in the rugby world.
BC Bears Update – January 2025
BC Bears Summer Schedule for Senior Women, U19 Men & Women, U17 Boys & Girls, U15 Boys & Girls
The BCRU released its summer schedule for the BC Bears provincial teams. The one group missing is the senior men and it highlights the holding pattern men’s high performance rugby in Canada is currently in. The issue largely goes back to a lack of direction from Rugby Canada on the men’s high performance pathway.
Community Rugby in Action
UVic Vikes Men’s Rugby Hosts “Vikes Giving Day” Blood Drive on February 5th 2025
I received a nice note from Ian Smith, one of the UVic Vikes rugby players who is also their fundraising lead. It’s about their Blood Drive initiative to support Canadian Blood Services while also supporting UVic sports through pledges. You can read the note below which has links to their pledge form and the Canadian Blood Services donor form. Last year over 60 student-athletes and friends donated blood and they reached 127 pledges, a number they hope to exceed this year.
MacDowell Rugby Academy – January 2025
Interview with Robin MacDowell on the MacDowell Academy and Release of the MacDowell Performance App
BCRN: Hi Robin, I saw you released a new training app called MacDowell Performance, it’s powered by Athlete Health First. Before we get into the app let’s talk about Athlete Health First, I understand there’s an interesting history there with the company and the founder.
BCRU Updates – January 2025
BCRU “Parts Ways” with CEO David Newson: John Tait to Serve as Interim CEO
I never met David Newson, which is unusual in my role as editor of BCRN, I knew and met all the previous CEO’s but Newson seemed like the type of person who did the obligatory glad handing but never reached out beyond that. He didn’t seem very ambitious in growing rugby in BC. Here’s the article we put up when he was hired in 2022.
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