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?
A quick answer, yes those teams still exist but not in a national competition at the senior level like they used to. If we go back to 1998 to 2008 we had the Rugby Canada Super League, RCSL. There were 15 teams during that time period representing regions across Canada. There were 5 teams winning titles, Vancouver Island Crimson Tide x4, Newfoundland Rock x3, Fraser Valley Venom x2, Calgary Mavericks x1, Prairie Fire x1.
Next came the NA4, then the CRC/ARC competition. The winner of the CRC (Canadian Rugby Championship) was supposed to represent Canada at the ARC (Americas Rugby Championship), at first it was the region but soon became the national team that was entered. The four regions that competed in the CRC were the Ontario Blues, BC Bears, Prairie Wolf Pack and Atlantic Rock.
After the CRC ended in 2018 the regions played on a East/West basis. In 2019 BC and Prairies played a “Best of the West” series. COVID hit which stopped play for a couple of years. There has been some attempt out East to have Ontario/Quebec/Atlantic matches. The CRC still operates at the U19 level every year. Also the advent of the MLR in 2018 took most of the players who would compete in the CRC. There was also an attempt to have a Canadian Club Championship in 2018 but that only lasted one year.
There were also tours by the regional teams in the past, in 2014 the Ontario Blues travelled to Scotland to play a professional Edinburgh team, also that year the BC Bears travelled to Uruguay to take on Buenos Aires and Uruguay.
In 2024 the Highlanders represented elite men’s BC Rugby and played Germany, Brazil, Canada XV. The Coast to Coast Cup in Halifax had Canada West attend in 2022 and the BC Bears in 2023 but there was no BC entry in 2024 or 2025.
Information below primarily from wikipedia.
Rugby Canada Super League
Western Conference
| Team | City / area | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| Calgary Mavericks | Calgary, Alberta | 1998–2008 |
| Edmonton Gold | Edmonton, Alberta | 1998–2008 |
| Fraser Valley Venom | Fraser Valley, British Columbia | 1998–2004 |
| Manitoba Buffalo | Winnipeg, Manitoba | 1998–2001, 2003–2005 |
| Saskatchewan Prairie Fire | Regina, Saskatchewan | 1998–2008 |
| Vancouver Island Crimson Tide | Victoria, British Columbia | 1998–2008 |
| Vancouver Island Raiders | Vancouver Island | 2005 |
| Vancouver Wave | Vancouver, British Columbia | 1998–1999, 2002–2008 |
Eastern Conference
| Team | City / area | Seasons |
|---|---|---|
| New Brunswick Black Spruce | Fredericton, New Brunswick | 1998–2008 |
| Newfoundland Rock | St. John’s, Newfoundland | 1998–2008 |
| Niagara Thunder | Burlington, Ontario | 2004–2008 |
| Nova Scotia Keltics | Halifax, Nova Scotia | 1998–2008 |
| Ottawa Harlequins | Ottawa, Ontario | 1999–2000, 2002–2008 |
| Quebec Caribou | Montreal, Quebec | 1998–2000, 2002, 2004–2008 |
| Toronto Xtreme | Toronto, Ontario | 1999–2007 |
RCSL Champions
| Year | Champion | Score | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Vancouver Island Crimson Tide | — | Nova Scotia Keiths |
| 1999 | Vancouver Island Crimson Tide (2) | 23–11 | Toronto Renegades |
| 2000 | Fraser Valley Venom | 15–9 | Nova Scotia Keltics |
| 2001 | Fraser Valley Venom (2) | 20–14 | Toronto Renegades |
| 2002 | Vancouver Island Crimson Tide (3) | 6–3 | Newfoundland Rock |
| 2003 | Calgary Mavericks | 40–24 | Toronto Xtreme |
| 2004 | Vancouver Island Crimson Tide (4) | 14–8 | Newfoundland Rock |
| 2005 | Newfoundland Rock | 26–13 | Saskatchewan Prairie Fire |
| 2006 | Newfoundland Rock (2) | 28–14 | Saskatchewan Prairie Fire |
| 2007 | Saskatchewan Prairie Fire | 28–12 | Niagara Thunder |
| 2008 | Newfoundland Rock (3) | 30–6 | Calgary Mavericks |
NA4
The RCSL was phased out and during the latter part of the competition from 2006 to 2008 the NA4, North American 4, competition took place involving Canada West, Canada East, USA Hawks and USA Falcons.
| Year | Final Host | Final | Third place match | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Score | Runner-up | 3rd place | Score | 4th place | ||||
| 2006 Details |
Columbus, Ohio | Canada West | 31–20 | USA Falcons | Canada East | 34–18 | USA Hawks | ||
| 2007 Details |
Abbotsford, British Columbia | Canada West | 43–11 | USA Falcons | USA Hawks | 34–29 | Canada East | ||
| 2008 Details |
Glendale, Colorado | Canada West | 16–11 | USA Falcons | USA Hawks, Canada East | 17–17 | Third-place draw | ||
The ARC/CRC
On September 7, 2009, the IRB scrapped the NA4 and unveiled the ARC competition, in which Canada, the US and Argentina would send representative teams to play for a championship title (Tonga was later added in the second season, replaced with Uruguay from 2012 onwards)
In order to select a team that would play in the ARC, Rugby Canada unveiled the CRC, with the champion and runner-up advancing to the ARC.
CRC
| Team | Provinces represented | Home field | Capacity | Head coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BC Bears | British Columbia | Thunderbird Stadium | 7,200 | Tony Healy[3] |
| Prairie Wolf Pack | Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan | Calgary Rugby Park | 7,500 | Col Jeffs |
| Ontario Blues | Ontario | Sherwood Forest Park / Fletcher’s Fields | 3,200 | Chris Silverthorn |
| Atlantic Rock | Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec | Truro Saints RFC / Swilers Rugby Park | 6,500 | Dr. Pat Parfrey |
CRC Titles
| Year | Champion | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | BC Bears (1) | Ontario Blues |
| 2010 | The Rock (1) | Prairie Wolf Pack |
| 2011 | Ontario Blues (1) | BC Bears / Prairie Wolf Pack |
| 2012 | Ontario Blues (2) | Prairie Wolf Pack |
| 2013 | Ontario Blues (3) | BC Bears |
| 2014 | Ontario Blues (4) | Prairie Wolf Pack |
| 2015 | Prairie Wolf Pack (1) | Ontario Blues |
| 2016 | Ontario Blues (5) | Prairie Wolf Pack |
| 2017 | BC Bears (2) | Ontario Blues |
| 2018 | Ontario Blues (6) | Atlantic Rock |
ARC
Argentina won all the ARC titles except the two years USA won. Canada entered the regional winners at first, then a Canada A team, then the full Canada team.
| Nation | Appearances | Games | Wins | Draws | Losses | Best result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Argentina XV (Jaguars) |
9 | 34 | 31 | 2 | 1 | Champions: (7) 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2019 |
 Uruguay |
7 | 26 | 14 | 15 | Runner-up: 2019 | |
 United States |
4 | 20 | 14 | 2 | 4 | Champions: 2017, 2018 |
 Canada |
4 | 20 | 7 | 13 | 3rd place: 2016 | |
 Brazil |
4 | 20 | 6 | 14 | 4th place: 2017, 2019 | |
 Chile |
4 | 20 | 1 | 19 | 6th place: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 | |
| USA Selects |
5 | 14 | 4 | 10 | Runner-up: 2013, 2014 | |
| Canada A (Selects) |
4 | 12 | 6 | 6 | Runner-up: 2010 & 2012 | |
 Tonga A |
1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4th place: 2010 | |
| BC Bears |
1 | 5 | 4 | 1 | Runner-up: 2009 | |
| Ontario Blues |
1 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3rd place: 2009 | |
| Prairie Wolf Pack |
1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6th place: 2009 | |
| The Rock |
1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5th place: 2009 |