Rugby Canada and USA Rugby Announce Four Year Agreement on Establishing Annual Fixtures and Training Camps Across Age Grade Pathways
This is one of those stories where a media release is made about something that was considered normal in the past, back to the future. Canada and USA rugby co-operation was taken for granted in the past, now it’s a media release because it was neglected in the post COVID era. Pre-COVID it was thriving, 2019 the Canada U18 teams (two of them) toured to California at the end of December, July 2019 the USA U18 team came up to Vancouver Island to play three matches against Canada U18, December 2018 Canada U18 sent two teams to California to play the USA U18 teams. It’s seven years ago since 2019 but it seems many have forgotten, it’s not surprising, was the Rugby Canada CEO here then, no, was the Rugby Canada High Performance Director here, no, was the Rugby Canada Head Coach here, no. This is all new for them, so hence the media release. Below is the Rugby Canada media release and as a reminder the December 2019 Canada U18 schedule.
Canada U18 Schedule 2019
Dec 28 – Chula Vista Training Center, San Diego, CA
1:00pm PT Canada Red vs USA Blue
2:30pm PT Canada White vs USA White
Dec 31 – Chula Vista Training Center, San Diego, CA
1:00pm PT Canada White vs USA Blue
2:30pm PT Canada Red vs USA White
Jan 3 World Youth Festival, Los Angeles, CA
Canada White vs Blue Bulls Academy Side (SA)
Canada Red vs Blue Bulls Academy Side (SA)
from Rugby Canada
Rugby Canada and USA Rugby have partnered a four-year agreement to establish a fixed, recurring high-performance calendar aimed at elevating competition in the Men’s and Women’s high-performance pathways to National Senior Teams.
Establishing annual fixtures and collaborative training camps across the Age Grade Pathway (Men’s U19 and U20; Women’s U20 and U21) will strengthen athlete and coach development, improve program alignment and create a clear progression toward international-level performance.
Canada’s Men’s and Women’s National Senior Teams, and their USA Rugby counterparts will benefit from scheduled test fixtures on both sides of the border, ensuring consistent competition offerings are available annually.
“This agreement secures a consistent annual schedule for all levels of our high-performance pathway,” said Shawn Bullock, High-Performance Director at Rugby Canada. “Adding joint age grade programming and shared hosting ensures our players across all levels of our high-performance pathway receive consistent, high-level competition annually. We look forward to this next chapter of growth in partnership with USA Rugby.”
“This partnership with Rugby Canada is an exciting step forward for USA Rugby,” said Tamara Sheppard, General Manager High Performance of USA Rugby. “It strengthens competition and collaboration across our Senior 15s, Age Grade, and 7s programs, and gives our players more opportunities to grow and compete at a high level. We’re delighted to be building these opportunities with Rugby Canada.”
Further details regarding specific match dates, venues, training camps, and competition schedules will be announced in 2027.