Rugby in Canada has been an under covered sport in the country, I would like to be part of a change in that. The woes of Rugby Canada truly began when qualifying for the 2019 Rugby World Cup when they failed to beat the Eagles of the USA in qualifiers for the first time ever. In 2023 the Rugby World didn’t see a men’s Canadian team in the competition for the first time in history. The downward spiral has been (to me) sudden and dramatic, and also troubling.
The pathway for Rugby Canada was also marred by the loss of the only professional rugby team in the country in the Toronto Arrows of Major League Rugby for the 2024 season. The point is Canada has been a proud rugby country, but no one seems to be paying attention to it. Aside from the die-hards who love this beautiful game of play hard, hit hard, party hard.
The pathway for Rugby Canada needs to be clearer, it would also help to have at least two professional teams in the country. My choices for the most viable markets are the ones in Toronto, (which I now question) and Vancouver. Vancouver makes the most sense to me as that is the location of the wildly successful Rugby Sevens event occurs every year, and proves that there is a possibility that a professional team there could work out. It’s also where Rugby Canada is headquartered, so the marriage there just makes sense.
They also have a ready-to-go stadium in both Langley, BC (bit of a trek for fans) and BC Place in the heart of the city. I truly believe that professional rugby in Canada. Properly marketed and televised, is the key to growing the game that already has a large following. A third market that I believe would work well is Calgary, Alberta. There is a massive following in Southern Alberta that would show for a professional team and even a dedicated Union in the south part of the city that every Saturday is packed wall to wall for amateur matches. Imagine what a pro team could do.
The strategic plan, which you can find here Rugby Canada, shows the ambitions that the governing body have. There is some hope with the reimagined Pacific Nations Cup, an international competition featuring Canada, USA, Japan, Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga. A pacific Six Nations, or so the hope is. I hope it’s televised properly on the main TSN channels, not just on TSN plus. However, Canada doesn’t appear to be in the running to host the finals at least to begin with.
This competition does feature 5 top 20 ranked teams in the World Rankings, unfortunately Canada is the odd one out on that list and hopefully the PNC will provide the opportunity to rise the rankings and truly develop back into the RWC automatic qualifiers that we’ve always seen in the past.
