Rugby Canada

National rugby union
unionname = Rugby Canada
nativename = Canucks
logo =
logosize = 125px
founded = 1974
IRB = 1987
region =
regionyear =
chairman = Rick Bourne
coach = Kieran Crowley
womenscoach = Quentin Fyffe
country

url = www.rugbycanada.ca:"This article is about the national governing body for Canada rugby union. For the article about rugby union in Canada, please see the article: Rugby union in Canada."

Rugby Canada, is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in Canada. Rugby Canada was incorporated in 1974, and stems from the now-defunct Canadian Rugby Football Union and Rugby Union of Canada, established in 1884 and 1929 respectively. Rugby Canada administers the Canada national rugby union team and sanctions the Super League, which is recognized as the Premier Level of men's competition in Canada.

History

Canadian Rugby Football Union

The Canadian Rugby Football Union was established in 1884 with the specific purpose of organizing play-off games between various union champions. Representatives from the Montreal (Rugby) Football club (now known as the Westmount Rugby Club), the Toronto Rugby Football Club and from the Hamilton Rugby Football Club had meetings in Toronto and Montreal. It was decided that the union would continue to use the English rugby rules, and at the end of the season the winning club of the Quebec Championship would play the Ontario Champion for the Club Championship of the Dominion.

This organization (also known at different times as the Canadian Rugby Union) was the forerunner of the Canadian Football League, as rugby football in Canada evolved into Canadian football. To make matters more confusing the word "rugby" continued to be applied to Canadian football. It was not until 1967 that the original CRU finally cleared up this confusion by renaming itself the Canadian Amateur Football Association; it adopted its current name of Football Canada in 1986.

Rugby Union of Canada

The Rugby Union of Canada, re-formed in 1965 as the Canadian Rugby Union with British Columbia’s Bob Spray as its first president. It was incorporated in 1974 and is affiliated to the International Rugby Board (IRB). Since then, Rugby Canada has been a permanent fixture on the global rugby scene, including trips to each of the six IRB Rugby World Cups (the first of which was 1987 in Australia and New Zealand).

As a regular on the IRB Sevens Circuit, Canada continues to climb the world rankings.

Provincial Rugby Unions in Canada

* British Columbia Rugby Union
** Fraser Valley Rugby Union
** Vancouver Rugby Union
* New Brunswick Rugby Union
* Newfoundland Rugby Union
* Ontario Rugby Union
* PEI Rugby Union
* Rugby Alberta
* Rugby Manitoba
* Rugby Nova Scotia
* Rugby Quebec
* Saskatchewan Rugby Union

ee also

* Rugby union in Canada
* Canada national rugby union team
* Rugby Canada Super League
* Football Canada
* Grey Cup

External links

* [http://www.rugbycanada.ca Rugby Canada's Home Page]
* [http://www.rugbyincanada.com Rugby in Canada Dot Com - A Canadian Rugby Portal]
* [http://sportsportal.ca/events/Rugby/ Canadian Rugby Results and Events]