Rugby union in Canada
| Rugby union in Canada | |
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Fiji playing Canada in the 2007 Rugby World Cup
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| Country | Canada |
| Governing body | Rugby Canada |
| National team | Canada |
| First played | 1864, Montreal |
| Registered players | 102,000 (total) 26,000 (adult) 70,000 (teenage) 6,000 (pre-teenage) |
| Clubs | 324 |
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National competitions
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Club competitions
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Rugby union is a moderately popular sport in Canada; it is quite strong as a participation sport, particularly in several hotspots like British Columbia, Atlantic Canada (particularly in Newfoundland and Labrador), and Ontario but does not attract the same level of spectator support yet, likely because the CFL's popular brand of Canadian Football is still similar to rugby in many ways, whilst also being the gridiron game. Rugby Canada is the administrative body for rugby union in Canada. Every province also has its own union.
Canada has around 26,000 seniors and twice as many junior players spread across the country, the leading domestic competitions are the Americas Rugby Championship, a cross-border regional competition including the United States, Argentina and Uruguay the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship for under-20 players organised solely within Canada by Rugby Canada, the sports governing body, and the Canadian Rugby Championship, the top level of club rugby in the country.
Canada is classified by World Rugby (WR) as a tier two rugby nation. Tier two nations do not have a full-time professional domestic structure in place, but they are considered by WR to be the most promising countries in which to expand the sport. The Canadian national side have competed in every Rugby World Cup to date yet have only won one match each tournament, with the exception of the 1991 tournament where they reached the quarterfinals.
Canada's main problems have included the climate, because many grounds are under snow/ice for significant portions of the year, leading to a split season. Canada has long been a regional power in the sport, albeit in one of the sport's weaker regions. Argentina are the leading team in the Americas, usually followed by Canada, the United States and Uruguay.
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