The Canadian Rugby Championship (CRC) (french: Championnat provincial du Canada de rugby à XV) was a Canadian amateur

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

competition, partially funded by the

World Rugby World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

. It was the highest level of men's domestic rugby in Canada. Four representative teams from regions across Canada competed for the

MacTier Cup The MacTier Cup is the name of the championship for the top senior men's rugby league in Canada. Originally awarded to the champion of the Rugby Canada Super League (RCSL), the MacTier Cup was established in 1998 along with the RCSL. The first MacT ...

. The CRC was started in 2009 by

Rugby 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 Canadian Rugby Football Union, a body established in 1884 that now governs amateur Canadian football a ...

and was held annually from August to September. Rugby Canada also held CRC tournaments for under-19 men, under-20 women, and senior women.

History

The North America 4

In 2006, the IRB started the North America 4 (NA4), to help create a higher level of rugby in North America, as well as to develop players and provide a pathway to national team selection and to make North American rugby teams more competitive at international level. It was contested by four teams, two each from Canada and the USA.

The American Rugby Championship

On September 7, 2009 the IRB scrapped the NA4 and unveiled the ARC competition, in which Canada,

the USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

would send representative teams to play for a championship title (

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

was later added in the second season, replaced with

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

from 2012 onwards) In order to select a team that would play in the ARC,

unveiled the CRC, with the champion and runner-up advancing to the ARC. The BC Bears Coached by Mike James and Kris de Scossa were inaugural champions, who went on to play Argentina Jaguars, Russia and England Counties. Following the first season, a Canada Selects team was chosen by Team Canada coach

Kieran Crowley Kieran James Crowley (born 31 August 1961) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player, who is the head coach of Italy. He has also coached the New Zealand Under-19s in the 2007 World Championships as well as coaching provincial side T ...

instead, exclusively from players who competed in the CRC.

The CRC

In the inaugural 2009 season, six games were played in a round-robin format, similar to that of The Rugby Championship, with the team collecting the most points over the season being named champions. The following season, the same six game season was used, however a post-season was added—with the top two teams squaring off in a final at the home venue of the team which amassed the most points during the regular season. In 2011 the format changed yet again, scrapping the final and instead going back to a round-robin competition. This time with ten games, each team playing five. The western teams (the

BC Bears The British Columbia Bears (formerly Pacific Tyee) are the senior men's representative rugby team for British Columbia. They were founded in 2009 to compete in the Americas Rugby Championship against other representative teams from Canada, Argenti ...

and the

Prairie Wolf Pack The Prairie Wolf Pack is a Canadian rugby union team representing the Prairies region in the Canadian Rugby Championship. The Wolf Pack's inaugural season includes a home game at the Calgary Rugby Park against The Rock and away games at the BC ...

) played three home games and two away games, while this schedule was reversed for the two eastern teams, (the

Ontario Blues The Ontario Blues are the senior men's representative rugby team for Ontario. They were founded in 2009 to compete in the Americas Rugby Championship against other representative teams from Canada, Argentina, and the United States. In their inaugu ...

and the

Atlantic Rock Atlantic Rock, also known as The Rock, are a Canadian rugby union team based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The team plays in the Canadian Rugby Championship (CRC) and is intended to draw most of its players from the rugby unions of C ...

). In 2012, this was switched, having the western teams play two home games and three away games, with the eastern teams playing the opposite.

Season structure

The CRC is broken up into a pre-season and a round robin season, with no postseason. During the pre-season teams play exhibition matches against other teams, usually not participating in the CRC. The pre-season is not a formal one set by the league, but instead the individual teams can play club or touring sides at their own leisure, or may choose to not play any pre-season games at all. Starting in mid August, and ending late September, the regular season follows the same format as The Rugby Championship, having teams playing in a round robin format, with the team that accumulates the most points throughout the tournament winning the MacTier Cup. Therefore, no post-season is required. Every team plays five games, the western teams playing three at home and two away, while the eastern teams play a reversed schedule. There are no divisions or conferences. The points system for the season is the same as most rugby competitions around the world: * 4 points for a win * 2 points for a draw * 0 points for a loss * 1 bonus point for scoring 4 tries or more * 1 bonus point for losing by 7 points or less

Awards

The Player of the Year award is awarded at the end of the season to recognize the best player that year. The award is decided by votes from all the coaches, as well as a Rugby Canada representative.

Broadcasting

The league had no deals with any networks; however, some teams provide live online streaming of their games. CBC Television aired the 2010 final live, but this was the only match shown on national television.

Teams

Champions

The

was created in 1998 and awarded to the champion of the

Rugby Canada Super League The Rugby Canada Super League (RCSL or Super League) was a national, semi-professional rugby union competition in Canada. The league represented the second level of domestic rugby union in Canada, and the highest level wholly indigenous to Canada ...

. Since the Super League folded, the MacTier Cup is now awarded to the Canadian Rugby Championship champion.

References

External links

Official Website

ARC Official Website

Rugby Canada Website
{{Rugby union in Canada Rugby union leagues in Canada Sports leagues established in 2009 Sports leagues disestablished in 2018 2009 establishments in Canada 2018 disestablishments in Canada