Rod Snow (born 1 May 1970) is a Canadian former professional

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who played in the front row, predominantly as a

prop A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

but also infrequently as a hooker. Snow began his senior rugby career with the Newfoundland amateur club team Dogs RFC. He went on to play professionally in South Africa for Eastern Province in 1995, before joining

Newport RFC Newport Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, Wales. They presently play in the Super Rygbi Cymru. Until 2021 Newport RFC were based at Rodney Parade situated on the east bank of the River Usk. Ever ...

in 1996. In 2003, he was given a contract with the newly formed Newport Gwent Dragons regional side, for whom he played for two seasons. He played 41 times for the Dragons, his only try coming at the start of the 2004–05 season in a 38–29 away win over

Glasgow Warriors The Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and beca ...

. Snow earned 62 caps for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

between May 1995 and September 2007. He also played for the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

in 1996 against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, a match which they lost 31–10. Snow retired from professional rugby at the end of the 2004–05 season and returned to his home province to play for

Newfoundland Rock The Newfoundland Rock are a Canadian rugby union team based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The team plays in the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship (RCNJC) and draws most of its players from the Newfoundland Rugby Union, one of ...

in their national-championship-winning season. He also took a position as the project manager for the Newfoundland and Labrador Sports Centre, a new development that would upgrade the Swilers RFC complex into a multi-sport provincial training centre. Snow accepted an invitation from Canada coach Ric Suggitt to return to the national team for the

2006 Churchill Cup The 2006 Churchill Cup was a rugby union competition played between the second teams of various top tier international rugby nations and the first teams of traditionally less prominent teams, such as Canada and the United States. The 2006 tourname ...

. Following this tournament, Snow helped Newfoundland Rock to a second

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 ...

title in August 2006. The season was not finished, however, as Snow also scored the winning try over the United States Eagles in a

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

qualifying match played in his home town of St. John's,

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

. Although he was left out of the preliminary 32-man squad for the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup () was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by F ...

, he was recalled for the final 30-man squad. He started all four of Canada's matches at the final tournament in France; however, their best result was a draw against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and they finished bottom of

Pool B Pool may refer to: Bodies of water * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a roc ...

. In 2012, he retired from all levels of rugby. Snow was named an inaugural inductees for

Rugby Canada Rugby Canada is the national Sport governing body, 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 amate ...

's Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Newport Rugby Hall of Fame. Additional honours include being named third-best prop in the world by World Rugby Magazine in 1999, British Writers' Player of the Year in 2005, and the Sports Newfoundland and Labrador's senior male athlete of the year in 1995.

References

External links

Newport Gwent Dragons profileNewport RFC profileRod Snow
at History of Newport RFC {{DEFAULTSORT:Snow, Rod 1970 births Living people Canadian rugby union players Barbarian F.C. players Rugby union props Newport RFC players Dragons RFC players Canada international rugby union players Year of birth missing (living people) 1995 Rugby World Cup players 1999 Rugby World Cup players 2003 Rugby World Cup players 2007 Rugby World Cup players Rugby union players from Newfoundland and Labrador 21st-century Canadian sportsmen