Rugby Canada Super League
Encyclopedia
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|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. In terms of seniority it rested immediately beneath the IRB sponsored North America 4
, a former US/Canadian cross-border competition in which two Canadian teams (Canada East
and Canada West
) took part.
In early 2009, after 11 seasons of Super League play, Rugby Canada decided to disband the RCSL in the wake of the establishment of the Americas Rugby Championship
, the successor to the North America 4. The RCSL was replaced by the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship
, which absorbed the majority of the RCSL teams.
Most players took part in RCSL ("Super League") on an amateur basis.
In addition, Rugby Canada
organise a RCSL junior competition featuring 12 teams, as well as the National Women's League which follows a broadly similar template, albeit with fewer teams. pay anywhere from 60,000 to 1,000,000
The Super League draws its teams from provincial unions. Larger unions (BC, Alberta, and Ontario) have more than one representative team; these teams are drawn largely from provincial sub-unions. For example, the Calgary Rugby Union and Edmonton Rugby Union are sub-unions of the larger Alberta Rugby Union and have both been given representation in the Super League.
Teams are divided into Eastern and Western Divisions. Teams play each of the other teams in their division once. The top team in each division play each other for the national championship.
The league has seldom had identical membership from season to season, with teams who have membership occasionally electing not to play due to financial, logistical or level-of-play concerns. For 2006 season, the Fraser Valley Rugby Union
of B.C. ("The Venom") and the Manitoba Rugby Union ("The Buffalo") elected not to participate, which created an unbalanced situation where the Western Division had five teams (therefore only four games in their season), while the Eastern Division had seven (six games).
|-
!width=25%|Team
!width=25%|City/Area
|-
|Calgary Mavericks
|Calgary, Alberta
|-
|Edmonton Gold
|Edmonton, Alberta
|-
|Saskatchewan Prairie Fire
|Regina, Saskatchewan
|-
|Vancouver Island Crimson Tide
|Victoria, British Columbia
|-
|Vancouver Wave
|Vancouver, British Columbia
|}
|-
!width=25%|Team
!width=25%|City/Area
|-
|New Brunswick Black Spruce
|Fredericton, New Brunswick
|-
|Newfoundland Rock
|St. John's, Newfoundland
|-
|Niagara Thunder
|Burlington, Ontario
|-
|Nova Scotia Keltics
|Halifax, Nova Scotia
|-
|Ottawa Harlequins
|Ottawa, Ontario
|-
|Quebec Caribou
|Montreal, Quebec
|}
|-
!width="10%"|Year
!width=35%|Champion
!width=20%|Score
!width=35%|Runner-up
|-
|1998
| Vancouver Island Crimson Tide
| align="center"|-
| Nova Scotia Keiths
|-
|1999
| Vancouver Island Crimson Tide (2)
|align="center"|23–11
| Toronto Renegades
|-
|2000
| Fraser Valley Venom
|align="center"|15–9
| Nova Scotia Keltics
|-
|2001
| Fraser Valley Venom (2)
|align="center"|20–14
| Toronto Renegades
|-
|2002
| Vancouver Island Crimson Tide (3)
|align="center"|6–3
| Newfoundland Rock
|-
|2003
| Calgary Mavericks
|align="center"|40–24
| Toronto Xtreme
|-
|2004
| Vancouver Island Crimson Tide (4)
|align="center"|14–8
| Newfoundland Rock
|-
|2005
| Newfoundland Rock
|align="center"|26–13
| Saskatchewan Prairie Fire
|-
|2006
| Newfoundland Rock (2)
|align="center"|28–14
| Saskatchewan Prairie Fire
|-
|2007
| Saskatchewan Prairie Fire
|align="center"|28–12
| Niagara Thunder
|-
|2008
| Newfoundland Rock (3)
|align="center"|30–6
| Calgary Mavericks
|}
|-
|The Rugby Canada
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 as Football Canada; and the now-defunct Rugby Union of...
Super League (RCSL or Super League) was a national, semi-professional rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
competition in Canada. The league represented the second level of domestic rugby union in Canada, and the highest level wholly indigenous to Canada. In terms of seniority it rested immediately beneath the IRB sponsored North America 4
North America 4
North America 4, also known as IRB North America 4 often abbreviated to NA4, was a North American rugby union competition launched in 2006...
, a former US/Canadian cross-border competition in which two Canadian teams (Canada East
Canada East (rugby team)
Canada East is one of two national representative rugby union teams from Canada that compete in the North America 4 Series.-Formation:Canada East was founded in 2005 by the NA4 Committee. The NA4 Committee is made up of the International Rugby Board, Rugby Canada and USA Rugby...
and Canada West
Canada West (rugby team)
Canada West is one of two national representative rugby union teams from Canada that compete in the North America 4 Series.-Formation:Canada West was founded in 2005 by the NA4 Committee. The NA4 Committee is made up of the International Rugby Board, Rugby Canada and USA Rugby...
) took part.
In early 2009, after 11 seasons of Super League play, Rugby Canada decided to disband the RCSL in the wake of the establishment of the Americas Rugby Championship
Americas Rugby Championship
The Americas Rugby Championship is a rugby union competition contested by national and regional teams from North and South America. The league has replaced the IRB's previous North American competition, the North America 4....
, the successor to the North America 4. The RCSL was replaced by the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship
Rugby Canada National Junior Championship
The Rugby Canada National Junior Championship is a new amateur rugby union competition in Canada. The league was created when Rugby Canada decided to disband the Rugby Canada Super League and replace it with a new under-20 league. The league consists of 13 teams, and are broken up into 4...
, which absorbed the majority of the RCSL teams.
Most players took part in RCSL ("Super League") on an amateur basis.
Establishment
The competition was established in 1998 and has been played since on an annual basis. It is considered to be Canada's premier wholly domestic rugby competition. The Super League clubs draw from provincial unions, and the clubs are divided into two divisions – Eastern and Western. There are currently 13 teams in competition.In addition, Rugby Canada
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 as Football Canada; and the now-defunct Rugby Union of...
organise a RCSL junior competition featuring 12 teams, as well as the National Women's League which follows a broadly similar template, albeit with fewer teams. pay anywhere from 60,000 to 1,000,000
Overview
Founded in 1998, the Super League is considered to be Canada's premier rugby competition. In fact, players on Canada's senior men's team are often chosen from Super League clubs.The Super League draws its teams from provincial unions. Larger unions (BC, Alberta, and Ontario) have more than one representative team; these teams are drawn largely from provincial sub-unions. For example, the Calgary Rugby Union and Edmonton Rugby Union are sub-unions of the larger Alberta Rugby Union and have both been given representation in the Super League.
Teams are divided into Eastern and Western Divisions. Teams play each of the other teams in their division once. The top team in each division play each other for the national championship.
The league has seldom had identical membership from season to season, with teams who have membership occasionally electing not to play due to financial, logistical or level-of-play concerns. For 2006 season, the Fraser Valley Rugby Union
Fraser Valley Rugby Union
The Fraser Valley Rugby Union is the administrative body for rugby union in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia. The FVRU currently consists of 10 rugby clubs.The Fraser Valley senior men's representative team is known as the Venom....
of B.C. ("The Venom") and the Manitoba Rugby Union ("The Buffalo") elected not to participate, which created an unbalanced situation where the Western Division had five teams (therefore only four games in their season), while the Eastern Division had seven (six games).
Western Conference
{| class="wikitable sortable"|-
!width=25%|Team
!width=25%|City/Area
|-
|Calgary Mavericks
Calgary Mavericks
The Calgary Mavericks are a Canadian rugby union team based in Calgary, Alberta. The team plays in the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship and draws most of its players from the Calgary Rugby Union, one of fourteen Rugby Unions that have rep teams in the RCSL.The Mavericks play their "home"...
|Calgary, Alberta
|-
|Edmonton Gold
Edmonton Gold
The Edmonton Gold are a Canadian rugby union team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The team plays in the Rugby Canada Super League and draws most of its players from the Edmonton Rugby Union, one of fourteen Rugby Unions that have rep teams in the RCSL....
|Edmonton, Alberta
|-
|Saskatchewan Prairie Fire
Saskatchewan Prairie Fire
The Prairie Fire are a Canadian Rugby Union team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The team plays in the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship and draws very few of its players from the Saskatchewan Rugby Union, one of fourteen Rugby Unions that have rep teams in the RCSL.The Prairie Fire play...
|Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
|-
|Vancouver Island Crimson Tide
Vancouver Island Crimson Tide
The Vancouver Island Rising Tide are a Canadian rugby union team based in Victoria, British Columbia...
|Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
|-
|Vancouver Wave
Vancouver Wave
The Vancouver Wave are a Canadian rugby union team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The team plays in the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship and draws most of its players from the Vancouver Rugby Union and the British Columbia Rugby Union, one of fourteen Rugby Unions that have rep...
|Vancouver, British Columbia
|}
Eastern conference
{| class="wikitable sortable"|-
!width=25%|Team
!width=25%|City/Area
|-
|New Brunswick Black Spruce
New Brunswick Black Spruce
Black Spruce Rugby are a Canadian rugby union team based in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The team plays in the Rugby Canada Super League and draws most of its players from the New Brunswick Rugby Union....
|Fredericton, New Brunswick
Fredericton, New Brunswick
Fredericton is the capital of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, by virtue of the provincial parliament which sits there. An important cultural, artistic, and educational centre for the province, Fredericton is home to two universities and cultural institutions such as the Beaverbrook Art...
|-
|Newfoundland Rock
Newfoundland Rock
The Newfoundland Rock are a Canadian rugby union team based in St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador. The team plays in the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship and draws most of its players from the Newfoundland Rugby Union, one of fourteen Rugby Unions that have representative teams in the...
|St. John's, Newfoundland
|-
|Niagara Thunder
Niagara Thunder
The Niagara Lightning are a Canadian rugby union team based in southern Ontario. The team plays in the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship and draws most of its players from the Niagara Rugby Union....
|Burlington, Ontario
Burlington, Ontario
Burlington , is a city located in Halton Region at the western end of Lake Ontario. Burlington is part of the Greater Toronto Area, and is also included in the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area. Physically, Burlington lies between the north shore of Lake Ontario and the Niagara Escarpment...
|-
|Nova Scotia Keltics
Nova Scotia Keltics
The Nova Scotia Keltics are a rugby team in Halifax, Nova Scotia that compete in the Rugby Canada Super League.They play their home games alternatively at the Wanderers Grounds and Graves Oakley....
|Halifax, Nova Scotia
|-
|Ottawa Harlequins
Ottawa Harlequins
The Ottawa Harlequins are a Canadian rugby union team based in eastern Ontario. The team plays in the Rugby Canada Super League and draws most of its players from the Eastern Ontario Rugby Union, one of fourteen Rugby Unions that have rep teams in the RCSL.They play their home games at Twin Elm...
|Ottawa, Ontario
|-
|Quebec Caribou
Quebec Caribou
The Quebec Caribou are a rugby union club based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Drawing players from rugby clubs throughout Quebec, the Caribou compete against other provincial teams in the Rugby Canada Super League....
|Montreal, Quebec
|}
Champions
{| class="wikitable"|-
!width="10%"|Year
!width=35%|Champion
!width=20%|Score
!width=35%|Runner-up
|-
|1998
| Vancouver Island Crimson Tide
Vancouver Island Crimson Tide
The Vancouver Island Rising Tide are a Canadian rugby union team based in Victoria, British Columbia...
| align="center"|-
| Nova Scotia Keiths
Nova Scotia Keltics
The Nova Scotia Keltics are a rugby team in Halifax, Nova Scotia that compete in the Rugby Canada Super League.They play their home games alternatively at the Wanderers Grounds and Graves Oakley....
|-
|1999
| Vancouver Island Crimson Tide (2)
|align="center"|23–11
| Toronto Renegades
|-
|2000
| Fraser Valley Venom
Fraser Valley Venom
The Fraser Valley Venom are a Canadian rugby union team based in the Fraser Valley, British Columbia. The team plays in the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship and draws most of its players from the Fraser Valley Rugby Union, one of 13 Rugby Unions that have representative teams in the RCNJC...
|align="center"|15–9
| Nova Scotia Keltics
Nova Scotia Keltics
The Nova Scotia Keltics are a rugby team in Halifax, Nova Scotia that compete in the Rugby Canada Super League.They play their home games alternatively at the Wanderers Grounds and Graves Oakley....
|-
|2001
| Fraser Valley Venom (2)
|align="center"|20–14
| Toronto Renegades
|-
|2002
| Vancouver Island Crimson Tide (3)
|align="center"|6–3
| Newfoundland Rock
Newfoundland Rock
The Newfoundland Rock are a Canadian rugby union team based in St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador. The team plays in the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship and draws most of its players from the Newfoundland Rugby Union, one of fourteen Rugby Unions that have representative teams in the...
|-
|2003
| Calgary Mavericks
Calgary Mavericks
The Calgary Mavericks are a Canadian rugby union team based in Calgary, Alberta. The team plays in the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship and draws most of its players from the Calgary Rugby Union, one of fourteen Rugby Unions that have rep teams in the RCSL.The Mavericks play their "home"...
|align="center"|40–24
| Toronto Xtreme
Toronto Xtreme
The Toronto Rebellion are a Canadian rugby union team based in Markham, Ontario. The team plays in the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship and draws most of its players from the Toronto Rugby Union....
|-
|2004
| Vancouver Island Crimson Tide (4)
|align="center"|14–8
| Newfoundland Rock
|-
|2005
| Newfoundland Rock
|align="center"|26–13
| Saskatchewan Prairie Fire
Saskatchewan Prairie Fire
The Prairie Fire are a Canadian Rugby Union team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The team plays in the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship and draws very few of its players from the Saskatchewan Rugby Union, one of fourteen Rugby Unions that have rep teams in the RCSL.The Prairie Fire play...
|-
|2006
| Newfoundland Rock (2)
|align="center"|28–14
| Saskatchewan Prairie Fire
|-
|2007
| Saskatchewan Prairie Fire
|align="center"|28–12
| Niagara Thunder
Niagara Thunder
The Niagara Lightning are a Canadian rugby union team based in southern Ontario. The team plays in the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship and draws most of its players from the Niagara Rugby Union....
|-
|2008
| Newfoundland Rock (3)
|align="center"|30–6
| Calgary Mavericks
|}
See also
- 2007 RCSL Season2007 RCSL SeasonThe 2007 Rugby Canada Super League season is the tenth season for the RCSL.-Standings:Western ConferenceEastern ConferenceNote: 4 points for a win, 2 points for a draw, 1 bonus point for a loss by 7 points or less, 1 bonus point for scoring 4 tries or more.-Championship Final:The championship game...
- Canada national rugby union teamCanada national rugby union teamThe Canada national rugby union team represents Canada in international rugby union. They are governed by Rugby Canada, and play in red and black. Canada is classified by the International Rugby Board as a tier two rugby nation. There are ten tier one nations, and seven tier two nations, the...
- Rugby union in CanadaRugby union in CanadaRugby union is a minority team sport in Canada; it is relatively strong as a participation sport, particularly in several hotspots like British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador, but does not attract the same level of spectator support...