Twickenham, Bear Mountain Stadium is not.
But the artificial turf field is undeniably CanadaB次元官网网址檚 home for rugby, new and all, and its about to host six major International Board Rugby tests as the Americas Rugby Championship comes to town Oct. 12 to 20.
The menB次元官网网址檚 15s tournament wonB次元官网网址檛 just survive out of Bear Mountain Stadium in Langford, itB次元官网网址檒l thrive, said Mike Chu, Rugby Canada general manager of operation.
B次元官网网址淭he seats are close to the field and itB次元官网网址檚 international rugby in an intimate setting. The community is excited and supportive and we canB次元官网网址檛 wait to fill all 2,800 seats.B次元官网网址�
ThatB次元官网网址檚 2,800 seats, with added bleachers. Not the 82,000 of EnglandB次元官网网址檚 Twickenham, but hey, itB次元官网网址檚 a start.
Included in the Americas championship are Canada, ranked 13th in the world, U.S.A. (17), Uruguay (21st) and the favourite, Argentina (eighth), which was originally planning to host the tournament.
The round robin tourney will happen with two matches a day on three separate occasions, Oct. 12, 16 and 20.
ItB次元官网网址檚 a crucial stage in the development of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 domestic players as they campaign for the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England, said coach Kieran Crowley.
B次元官网网址淓ach team will have its countryB次元官网网址檚 best non-professional players and many of them weB次元官网网址檒l see at the 2015 RWC.B次元官网网址�
Locally, the size of the event also serves to raise rugbyB次元官网网址檚 profile, a reminder of the Canadian tax dollars invested in the Rugby Canada Centre of Excellence, also situated at Bear Mountain Stadium.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a great vote of confidence from the IRB to get this tournament. They hold strict guidelines around their standards,B次元官网网址� Crowley said.
Coincidently, Crowley offered his own vote of confidence.
The former New Zealand All Black affirmed his commitment to lead Rugby Canada to the 2015 RWC, something that was in question earlier this summer. Reports from New Zealand listed Crowley as a finalist for the head coaching job of New ZealandB次元官网网址檚 Auckland Blues, which compete in the elite Super Rugby 15. The team hired another former All Black, the great John Kirwan.
B次元官网网址淭hat was just a sign that at some stage I would like to go back to New Zealand, but thatB次元官网网址檚 all it was,B次元官网网址� Crowley said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 here for the next four years.B次元官网网址�
Looking ahead to the ARC, talk centres on Argentina. ItB次元官网网址檚 no secret Argentina has been a major target of the IRBB次元官网网址檚 growth plan in recent years. This summer Argentina was added to the Tri Nations rugby championship, now known simply as the Rugby Championship, against superpowers South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. Thusly Argentina will send a secondary squad to Victoria, but one that will be strong enough to win it all. Uruguay and U.S.A. will be in the same situation as Canada, using its top domestic players.
One significant factor for Canada is the turf. ItB次元官网网址檚 one of the few IRB sanctioned artificial turfs used in international play. More importantly, itB次元官网网址檚 the home training ground of Rugby Canada.
B次元官网网址淲e welcome the (other teams) and everything, and not to be cliche, but itB次元官网网址檚 our home,B次元官网网址� national team hooker Ryan Hamilton said.
