Rugby Canada hosts U18 East vs West Camp in Guelph, ON
Rugby 15s U18 Men
Rugby Canada is hosting an U18 National East versus West camp in Guelph, ON this week with a view to identifying athletes for potential international competition this summer.
April 12, 2022 (Langford, BC) – Rugby Canada is hosting an U18 National East versus West camp in Guelph, ON this week with a view to identifying athletes for potential international competition this summer.
Players from Atlantic Canada were selected having competed at the 2021 Atlantic Championships last summer, while the rest were invited to the camp based on the recommendations of their coaches through their respective Provincial programs.
Held at the University of Guelph, the series is set to provide timely and valuable training and resulting video analysis for emerging players after many of them were unable to practice or compete for roughly a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The camp is also an opportunity for players to showcase their skills under the guidance of age-grade coaches such as Rugby Canada U20 Head Coach Adam Roberts, U18 Head Coach Cory Hector, Canada West coach Hubert Buydens as well as National Academy coaches and other guest coaches from Major League Rugby’s Toronto Arrows.
“We are delighted to be hosting this camp as we continue to build a pathway towards the U20 program, Arrows academy, Pride National academy and competitive international rugby,” commented Rugby Canada Under 18 Director of Rugby, Mike Curran. “We are particularly excited to be holding the series in Ontario and we thank the University of Guelph for their collaboration in the use of their facilities.”
The camp follows previous identification and assessment sessions held at Queens University, the University of British Columbia, Victoria, BC, Red Deer, AB, and Regina/Moose Jaw, SK last year which had a strong focus on players born in 2003 with the results being passed on to the U20 program.
Similar camps were held in Abbotsford, BC, Burlington, ON and Halifax, NS following recommendations from Provincial Unions and coaches for players born in 2004 and 2005.
Rugby Canada aims to arrange a competitive event in the summer for a team which will be selected once the camp in Guelph is complete. A full list of the players taking part in this week’s camp can be found by clicking here.