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Churchill Cup 2010
Match scheduled:
Date: 13-06-2010
time 23:30 until 01:30
Canada vs France A
The 2010 Churchill Cup, the eighth edition of an annual international rugby union tournament, is currently taking place in the Denver and New York City metropolitan areas. This is the second consecutive year in which Denver is a host city, and the third in a row for the competition to be
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The three regular participants in the event—the senior national sides of the USA and Canada, and England's "A" (second-level) national side, the England Saxons—are joined by three first-time competitors:
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The teams are playing in a round-robin format between two pools to decide the elimination matches. All six teams will participate on the finals day: the two pool winners will compete in the Cup Final, the two runners-up will play in a Plate Final, and the two bottom-placed teams will meet in the Bowl Final.
After the 2008 tournament, which was played both in Canada and the United States, in 2009 all rounds of the tournament as well as the Finals Day were played around the Denver, Colorado area which is the future home for the tournament until the 2012 edition. The first three days of round-robin play will be at the modern, purpose-built rugby stadium Infinity Park in Glendale, Colorado on the south side of Denver. For the first time in the tournament's history the finals will be held at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, which is home to New York's MLS team, the
Rugby football was introduced into France by the British in the early 1870s.
It was in 1872 that a group of British residents formed the Le Havre Athletique.[1] which played a hybrid form of football, a cross between rugby and soccer, called "combination".
The English Taylors RFC formed by British businessmen in Paris in 1877, followed by Paris Football Club a year later. Racing Club de France was formed in 1882 and their rivals Stade Français in 1883. On March 20 1892 the Union des Sociétés Françaises de Sports Athlétiques organised the first ever French rugby union championship, a one off game between Racing and Stade Français. The game was refereed by Pierre de Coubertin and saw Racing win 4-3 [2]. The USFSA remained the main controlling body of French rugby, until the formation of the French Rugby Federation (FFR, from the French: Fédération Française de Rugby) in 1920.
In 1900, rugby was played at the Paris Summer Olympics, France entered a team, along with Germany and Great Britain. France won the gold medal, the first ever rugby event at the Olympics. In 1905, for the first time, England and France played each other. In 1910, France coined the term The Five Nations, though they had competed in the home nations tournament four times previously, the tournament would be known as the Five Nations for most of the rest of the 20th century.
Rugby was again played at the 1920 Summer Olympics, though this time, in what is considered one of the most surprising results in rugby history, France fumbled in the gold medal match, being defeated at the hands of the United States, eight points to nil. That same year, the FFR was officially formed. France were again participating in the rugby at the 1924 Summer Olympics – the last time that rugby would be played as an Olympic sport – where the United States successfully defended their title.
It is estimated that rugby league arrived in France in about 1934, half a century after the amateur code had established itself in the country.[3] Also in 1934, FIRA (Federation of Amateur Rugby) was founded by Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Catalonia (Spain), and Sweden.
In 1959, William Webb Ellis' grave was located in France. It was in 1978 that the FFR joined the International Rugby Football Board, now the International Rugby Board. Also in 1959, the national team won the Five Nations for the first time, and subsequently won another consecutive three championships (1960 was shared with England). This success was repeated at the end of the 1960s, when France won both the 1967 and 1968 championships, the 1968 being a Grand Slam. France has nearly always been in the top three teams of the Northern Hemisphere since then.
The first Rugby World Cup was held in 1987. After a low period in the mid-1990s caused by FFR's hesitation to join in the introduction of professional rugby in 1995, the national team has regained its top-tier status.[4] In 1998, France's women's team competed at the first official Women's Rugby World Cup which was held in the Netherlands. In 2003, France was awarded the right to host the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
They famously beat Wales 26-24 on November 10, 1993 at Cardiff Arms Park; and beat France 18-16 on June 4, 1994 at Twin Elms Rugby Park in Nepean, Ontario; and battled to a 27-27 draw against Ireland on June 27, 2000 at Markham, Ontario; and chalked up a 26-23 win against Scotland in Vancouver, British Columbia on June 15, 2002. The win over Scotland was the start of a streak of seven victories before losing to Wales (in Cardiff.)
Canada has never beaten England in six games, but has played their national XV, B team, and Under 23 teams eleven times (for which Canada awarded its players international caps.) The most notable result was a 15-12 victory over a strong England XV on May 29, 1993 at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby. Unfortunately for the Canadians, on the eve of the match England's management chose not to award international caps (due to fact that some players were touring with the British and Irish Lions in New Zealand at the time.) Additionally, before defeating Scotland proper in 2002, Canada beat Scotland XV 24-19 on May 25, 1991 at Saint John, New Brunswick.
As they were quarter finalists in 1991, they automatically qualified for the 1995 World Cup. They were in Pool A with the hosts South Africa, defending champions Australia, and Romania. Canada finished third in the pool, winning their match against Romania but losing 27-11 to Australia and 20-nil to the Springboks. Canada won the now defunct Pacific Rim tournament three years in succession in 1996, 1997 and 1998.
Canada finished second in Round 4 of the Americas 1999 Rugby World Cup qualifying, losing only to Argentina, and qualify for the World Cup. Canada finished third in their pool (with France, Fiji and Namibia), winning their match against Namibia but losing their other two fixtures. The victory against Namibia was uncharacteristic for Canada, as they ran the score up to 72-11, one of their most lopsided victories, as there was a very slight statistical chance that they could have advanced on points scored. This trashing was the one bright light in an otherwise gloomy and disapponting 1999 World Cup performance.
Like all second and third tier nations the Canadians have had problems having these players available for important games. As a consequence Canada has slipped out of the top 10 rugby union nations, but has never-the-less provided top class players such as Dan Baugh, Rod Snow, Mike James, Colin Yukes, Dave Lougheed and Jamie Cudmore to teams in England, Wales and France. The Canadians qualified for the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
Canada qualified as Americas 1, finishing at the top of Round 4 Americas tournaments, winning five of their six fixtures to enter the 2003 World Cup in Australia, their fifth world cup in a row. Canada's sole win was a 24-7 result against Tonga as they lost their games against Italy, Wales and the All Blacks.
Since 2003 Canada has played host to the Churchill Cup, but has yet to make the final. In 2004 and 2005 they replaced China in the Super Powers Cup. For the 2004 Superpowers Cup, Canada was substituted for China. In 2005 the competition was renamed the Super Cup. Canada beat Japan 15-10 in the final.
In 2006 Canada completed the qualification process for the 2007 Rugby World Cup. They were in a 3-team group also containing Barbados and the United States. Each played the other once. On June 24, 2006, Canada defeated Barbados 71-3, in Bridgetown, their largest ever win.[1] Canada achieved a record win over the USA in the match at Newfoundland on August 12, 2006, defeating the USA 56-7 in front of a capacity crowd, player James Pritchard scored a national record 36 points with three tries, six conversions and three penalties in the match, beating the record of 29 he had set against Barbados in their previous match.[2] The win assured Canada of a place in the 2007 World Cup as Americas 2 in Pool B.[3] Also that year, a Canadian team won the NA4 and the national team beat the US earlier in the Churchill Cup.
