BC Rugby and Rugby Ontario are proud to announce the BC Bears and Ontario Blues Senior Men’s Provincial Representative Teams will contest a two-match Series for the inaugural Canada Cup this May.

Thanks to funding from the Canadian Rugby Foundation, this highly-anticipated interprovincial showdown will see the Bears and Blues face off in a thrilling two-match Series, renewing one of Canadian Rugby’s most competitive Rugby rivalries.

Matches will be hosted on both Vancouver Island and the Mainland, showcasing elite domestic talent and providing athletes with a high-performance competition ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup. In addition, the Blues will take on the Vancouver Island Tide as part of their three-match tour of British Columbia.

Matches will take place on the following dates (kick-off times TBC):

• May 17, 2026 – Vancouver Island Tide vs. Ontario Blues (Location TBD)
• May 20, 2026 – BC Bears vs. Ontario Blues Match 1 (Capilano RFC – North Vancouver)
• May 23, 2026 – BC Bears vs. Ontario Blues Match 2 (Shawnigan Lake School)

Both the BC Bears and Ontario Blues will wear kits designed and made the organisations’ partner, O’Neills Sportswear. Thank you to the team at O’Neills Sportswear North America for their generous support of this inaugural Canada Cup Series.

The Series aims to strengthen interprovincial competition and offer athletes the opportunity to test themselves against some of the country’s best. For Rugby fans, it’s a rare chance to witness high-intensity provincial Senior Men’s Rugby in their own communities.

Curry Hitchborn will lead the BC Bears as Senior Men’s Head Coach, while Phil Murphy, Iain McLeish and Shane Cahill make up the Ontario Blues’ Coaching Staff.

“Coaching the BC Bears at any level is always an honor and being able to coach the Senior men’s side is the highest,” said Hitchborn. “Being in a position to utilise our Men’s Premier League competition as a selection tool to face Ontario in a two-game Series is the perfect way to engage with our Clubs and reward the aspirations of our senior men as they battle each weekend.”

Hitchborn added: “I want to personally thank BC Rugby CEO, Matthew Carter, for his heavy lifting alongside the Canadian Rugby Foundation to get this historic competition the visibility and recognition it deserves. There is no substitute for best-on-best and these games reflect that.”

Sandro Fiorino, Rugby Ontario Technical Manager, High Performance, said: “It’s great to see that BC and Ontario can come together to provide our Senior Men’s players a quality pathway competition for athletes to showcase their skills and talent.”

Further details on the Series will be announced in the coming weeks, including livestream information and kick-off times.

BC Rugby encourages all Rugby fans across the province to come out and support the Bears and Blues, and experience top-tier Canadian Men’s Rugby this May.

Canadian Rugby Foundation

The Canadian Rugby Foundation, established in 2003, is a non-share capital corporation incorporated under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act and a registered charity under the Income Tax Act (Canada) designated as a public foundation (registration number 869159186). The mission of the Foundation is to contribute to the growth and development of rugby in Canada by “Investing in the Future of Canadian Rugby”. To accomplish this, the Foundation creates and manages endowed funds or awards funds in partnership with local rugby clubs and Fund sponsoring individuals or organizations to promote and support rugby activities by making grants to and through qualified donees.