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Canadian university rugby players will have to wait until 2021 to represent their schools on the pitch. USPORTS today announced the cancellation of all athletic championships through the end of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with regional university athletic competitions following suit.
While only women’s rugby technically falls under the USPORTS umbrella, Ontario University Athletics has cancelled the entire varsity rugby season with an announcement imminent from Quebec’s RSEQ. In BC the University of Victoria program for both men and women is on hold with university club sides nationwide also expected to be shut down until 2021.
Rugby is a fall sport in Canadian universities, running from September to November. For student athletes entering their final year the cancellation is a bitter blow, and certainly challenging in the development of some of the country’s top international prospects.
The decision does not come as a surprise with many schools forced to offer online classes and great uncertainty over how many students will be allowed on campus in the fall term. Rugby itself is currently suspended across the country and having been classified a ‘Phase 5’ sport under return-to-play protocols is unlikely to return in full XV-a-side form this year.
Discussions on the potential return of the sport in any capacity this year are ongoing. Rugby Canada has formed a 40-person working group to determine return-to-play plan with a June 30 deadline. The agreed plan will have to follow provincial health guidelines and be approved by insurance providers.
