The British Columbia Rugby Union (BCRU) is the provincial administrative body for rugby union in British Columbia, Canada. The BCRU consists of nine sub-unions and 65 clubs. It was originally organized in New Westminster in 1889 where Alfred St. George Hamersley, the former England rugby union captain and recent immigrant to Vancouver, and member of Vancouver Football (Rugby) Club, became the first President.Touchlines - The Magazine of the Rugby Memorabilia Society, Issue 43, April 2009 The same man is credited with founding the Amateur Athletic Club of British Columbia.Debrett's House of Commons Volume: 1918, publisher: London Dean and previously had introduced the game of rugby to the youth of South Canterbury, New Zealand.The Sydney Morning Herald. - Feb 27, 1929 The current headquarters is on the west side of Vancouver.
British Columbia is considered a hotspot for rugby in Canada, as its mild weather allows the sport to be played year-round.
The BCRU is responsible for organizing the British Columbia Premier League, the provincial men's club championship, and the Ruth Hellerud-Brown Senior Women's Premier Competition. It also oversees provincial representative teams which compete for national championships organized by Rugby Canada.
The BCRU also has a British Columbia Rugby Hall of Fame.
The BC Premier League The BC Premier League is the highest level of amateur rugby in British Columbia. Many current and former Canadian internationals have participated in the league as well as a number of high-level foreign born players. The champions of the league's playoff system are awarded the Rounsefell Cup.
Participating Clubs (2025–26) The BC Premier League is open to a maximum of 12 teams and features the following clubs from Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. Prior to the 2024–25 season, 12 teams competed, but Seattle left the Premier League for an American domestic competition and the Vancouver Rowing Club was demoted to the First Division. The Pacific Pride is a developmental team for the Canadian National Team and does not play as many games as the rest of the league. The 2026 champions are the UBC Old Boys Ravens, who beat UVic 30–3 to claim their 10th Cup.
TeamGroundCity/AreaFounded Burnaby Lake Burnaby Lake Sports Complex Burnaby 1994 Capilano Klahanie Park North Shore 1969 Castaway Wanderers Windsor Park Oak Bay 1906 James Bay MacDonald Park Victoria 1886MeralomasConnaught ParkKitsilano1923 Pacific Pride Starlight Stadium Langford, British Columbia 2019 Ravens Jericho ParkPoint Grey 1974UBC ThunderbirdsWolfson FieldUniversity of British Columbia 1906UVIC VikesWallace FieldUniversity of Victoria 1963Westshore ValhalliansJuan de FucaLangford1969
Province Wide First Division
Participating Clubs (2025-26) The Province Wide First Division includes 18 teams from Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley, 10 of which are reserve sides for the Premier League. The Vancouver Rowing Club won the 2026 championship, beating Capilano 29–20.
TeamGroundCity/AreaFoundedAbbotsfordCFV Exhibition ParkAbbotsford 1972Vancouver Rowing ClubBrockton OvalVancouver1908Bayside SharksSouth Surrey Athletic ParkWhite Rock 1987AxemenBrennan ParkSea to Sky2014Cowichan PiggiesHerd RoadDuncan 1962LangleyCrush CrescentLangley1969Nanaimo HornetsPioneer ParkNanaimo1888Port Alberni Black SheepPort Alberni Rugby ParkPort Alberni 1979
Province Wide Second Division
Participating Clubs (2025–26) The Province Wide Second Division includes 10 teams, with 1 reserve side (Meralomas) as well as the following clubs from the Lower Mainland, the Thompson-Okanagan region and the Fraser Valley. Kelowna and Kamloops faced each other in the 2026 championship, with the Crows emerging 21–15 winners. TeamGroundCity/AreaFoundedBrit-LionsJohn Oliver ParkDelta 1928Kamloops RaidersExhibition ParkKamloops 1968Kelowna CrowsParkinson Recreation CentreKelowna 1969LangleyCrush CrescentLangley 1969UnitedHume ParkTri-Cities2005Chilliwack CrusadersYarrow FieldChilliwack1978Surrey BeaversSullivan HeightsSurrey1972RichmondKing George ParkRichmond1957KatsBalaclava ParkKitsilano1953Ridge Meadows BruinsThomas Haney FieldMaple Ridge1960
Province Wide Third Division
Participating Clubs (2025–26) The Province Wide Third Division is split into 5 conferences, the Mainland League, the Island League, the Okanagan League, the Kootenay League and the Interior League. The Mainland and Island leagues compete during the fall, winter and spring while the Okanagan, Kootenay and Interior leagues compete during the spring and summer. The champions of the league's 5 conferences play for the Saratoga Cup each Fall.
Mainland League This league includes 11 teams, 9 of which are reserve sides, as well as the following clubs from the Lower Mainland. Burnaby Lake won the 2026 Mainland Third Division title. TeamGroundCity/AreaFoundedSimon Fraser RCSimon Fraser UniversitySimon Fraser University1965ScribesJohn Hendry ParkEast Vancouver1967
Women's Leagues The BC Rugby Union also runs a tiered league system for women's teams. There are three tiers, the Women's Premier League, Women's Division One and Women's Division Two Tier 1. The makeup of the teams in each tier is similar to the men, save for a few changes. The lists only include non-reserve teams.
Women's Premier League (25-26)
Burnaby Lake Westshore Meralomas Castaway Wanderers Vancouver Thunderbirds (2026 champions) Seattle Abbotsford UBCOB
Women's Division One (25-26)
Comox Valley Kickers Kamloops Bayside Sharks Capilano (2026 champions) James Bay Castaway Wanderers Nanaimo Hornets United Cowichan Piggies
Women's Division Two Tier 1 (25-26)
Chilliwack Crusaders Simon Fraser RC Kelowna Crows (2026 champions) Vancouver Rowing Club Ridge Meadows Bruins Langley Richmond Scribes
Rounsefell Cup Since 1922, the Rounsefell Cup has been awarded to the Men's Premier League champions. Since 2015, the cup has only been won by two clubs, the UBC Thunderbirds and UBC Old Boys Ravens. James Bay has won the most titles by far, with Meralomas coming in 2nd with 13. Of the current Premier League teams, Westshore, Burnaby Lake and the Pacific Pride have not won the Rounsefell Cup. +ClubTitlesMost RecentJames Bay AA242014Meraloma Club132009Kats Rugby Club121970UBCOB Ravens102026UBC Thunderbirds92023North Shore All-Blacks61955Castaway Wanderers42011King George41931Capilano RFC32012UVic Vikes32010Vancouver Rowing Club31995Vindex RFC31953Cowichan RFC21998Brit-Lions21984Oak Bay Wanderers21962South Burnaby11949Army Victoria11944Royal Canadian Naval College11943Lord Byng11942The 5th Regiment11936The Canadian Scottish Regiment11931Central Athletic Club11922
See also Rugby Canada Fraser Valley Rugby Union Vancouver Rugby Union British Columbia Men's Premier League Vancouver Rogues Coastal Cup
References
External links Official website