Fast Facts: Canada vs. Japan International Rugby at BC Place

June 8^th, 2016

History will be made on June 11 th as the Canadian National Men’s fifteen-a-side Rugby team plays at BC Place Stadium for the first time. The upcoming match between Canada and Japan is part of a longstanding rivalry dating back to the first international appearance of Canadian rugby in a match against Japan in 1932. At the time, this was also the first international match for Japan. Soon the two powerhouse teams will meet again in an International Test Match at BC Place Stadium.

Come out to support the home team in a high-paced, aggressive game of 15-a- side.

Event: International Senior Men’s Rugby: Canada v. Japan
Date: June 11, 2016
Time: 3:00 PM Kickoff
Location: BC Place Stadium, 777 Pacific Blvd, Vancouver, BC V6B 4Y8

About the match:

• This historic match will be the first time Canada’s Senior Men’s team has played an international rugby match at BC Place Stadium.
• In March 2016, BC Place hosted the inaugural Canada Sevens tournament, as part of the World Rugby Sevens Series, featuring 16 national teams playing seven-a-side rugby. The event was attended by more than 60,000 people over two days.
• The Canada vs. Japan match will be played on the stadium’s artificial surface that was installed ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2015. The surface has been tested and approved to World Rugby’s highest standards for international rugby.
• Rugby is the fastest growing team sport in North America, and is expected to increase in popularity following its debut as an Olympic sport at the Games in Rio.
• FUN FACT! The Grey Cup was originally awarded for the amateur rugby football championship of Canada, and was first presented to the University of Toronto in 1910.

About the teams:

• Japan went 3-1 at the last Rugby World Cup (RWC) and pulled off one of the most exciting upsets in RWC history with a pool stage victory over South Africa.
• Japan is hosting the 2019 Rugby World Cup, plus the 2020 Summers Olympics which will include Rugby Sevens.
• June 11th will be the debut for Canada’s new Head Coach Mark Anscombe.
• Canada is the only North American rugby team to compete at every Rugby World Cup since the first event in 1987.
• Canada is captained by four-time Rugby World Cup veteran Jamie Cudmore. Cudmore, who hails from Squamish, BC, has 39 caps for Canada and played 11 seasons with ASM Clermont Auvergne in France’s Top 14 and will be switching to Oyonnax for the next four seasons – two as a player and two as a coach.
• Japan has also competed in every World Cup Championship since the inauguration of the tournament.
• Currently, Canada ranks third in the Americas after Argentina and the U.S., and 18th in the world.
• Japan is considered to be the strongest rugby power in Asia, and in 2014 was ranked in the world’s top 10 teams.
• In the 2007 Rugby World Cup Canada and Japan tied at 12-12.

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