CANADA TO FACE URUGUAY IN RWC 2019 QUALIFIER AT BC PLACE JANUARY 27, 2018

**Tickets on sale now**: http://events.rugbycanada.ca/canada_uruguay/index.html

Vancouver, BC – Rugby Canada is delighted to announce that Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team will face Uruguay in an upcoming Rugby World Cup 2019 qualifying match at BC Place in Vancouver, on Saturday, January 27^th, 2018. Kick off time will be 5:00 PM PST.

The match will be the first leg of a home and home series with Uruguay, the winner of which will qualify for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, making the upcoming home game against Uruguay Canada’s most important match in decades. The second leg of the series will be held in Uruguay the following Saturday, February 3^rd.

This series will act as the first major qualifying test for newly appointed Men’s Team Head Coach, Kingsley Jones, who was announced last month as the head of the Men’s National Fifteens program, and held his first media availability at a press conference in Vancouver this morning.

“Qualifying for the Rugby World Cup 2019 is our team’s top priority, and the next few months mark a fresh start for Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team. I am excited for the opportunity to show the world the power of Canadian Rugby, culminating in our home and home series against Uruguay, and invite all Canadian sports fans to show their support by coming out and wearing red on January 27^th at BC Place,” says Kingsley Jones, Head Coach of Rugby Canada’s Men’s Team.

“The Rugby World Cup is the third largest sporting event in the world, and Rugby Canada is thrilled to host the home leg of its RWC 2019 qualifying series against Uruguay at BC Place stadium in Vancouver,” says Allen Vansen, CEO of Rugby Canada. “Canadian sports fans responded with unprecedented excitement when we announced our match against the Maori All Blacks, selling out the stadium faster than any other Canadian Rugby game in history, and we are calling on all Canadians to bring that same enthusiasm and come out in full force on January 27^th!”

Both Rugby World Cup qualifying matches will see Canada field its strongest team possible, including Canada’s top professionals, who play professional rugby in Europe and New Zealand.

Tickets for the match against Uruguay start at just $14, making it one of the most affordable and family-friendly live sporting events at BC Place stadium all year.

Tickets go on sale to the public on Thursday, October 26th, at 10:00 AM PST, with pre-sale tickets available to select groups starting tomorrow, October 25^th, at 10:00 AM PST.

This morning, Rugby Canada also announced that its upcoming match on November 3^rd against the Maori All Blacks at BC Place is almost completely sold out, with a very limited amount of tickets remaining through exclusive packages. This is expected to give the event the largest crowd in Canadian rugby history for a Fifteens match.

Nigel Cass, Chief Strategy and Operations Manager for New Zealand Rugby Union says: “The Maori All Blacks and New Zealand Rugby are excited to play in the upcoming match against Rugby Canada in front of a sold out crowd at BC Place in Vancouver. With our travelling squad now confirmed, our preparations are well under way for what we expect will be a unique and special rugby match. We are looking forward to sharing our culture and special brand of rugby with the people of Canada.”

Sports fans who want to get in on the festivities but are not able to purchase a ticket to the game are invited to attend the traditional Rugby style Long Lunch in advance of the match, set to take place on game day, Friday, November 3^rd, from 12:30 PM to 4:00 PM at The Shark Club on West Georgia Street.

This one-of-a-kind event will be hosted by Canada’s Sports & World Rugby Hall of Famer, Gareth Rees, with guest speaker, the legendary former New Zealand All Blacks Captain Wayne ‘Buck’ Shelford. For tickets, visit events.rugbycanada.ca

Be a part of the unique experience that is Rugby at BC Place! To purchase tickets to the match against Uruguay, visit www.ticketmaster.ca and for more information on suites to the match, visit events.rugbycanada.ca

About Rugby Canada

Rugby Canada is the national governing body of the sport of rugby union in Canada. Rugby Football has a long history in Canada dating back to its initial appearance in the 1860s. Since 1974, Rugby Canada has been a permanent fixture on the global rugby scene, including trips to each of the eight Men's Rugby World Cups and seven Women’s Rugby World Cups. As a regular on the Men’s and Women’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, Canada continues to climb the world rankings and challenge the dominant rugby nations in both versions of the game. Canada’s Women’s Rugby Sevens Team also made history in 2016, capturing the first-ever Bronze Medal at the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

To support the growth of rugby at the grass-roots level and to ensure there are elite programs for prospering young rugby players to become involved with, Rugby Canada has put an emphasis on developing its junior programs. Our goal is to develop and train competitive teams for the 2018 Sevens World Cup in San Francisco, the 2019 Men’s Rugby World Cup in Japan and 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.

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Media Contact

Bryan Kelly

Manager, Media Relations and Communications

Rugby Canada

250-216-5272