North America 4

North America 4
North America 4
Sport Rugby union
Founded 2005
Inaugural season 2006
No. of teams 4
Country(ies)  Canada,
 United States
Most recent champion(s) CanadaCanada West
Most titles CanadaCanada West (3 titles)

North America 4, also known as IRB North America 4 often abbreviated to NA4, was a North American rugby union competition launched in 2006. The competition was contested between two newly formed representative teams from each of Canada and the United States.

The competition was funded by the International Rugby Board (IRB), and was part of their three-year global strategic investment programme which was designed to increase the competitiveness of international rugby union in Canada and the United States. The tournament was intended to act as a pathway to more exposure of domestic players and to the national sides (Canada and United States). The North America 4 has since been replaced by the Americas Rugby Championship as of September 7, 2009. The new tournament features six teams, including four provincial sides from Canada playing in the Canadian Rugby Championship joined by the Argentina Jaguars and USA 'A'.

Contents

Teams

The teams competing are Canada East and Canada West, and the USA Falcons and USA Hawks. Each team was founded in 2005 by the NA4 committee, comprising the IRB, Rugby Canada and USA Rugby.

Canada West

Coached by Tony Medina, who is assisted by Ian Hyde-Lay, Canada West won the inaugural competition. Captained by scrum-half Ed Fairhust the team won their first match 98-0, the largest win of the compeititon. Fairhurst has represented Canada at test level, as well, the team has a front row with test experience.[1]

Canada East

Coached by Simon Blanks, with assistants Jeff Prince and Greg Thaggard, Canada East finished third in 2006 after winning the consolation final. The team was captained by Derek Daypuck who also finished their leading points scorer on 78.

USA Falcons

Coached by Jim Love who is assisted by Kevin Battle. Their captain was Patrick Bell. The team finished runners-up after losing the competition final.

USA Hawks

They are coached by Pete Steinberg, assisted by Bernie Hogan and Gordon Macpherson. The team finished last in the competition. They finished with one win from their seven matches.

Structure

The tournament consists of twelve games played over two legs. Each team plays the other twice, the top two teams then play in the competition final, the other two in the consolation final. Points are awarded for a win or a draw, four points for a win, two for a draw. Bonus points are also awarded, one for scoring four tries or more in a match, also one for losing by less than seven points. If two teams have the same number of points at the end of round robin play, then the team with the greatest difference in points scored over points conceded is ranked higher. The competition is run by the NA 4 committee, which is made up of the IRB, Rugby Canada and USA Rugby, who operate and finance the competition.

History

The IRB is investing $CAN3.12 million over a three year period to establish the competition as part of the "Tier 2 initiative", which aims to promote rugby in countries where the sport is less popular.[2] The tournament was created to provide an elite level of rugby below the international level for both Canada and the United States. The IRB and representatives from both Rugby Canada and USA Rugby held meetings during September 2005 in Boston, Massachusetts to finalise the inaugural tournament.[2]

The 2006 competition was held in both British Columbia and Columbus, Ohio. British Columbia hosted the first leg in May, 2006, and Ohio hosted the return leg two months later, in July.

In the future, it is hoped that the competition will eventually introduce professional rugby to North America.[3] It is proposed that by 2008, cities and private owners will take ownership of the franchises.[3] It is also proposed that the competition will expand to six teams, and then eight. Two teams are most likely to be added in 2008[3], most likely one each from Canada and the USA.[2]

Results

Year Final Host Final Third place match
Winner Score Runner-up 3rd place Score 4th place
2006
Details
Columbus, Ohio Canada West 31 - 20 USA Falcons Canada East 34 - 18 USA Hawks
2007
Details
Abbotsford, British Columbia Canada West 43 - 11 USA Falcons USA Hawks 34 - 29 Canada East
2008
Details
Glendale, Colorado Canada West 16 - 11 USA Falcons USA Hawks, Canada East 17 - 17 Third-place draw

See also

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • North America — North American redirects here. For other uses, see North American (disambiguation). North America Area …   Wikipedia

  • North America — North American. the northern continent of the Western Hemisphere, extending from Central America to the Arctic Ocean. Highest point, Mt. McKinley, 20,300 ft. (6187 m); lowest, Death Valley, 276 ft. (84 m) below sea level. 400,000,000 including… …   Universalium

  • North America — N continent in the Western Hemisphere: c. 9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km); pop. c. 449,000,000 North American adj., n …   English World dictionary

  • North America — noun 1. a continent (the third largest) in the western hemisphere connected to South America by the Isthmus of Panama (Freq. 4) • Members of this Region: ↑Plantation, ↑continental divide, ↑Latin America, ↑canyon, ↑canon, ↑plainsman …   Useful english dictionary

  • North America —    Shamanism has been identified among a wide range of indigenous nations in North America, from the Yaqui living around the Mexican border to the Inuit of the Arctic. Objections have been raised to the use of the word shaman with reference to… …   Historical dictionary of shamanism

  • North America Nebula — This image layout reveals how the appearance of the North America nebula can change dramatically using different combinations of visible and infrared observations. Observation data: J2000.0 epoc …   Wikipedia

  • North America and West Indies Station — North American and West Indies Station The capture of USS Chesapeake on 1 June 1813 as depicted by …   Wikipedia

  • North America Sucks!! — North America Sucks Studio album (split) by Anti Flag and d.b.s. Released …   Wikipedia

  • North America's Strongest Man — 2011 Tournament information Location North America Established 1992 Format Multi event competition Current champion …   Wikipedia

  • North America Caribbean Rugby Association — Pas de logo ? Importez le logo de cette fédération. Sigle NACRA Nom précédent North America and West Indies Rugby Association Sport représenté rugby à XV, rugby à sept N …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”