“We provide positive experiences for everyone in our rugby community”

By all accounts the 2019 Senior banquet was a success. Everyone had a wonderful time, including lots of moves on the dance floor. I hope to see everyone back next year!

Thank you to the 2019 Board of Directors for the tireless hours of work you put in throughout the year. You are all a big reason why we are successful on the pitch. A reminder that the annual AGM will be held on December 12th 2019 starting at 7:00PM at the clubhouse. If you are interested in participating with the board, please let one of the current board members know.

Congratulations to our Club Award Winners for 2019

• Most Valuable Member- Christina Paolini

• President’s Award – Nicole Kovacs

• President’s Award – Michael Thorne

Congratulations to our Senior Women's Rugby Award Winners for 2019

• Rookie of the Y...

Purchase your 2019 MICRC awards night tickets for only $80 per person. Awards night is Sat Nov 9th at the Monte Carlo Inn starting at 6PM.

Markham Irish Rugby needs help at the Markham Fair. This is one of the biggest opportunities in the year to expose the sport we love to our community. if you can help volunteer for a couple of hours to help us promote rugby to the community at our booth please contact Erin at erinethomson@gmail.com. The Markham Fair is in its 175th year and runs from October 3rd to October 6th. 

I can’t remember when, exactly, I first saw this clip from a rugby match played on January 27, 1973 between the Barbarians and New Zealand. Which is strange because I do remember the feeling quite distinctly, goosebumps rising as I watched a sport—rugby union—I only half-understood.

You don’t really need to understand the rules to get it, though. The slick passing and movement would stand out anywhere. What makes it for me is the commentary and the speed of Gareth Edwards, who seemingly appears out of nowhere at the end, smokes every guy on the pitch, and dives over the try-line to score.

The action starts around the 0:45 second mark of this vid; be sure to listen to the commentary, because the enthusiasm is contagious.

It was only the third minute of the match, and if the crowd seems especia...

Our annual Club Night where the Sr. Men’s and Women’s teams combine with the juniors and minis for a fun practice.

The session is run by the Sr. players which makes it special for the juniors and creates a sense of community. We are a pretty unique and diverse club where the majority of our players come through the junior system.

If we took stats, over 90% of our Senior Men first team starters (Kurt, Kobie, DJ, Laffan, Gavin, Brownridge, Blackie, Mike S, Eric, Owen, Marko, Brian D, Matthew S, Johnny S, Tye, Leo and the list goes on..) came through the junior system so this is an important event for the Club!

Let’s get everyone out tonight for a great evening to celebrate our club, socialize and have some food and beverages afterwards. 

Don't let the sunny sky fool you. The pitch for the MICRC Sr. Women's home opener was waterlogged and muddy. With 14 girls starting the game and only three weeks of practice we knew we would be in for a hard game against the Yeomen Lions. Playing the first ten minutes of the match in their own end that Sr. Women's capitalized on a Lions error and ran their way 75 metres for the first of 14 try's on the day. Going down to 13 players before the first half it and allowing two scores by the Lions it seemed like maybe the momentum was shifting. However, the second half had the Irish coming out strong and closed out the match with a convincing 84-17 win to start their 2019 season. Next match is Thursday May 16th at 7pm at Fletcher's Fields. 

Senior Women 2019 Schedule

5/16/2019  Markham...

This past weekend the senior Men and Women's program celebrated the success of the 2017 season with the annual awards dinner. We'd like to take the time to highlight all of our awards winners and wish everyone a safe and happy off season. See you all in 2018. 

Awards recipients

• Ryan Anderson - Most Improved Player Senior Men

• Kate McLellan - Most Improved Player Senior Women

• Deandra Medford - Most Improved Player Senior Women

• Kareece McGregor - Most Valuable Player

• Mike Sheridan - Most Valuable Player Men’s 2nd  XV

• Gavin Howe - Most Valuable Player Men’s 1st XV

• Tye Wallace - Rookie of the Year Men

• Anna Horner - Rookie of the Year Women’s 1st XV

• Pat Hodgins - Most Valuable Member

• Fabian Rayne - President's Award

 Awards Night Gallery...

Starting January 2018, Fabian Rayne or Fab Your Life and head coach of the Markham Irish Canadian Rugby Club will be running a high performance rugby training program.

When not scoring tries on the pitch, our very own club member Abbas Pajooman is training people in first aid and CPR. Abbas is the Founder of One4All First Aid & CPR and he wants to help all those in our great community who may need to re-certify their First Aid and CPR certification.

I know a few of the Senior players have already showed interest and If enough people from the club are interested we can hold a class at the clubhouse over a weekend. It would definitely be a lot more fun than going to a public course. Plus, keeping it inhouse Abbas is able to provide a better rate than what you’ll find out there.

Abbas offers the following courses (with the rates):

• CPR/AED only (5-6 hours, one 1) - $35/person +HST

• Emergency First Aid & CPR/AED (8 hours, one 1) - $60 + HST

• Standar...

In honour of Remembrance Day I thought it was appropriate to highlight some of the history that the military plays in Canadian Rugby. I've relied on the words and sources of others and tried my best to add the sources to the bottom of this article. 

Canada was part of the British Empire for many years, so it is natural that British games took root in Canada. The most prominent is rugby. British settlers, garrison troops and members of the Royal Navy probably introduced the game to Canada from 1823 onwards and fostered its development in many parts of the country, especially in Halifax, Toronto, Montréal. Later in the 19th century, Vancouver, which, owing to its favourable climate and strong British tradition started to rise in popularity. F. Barlow Cumberland and Fred A. Bethune first codif...