The Newfoundland Rock are a Canadian rugby union team based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The team plays in the

Rugby Canada National Junior Championship The Rugby Canada National Junior Championship was an amateur rugby union competition in Canada. It only lasted two seasons, 2009 and 2010. The 2009 champion was the Vancouver Wave, and the 2010 championship went to the Newfoundland Rock. The l ...

(RCNJC) and draws most of its players from the

Newfoundland Rugby Union The Newfoundland Rugby Union is the provincial administrative body for rugby union in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby ...

, one of fourteen Rugby Unions that have representative teams in the RCNJC. The organization was originally a competitor at the senior men's level. However, with a 2009 restructuring of Canada's rugby competitions, their place has been taken by a successor organization, the

Atlantic Rock Atlantic Rock, also known as The Rock, are a Canadian rugby union team based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The team plays in the Canadian Rugby Championship (CRC) and is intended to draw most of its players from the rugby unions of C ...

, a regional team in the

Americas Rugby Championship The Americas Rugby Championship, often informally called the Americas' Six Nations, was an annual international rugby tournament between six North and South American nations: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the United States and Uruguay. Origin ...

. The Rock play their home games at Swilers Rugby Park in St. John's.

History

In 1998,

Rugby Canada Rugby Canada is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in Canada. Rugby Canada was incorporated in 1974, and stems from the Canadian Rugby Football Union, a body established in 1884 that now governs amateur Canadian football a ...

and the provincial unions agreed to form the

Rugby Canada Super League The Rugby Canada Super League (RCSL or Super League) was a national, semi-professional rugby union competition in Canada. The league represented the second level of domestic rugby union in Canada, and the highest level wholly indigenous to Canada ...

(RCSL). Fourteen unions and sub-unions were invited to compete in the new semi-professional league. The Rock were significantly successful in the RCSL, winning the Eastern Division to advance to the National Final match five of the league's eleven seasons. During the eighth season of the Super League (2005), the Rock became the first team from the East to win the league Championship defeating the

Saskatchewan Prairie Fire The Prairie Fire was a Canadian rugby union team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The team played in the Rugby Canada Super League and the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship, which followed once the former was disbanded. The Fire drew most of ...

(26-13) and again the following season (28-14). The Rock lost the Eastern Final to the

Niagara Thunder The Niagara Lightning (formerly Niagara Thunder) are Canadian rugby union team based in southern Ontario. The team played in the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship and draws most of its players from the Niagara Rugby Union. The Lightning ...

the following year, but returned in 2008 to beat the

Calgary Mavericks The Calgary Mavericks are a Canadian rugby union team based in Calgary, Alberta. The team plays in the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship and draws most of its players from the Calgary Rugby Union, one of fourteen Rugby Unions that have rep ...

for a third title, and the final one of the RCSL's history. In 2009, Rugby Canada and the IRB decided to expand the NA4 competition to become the

. In this new competition, there would be four Canadian teams, with one to represent Canada's five easternmost provinces, based from St. John's. Additionally, the RCSL was disbanded, to be replaced with a new Under-20 league called the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship. The Rock was chosen as one of the remaining RCSL clubs to enter the newly formed league.

External links

Official Site
Canadian rugby union teams Sport in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Sports teams in Newfoundland and Labrador {{Canada-rugbyunion-team-stub