International Men’s Rugby returns to British Columbia February 2017 as Canada’s Senior Men’s National Team hosts three Americas Rugby Championship games against Argentina XV, USA and Chile in the second edition of the tournament.

Head Coach Mark Anscombe’s side will welcome Argentina XV – who won last year’s competition – and Chile to Westhills Stadium and the Home of Canadian Rugby in Langford before facing rivals USA at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby.

“We’re looking to build off of the success of this year’s tournament and continue to build on the foundation we have in place,” Anscombe said. “With the ARC competition, as well as the remaining fixtures we have in 2016, it presents an opportunity for players to put their hand up for a place in future squads and demonstrate that they have the ability to play test rugby.”

Tickets for all three home matches will go on sale Tuesday September 7th at 2pm ET/11am PT at an early bird rate if purchased before December 1st.

Tickets for the Argentina XV and Chile matches at Westhills Stadium will be sold as a combo pack at a discounted price while tickets for the USA game at Swangard Stadium are available as single game tickets and are available at events.rugbycanada.ca

Canada will also travel to Brazil and Uruguay for away fixtures as part of their 2017 campaign. The ARC provides Canada four additional test matches a year against Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and the USA.

Last year’s competition was won by Argentina XV while Canada sealed a third place finish after posting a 3-2 record. Canada beat Uruguay and Brazil in Langford while also beating Chile 64-13 in Santiago but fell to Argentina and the USA.

“We’re excited to welcome Argentina XV, Chile and the USA to British Columbia next February as part of the second installment of the Americas Rugby Championship,” said Jim Dixon, Rugby Canada’s General Manager, Rugby & Performance Operations. "After a successful RISEAsOne Summer Series, the ARC presents an opportunity for our players to play four high quality test matches and continues us to develop depth in our senior men’s squad.”

The 2016 tournament saw more than 20 players make their test debuts for Canada, all of whom came with Canadian Rugby Championship presented by Johnsonville experience, emphasizing an increasing player pool that will be available at Anscombe’s disposal.

During the 2016 tournament, Canada scored 25 tries in its five matches and averaged 38.4 points per game. During the tournament, Gordon McRorie, Dan Moor, Clay Panga, Lucas Rumball, Mike Hamson, Paul Ciulini, Duncan Maguire, Brett Johnson, Kyle Baillie, Pat Parfrey and Alistair Clark all scored their first test tries for Canada.

Canada’s Senior Men’s Team, currently ranked 18th in the World Rugby rankings, most recently completed the RISEAsOne Summer Series tour when they squared off against Japan, Russia and Italy, outscoring their three opponents 86-67. An ‘A’ team just completed a tour of the UK while later this year Canada will head back overseas to face Ireland in a test match at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin with additional test matches still to be announced this fall.

Canada’s 2017 Americas Rugby Championship Fixtures:

Canada vs. Argentina XV — February 4th

Westhills Stadium, 8pm ET/5pm PT

Canada vs. Chile — February 11th

Westhills Stadium, 8pm ET/5pm PT

Canada vs. USA — February 18th

Swangard Stadium, 8pm ET/5pm PT

Uruguay vs. Canada — February 25th

Uruguay

Brazil vs. Canada — March 4th

Brazil