kiwi_canadian Posted April 2, 2023 Share Posted April 2, 2023 Another series of rugby for me... This time I'm focusing on resurrecting the old Rugby Canada Supe League. When this league was going back in the late 90's early 2000's, Canada was a respectable tier 2 nation and could field a decent team while losing respectfully against the likes of Ireland, England and Wales. They also picked up a win against Scotland at one point as well. When the league folded, that's when you saw the demise of our men's team on the world stage, slowly dropping in the rankings, having to qualify for the World Cup via repachage tournament to not even going to the next one. I'd love to see this league get going again as I think it would do wonders for the men's program and actually get us back to a respectable tier 2 nation again. So in my fantasy world, this is how I see the league running: - League name is the WestJet Rugby Canada Super League. It gets a corporate name sponsor and I chose WestJet as I hate Air Canada. I also went with an airline so that the airline can supsidise travel costs across the country (one of the big reasons the league folded was travel costs) - The league is modeled after the CPL and is one step below Major Leauge Rugby - There will be no Vancouver or Montreal as I envision they will have teams in the MLR, Toronto also doesn't get a team as they are already in the MLR, but their academy program will be in the league - Macron will supply every kit as they are currently Rugby Canada's kit provider League logo is WestJet colours and the shield is the Rugby Canada one. I've kept the Rugby Canada font and maple leaf but modified it to incorporate the WestJet logo. As much as I don't want corporate ties to it, I feel that this needs to happen to sustain this league. As for teams, there will be 12 teams based in Vancouver Island (Victoria), Fraser Valley (Langley), Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatchewan (Regina), Manitoba (Winnipeg). Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec (not sure where yet), New Brunswick (Fredricton), Newfoundland (St. John's) and Nova Scotia (Halifax). You will see that some teams will have gold stars above their logos and those will represent the championships that the club has won when the league ran from 1998-2008. Vancouver Island Crimson Tide Stadium: Royal Athletic Park (I know that it is currently been converted to a baseball diamond for the HarbourCats, but RAP was the original home for the Tide and I want them back in that stadium) Championships: 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004 For the tide, I went with their traditional cross pattee but put it onto a shield. I saw this on an advertisment poster for a match between Cardiff RFC and the Crimson Tide from back in the 70's. Thought it was a better look than what they currently are using. The sponsers are Wilson transport, a local bus company that took over for Grey Hound and Lockwood Farms from Cobble Hill (It's actually my friend's farm and they supply eggs and produce for many farmers markets around Duncan and Victoria area. Check them out if see them). Home and Away kits are just reverse of each other and basically kept the same design they had while the league was running. It's a clean and simple look. Also shameless plug, but feel free to follow my Instagram page where I'll post my concepts and some other things Front Row Designs 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi_canadian Posted April 2, 2023 Author Share Posted April 2, 2023 Fraser Valley Venom: Stadium: Willoughby Community Park Stadium (home of Vancouver FC of the CPL) Championships: 2000, 2001 The old Vipers used to play in Abbottsford but since there is a new stadium being built in Langley to house Vancouver FC, thought that was a better location. The colours are the same as the Fraser Valley Rugby Union. The logo (full disclosure, I am not an artist and am not able to draw something like what this is so this logo is not mine, it's a stock image from Adobe I think and it fit the team name well) is a "V" with a viper. The lines on the kit represent the tramlines on the farm fields that are in the surrounding Fraser Valley area. The chevron design is also inspiration from their old kit as well as the diamond around the number. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigers Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 Do you think the league would have survived if they had East - West Divisions? On that i would suggest two Divisions of 6 that played home and away v the other teams in their division for a total of 10 games then they play the other 6 teams in the opposite division at home or away for a total of 6 games (limits travel etc.) Finals is up to you and the league. Quote Logano wins BOWL before Chargers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi_canadian Posted April 3, 2023 Author Share Posted April 3, 2023 Here's the thing, they did have the 2 divisions (Eastern & Western Conference) and playing each team once. After 2008 they "scrapped" the league in favor of the North America 4's (Canada East, Canada West, USA Eagles & USA Hawks). The scrapped league was brought back but as U20 league, which I don't think lasted. The biggest issue was travel costs for the league and because Canada is so big and traveling within the country is ridiculously expensive, the league didn't have a chance. Rugby Canada Super League 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigers Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 As an outsider i could see it work if they limited the travel and other expenses as Rugby doesn't seem to get that many spectators at the lower levels. Maybe this level could be a Reserves to the MLR or at least the MLR Canadian Teams could draw from their Zones (areas) instead of having Reserves (farm sides) in this league? I could see in the future maybe a combined Rugby Canada SL playing the MLR Winners. I really like your welsh look VI and the green home for the Vipers, not a fan of the black as i think from a spectators point of view the dark green would just blur into the black, maybe make all the green the lighter shade? Quote Logano wins BOWL before Chargers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi_canadian Posted April 7, 2023 Author Share Posted April 7, 2023 IF the league were to ever become reality again (and that is a very big if), I would see them following the same structure as the CPL. Have it as a league below the MLR and maybe have a Canadian Championship where all clubs that play within Canada compete, like the Voyageur Cup. As for the FV black, I went with black as they currently use it as one of the select team kits so wanted something to go with what they currently have. It may be the shade on the computer, but on their actual kits, the green does pop out nicely on the black kits in reality. On with the rest. This will be the next 3 teams that I have completed. Calgary Mavericks: Stadium: Calgary Rugby Park Championships: 2003 I changed the shade of red from a dark, almost maroon red to a lighter shade (actually I think it is the same red that the Flames use). For the kit, it is primarily black and I went with a western style shirt (If you saw my CFL to rugby series, this was the same style I used for the Stampeders Signature kits). For the away, I went with a a traditional barber pole pattern with gray and white and on the bottom, a silouette of Calgary. Newfoundland Rock: Stadium: Swillers Rugby Park Championships: 2005, 2006, 2008 The second most succesful team in the RCSL, The Rock. For the home hit, I kept the burgundy and updated the logo slightly. For the away, I went with black and a chevron design with the 6 colours from the logo on the front. I'm not sure of the significance of the colours but it could be that each colour represents each of the clubs in Newfoundland and Labrador. Ottawa Harlequins: Stadium: Twin Elm Rugby Park The Harlequins were one of the original teams. I went with the same pattern that the harlequin on their logo has as a primary kit design. I like the randomness of the pattern for a rugby kit. For the away kit, I moved the diamond pattern to the arms and kept the rest of the kit white with a city scape silouette of ottawa at the base. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exceed_Idiot Posted April 8, 2023 Share Posted April 8, 2023 Cool concept, even if I'm still a bit iffy on the Calgary Mavericks home kit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi_canadian Posted June 5, 2023 Author Share Posted June 5, 2023 It's been a while since I posted on this. As life does, it gets in the way. Anyways, now that school is almost done, I can get close to finishing this series. I've completed the two prairie teams, the Manitoba Buffalo and Saskatchewan Prairie Fire. Manitoba Bison Stadium: Maple Grove Rugby Park I went with a brown, gold and while colour scheme as brown is very underused. I also went with a white home kit for these guys and, for now, may be the only ones. The away is straight brown all the way through. Saskatchewan Prairie Fire Stadium: Regina Rugby Park Championship: 2007 I went with a black and orange trim kit for the home kit (much like the original). The logo is also changed and incorporated wheat pattern into the design. For the away, I went with a plains Cree pattern. They also receive a star as they also won a league championship. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi_canadian Posted June 5, 2023 Author Share Posted June 5, 2023 hit the wrong button, please delete this post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.