Nomads Rugby

Last updated

Nomads RFC
Club information
Full name Toronto Nomads Rugby Football Club
ColoursNavy Blue and White
Founded1950
Website www.torontonomads.com
Current details
Ground(s)
CompetitionMarshall Championship
The Toronto Nomads Rugby Club's logo. Nomads LOGO.jpg
The Toronto Nomads Rugby Club's logo.
The first-ever Toronto Nomads Rugby Club team photo from 1950. Toronto Nomads circa 1950.jpg
The first-ever Toronto Nomads Rugby Club team photo from 1950.
Toronto Nomads Club on Nomads Day 2014 at Fletcher's Fields. NomadsDay.jpg
Toronto Nomads Club on Nomads Day 2014 at Fletcher's Fields.

The Toronto Nomads Rugby Club is one of Canada's oldest rugby clubs. The Toronto Nomads are one of six clubs that formed the Toronto Rugby Union and the Ontario Rugby Union in 1950. [1] Training in downtown Toronto, the Toronto Nomads boast three senior men's teams, two senior women's and seven junior squads, running from minis to U18. The senior women's team currently plays in the Ontario Women's League, while the senior men's team currently play in the Marshall Championship, the senior division of Ontario Rugby Union. [2]

Contents

Nomads history

Club founding

In August 1950, Reverend Freddie Miller, along with an ad hoc Rugby Strategy Committee, began recruiting rugby players at the Canadian National Exhibition. Shortly after this recruitment push, 80 rugby players and rugby enthusiasts met at the Pine Room of the 48th Highlanders Memorial Hall. The group divided into three teams: The Nomads (led by Reverend Freddie Miller), the Wanderers and the Barbarians. [3] Almost seven decades later, the three teams continue to play against each other (along with numerous other Ontario rugby clubs, which have sprung up since the 1950s). [4] [5]

Nags

The Nomads Acting Group (NAGs) was created by a handful of Nomads players who were homesick for the theatre they had grown up performing and enjoying before moving to Canada. The first performances put on by The Nomads were "Cupid is a Bum, Is a Bum, Is a Bum" and "Meet the Folks" on April Fools' Day, 1976 at the Tranzac Club in the Annex. The plays were such a huge success that the NAGs still put on shows today, [6] including a winter British-style pantomime, as well as annual spring and a fall shows. [7]

Nomads elite players

Active players

The Nomads have produced a number of elite players including Kelly Russell, Laura Russell [8] and Lucas Hammond. [9] All three play for Canada's professional senior teams with Laura Russell captaining the Senior Women's 15s team to silver during the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup. Her sister, Kelly Russell, plays number four for Canada's Senior Women's 7s team when they took gold at the 2015 Pan Am competition. [10] Kelly Russell will be representing Canada at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics where she will be playing for Canada's 7s team.

Retired players

In 1995 Ian Gough played lock for the Nomads before going on to play professionally for Wales.

Season and training

The Nomads are one-sixth owners of Fletcher's Fields, the premier rugby facility in Ontario, Canada, located north of the city of Toronto. [11] Their home games are played at Fletcher's while training takes place in downtown Toronto. [12]

Unlike almost all other (northern hemisphere) rugby countries, the Ontario rugby season runs from May until November. The sub-zero temperatures during the winter make playing and training outdoors impossible. The Nomads run an indoor touch session on Saturdays throughout the winter months. Their junior training programs also run throughout the winter. [13]

Recruitment

The Toronto Nomads are an all-welcoming club. All players who turn up to training and pay their annual fees get game time on Saturdays. Fees do not have to be paid until matches commence in April, however some pre-season training will carry a small weekly fee for indoor location hire. [14] In addition to The Nomads' locally developed players, each season sees an increase in foreign-based players, predominantly from Ireland, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Other nationalities currently represented at the club include Argentina, France, the US, and Zimbabwe. Although in more traditional rugby countries it is not uncommon for players to be paid, this is not the case in Canada. [15]

Related Research Articles

Football Canada

Football Canada is the governing body for amateur gridiron football in Canada headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. Football Canada focuses primarily its own Canadian form of the sport, and is currently the world's only national governing body for Canadian football.

Sports in Canada Overview of sports within Canada

Sports in Canada consist of a wide variety of games. The roots of organized sports in Canada date back to the 1770s, culminating in the development and popularization of the major professional games of ice hockey, lacrosse, basketball, baseball, and football. Canada's official national sports are ice hockey and lacrosse. Golf, soccer, baseball, tennis, skiing, ringette, badminton, volleyball, cycling, swimming, bowling, rugby union, canoeing, equestrian, squash, and the study of martial arts are widely enjoyed at the youth and amateur levels. Great achievements in Canadian sports are recognized by Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, while the Lou Marsh Trophy is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete by a panel of journalists. There are numerous other Sports Halls of Fame in Canada.

Rugby league in Canada Sport in Canada

Rugby league football is a participation and spectator sport in Canada. The code was first introduced to Canada in the 20th century, but the game struggled to survive in a competitive sporting market. By the end of the century, rugby league had disappeared completely from Canada. The game was re-introduced to Canada in the early 21st century with the formation of a national team. The start of an amateur domestic competition saw rugby league grow. In 2017, professional rugby league arrived in Canada with the Toronto Wolfpack joining the predominantly British and French Rugby Football League system in the third tier League 1.

The Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU) was an early amateur Canadian football league comprising teams in the Canadian province of Ontario. The ORFU was founded on Saturday, January 6, 1883 and in 1903 became the first major competition to adopt the Burnside rules, from which the modern Canadian football code would evolve.

Lamport Stadium

Allan A. Lamport Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium on King Street West in the Liberty Village neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the practice facility for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. It is also partial home for Canada national rugby league team. The playing surface of the 9,600 seating capacity stadium is also dually marked for soccer and field hockey. The stadium was named for long-time Toronto politician Allan Lamport, who was associated with sporting activities in the city.

The Brantford Harlequins Rugby Football Club, also known as the "Quins", is a collection of rugby union teams situated in Brantford, Ontario. The current teams include two ORU Senior Men's teams, one Niagara Rugby Union Men's team, and one Niagara Rugby Union Women's Team.

The Ontario Rugby Union (ORU) also known as Rugby Ontario is the provincial governing body for the sport of rugby union in the Canadian province of Ontario and a Provincial Union of Rugby Canada. Rugby Ontario governs various levels of rugby.

Abbey Park High School High school in Oakville, Ontario, Canada

Abbey Park High School, commonly referred to as APHS, is a secondary school located in the town of Oakville, Ontario in the Greater Toronto Area. Abbey Park High School was opened at its present location in the wake of the closure of Queen Elizabeth Park High School, which was previously operating at its Bridge Road location, in Bronte. Abbey Park has more resources available to its students than other schools in the region because it inherited Queen Elizabeth Park's resources when it was closed. This allowed for the initial opening budget to be spent on new equipment. Students have open access to a weight room, home economics kitchen, library, and track. Abbey Park High School is also situated beside the Glen Abbey Community Centre, which houses the Glen Abbey branch of the Oakville Public Library.

Ajax Wanderers R.U.F.C. Rugby team

Ajax Wanderers R.U.F.C. are a rugby union club that is based in Ajax, Ontario, Canada. The Senior men's team currently runs two teams with the top XV squad competing in the Ontario Marshall Provincial division. the 2012 season saw the men win both the 1st division and second division granting them promotion to the Ontario Marshall Premier division for the 2013 season. The Wanderers also run programme for all age groups and genders. The Following Programs are running for the 2014 season;

Kelly Russell was a Canadian rugby union player, and is a coach for the sport. She captained Canada at the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup and was named to the Dream Team.

Brittany "Britt" Benn is a Canadian rugby union player. She represented Canada at the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup. She was a member of the touring squad that played France and England in November 2013.

Dylan Jorge Guilherme Labao Carreiro is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Vaughan Azzurri in League1 Ontario.

The NAGs Players

The NAGs Players are an amateur theatre company based in Toronto, Ontario. The company was founded in 1976 by Nomads Rugby Club players. The company is active today putting on three annual shows, one of which is always a pantomime.

Toronto Wolfpack Canadian rugby league team

The Toronto Wolfpack is a Canadian professional rugby league club based in Toronto, Ontario, who compete in the North American Rugby League.

Kelly Griffin is an American rugby sevens player and Olympian. As a member of the United States women's national rugby sevens team, she won a bronze medal at the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens, and a silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games. She was also captain of the United States Women's Rugby Sevens team for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Toronto Arrows Professional rugby union team from Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Toronto Arrows R.F.C. is a rugby union club based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that plays in Major League Rugby. The Arrows team is an independent off-shoot of the Ontario Blues provincial programme and is funded by a group of private investors and supporters.

Helen Kalra is a Canadian rugby union player. She represented Canada at the 1991 and 1994 Women's Rugby World Cup.

Colette McAuley is a former Canadian rugby union player with 21 caps, including the 2002 Women's Rugby World Cup, during a ten-year career with Rugby Canada.

Jordyn Nicole Listro is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Orlando Pride of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Canada national team.

Cindy Nelles is a Canadian rugby union player who plays lock for Canterbury of the Farah Palmer Cup and the Canada women's national rugby union team. She has played for her national side at the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup, where she won a silver medal as an injury replacement, and the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup. Nelles has played for Canada 19 times. She was a successful rugby union player at college level, winning McMaster University's first CIS rugby union title as well as multiple awards and honours. Nelles helped Canterbury to win the 2020 Farah Palmer Cup. She works as a civil engineer while continuing her rugby career.

References

  1. ↑ "Toronto Nomads - Toronto Rugby". Toronto Rugby. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "Provincial Leagues". www.rugbyontario.com. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "About | Ajax Wanderers Rugby Club". ajaxwanderers.com. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  4. ↑ "Rugby Ontario > About Us > History". www.rugbyontario.com. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "History | Toronto Nomads Rugby Club". www.torontonomads.com. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  6. ↑ "NAGs Players". nagsplayers.com. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "NAGs Players". nagsplayers.com. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  8. ↑ "Laura and Kelly Russell Represent Canada at Nations Cup | Toronto Nomads Rugby Club". www.torontonomads.com. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  9. ↑ "Lucas Hammond named to Canada sevens squad | Toronto Nomads Rugby Club". www.torontonomads.com. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  10. ↑ "Bolton's Russell a golden girl in women's Pan Am rugby". www.caledonenterprise.com. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  11. ↑ "Fletcher's Fields > Home". www.fletchersfields.com. Archived from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  12. ↑ "Training info | Toronto Nomads Rugby Club". www.torontonomads.com. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  13. ↑ "FAQ | Toronto Nomads Rugby Club". www.torontonomads.com. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  14. ↑ "Recruiting | Toronto Nomads Rugby Club". www.torontonomads.com. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  15. ↑ "Recruiting | Toronto Nomads Rugby Club". www.torontonomads.com. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.