Churchill Cup



The Churchill Cup is an annual rugby union tournament, held in June, contested by representative men's (and formerly women's) teams from Canada, England, the United States, and other invited teams (currently three, originally one) from a wide array of countries.

It began in 2003 as an initiative of the governing bodies of the three regular participants—Rugby Canada, the Rugby Football Union (RFU), and USA Rugby—in cooperation with the sport's worldwide governing body, the International Rugby Board (IRB). The main intent was to provide the USA and Canada with regular international competition. The final edition in 2011 featured invited teams from Italy, Russia, and Tonga, and was won by England Saxons (that country's "A", or developmental, national team). All three governing bodies of the permanent participants agreed to end the tournament after its 2011 edition, as the IRB will include the USA and Canada in its international Test calendar from 2012. Canada and the USA will, however, continue to be supported by the RFU.