Colorado To Host 2009 Churchill Cup
The Churchill Cup will take place in Colorado this summer, marking the first time North America’s premier XV-a-side rugby tournament has been staged solely in the United States.
This year will see the US Eagles, Canada, England Saxons, Ireland ‘A’, the Argentina Jaguars and Georgia play double headers at Infinity Park, Glendale – the first municipally-owned rugby-specific stadium in North America – on June 6, 10 and 14.
Ireland ‘A’ will be coached by Declan Kidney and members of his backroom team, affording the coaches more time to work with players outside of the Grand Slam-winning squad.
These pool stages will be followed by a triple-header finals day at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, home of Colorado Rapids Major League Soccer side, on June 21.
Nigel Melville, the Chief Executive Officer of USA Rugby, said: “The Churchill Cup continues to be a valuable part of our international season, offering top class international competition, as well as allowing us to showcase international rugby to new audiences in the United States.
“We are delighted to play at two great facilities in Infinity Park and Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
“This will give the Churchill Cup and rugby in general a great platform in a wonderful sporting city and help us achieve our objective to grow the sport.”
Mike Dunafon, Mayor Pro-Tem of the City of Glendale, said: “We are proud to host the Churchill Cup pool matches in Glendale.
“It has been our vision to bring international rugby competitions to Glendale and the metropolitan Denver area. We look forward to showcasing Infinity Park.”
Terry Burwell, Churchill Cup Tournament Director, added: “The Churchill Cup goes from strength to strength and is now established in the international rugby calendar.
“This will be the seventh Churchill Cup and we are pleased to add Denver and Glendale to the eight other cities in Canada and USA who have hosted the tournament since it started in 2003.
“With the tournament being based solely in one state for the first time, we hope that we can build a following throughout the pool stages, culminating in a bumper crowd on finals day.”
The 2008 Churchill Cup finals were played at Toyota Park in Chicago and attracted more than 9,000 fans.
England Saxons beat Scotland ‘A’ 36-19 to retain the cup, while Ireland ‘A’ and Canada won the Plate and Bowl with 33-8 and 26-10 victories over Argentina ‘A’ and USA respectively.
In 2009, Georgia has replaced Scotland ‘A’ from last year’s tournament line-up.
Tickets for Churchill Cup matches will be on sale to the public starting Saturday, April 11, at 10am for as little as $15 and are available online at www.TicketHorse.com.
Finals day tickets will also be available at the Dick’s Sporting Goods Park Box Office from Monday-Friday (10am-5pm) and Saturday (10am-3pm) via phone by calling 1-866-461-6556, at the kiosks inside all Colorado Dick’s Sporting Goods locations.
The games will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK and Setanta in North America.
2009 CHURCHILL CUP TOURNAMENT:
Pool A –
Canada
Georgia
Ireland ‘A’
Pool B –
Argentina Jaguars
England Saxons
USA
TOURNAMENT FIXTURES (kick-off times local):
Saturday, June 6
Infinity Park, Glendale
England Saxons v Argentina Jaguars (2.15pm)
Canada v Georgia (4.30pm)
Wednesday, June 10
Infinity Park, Glendale
Canada v Ireland ‘A’ (4.30pm)
USA v Argentina Jaguars (7pm)
Sunday, June 14
Infinity Park, Glendale
USA v England Saxons (1pm)
Georgia v Ireland ‘A’ (3.30pm)
Sunday, June 21
Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
Churchill Cup finals (12.05pm, 2.30pm, 4.45pm)
Related Links:
www.infinityparkatglendale.com
www.dickssportinggoodspark.com