2008 Churchill Cup

The 2008 Churchill Cup took place between 7 June and 21 June 2008 in what was the sixth year of the tournament. Six rugby union teams took part: nrut|Canada, England Saxons, Ireland A, Scotland A, the nrut|USA, and an Argentinian XV.

Participation

The entry of an Argentinian XV into the competition stems from a decision by the New Zealand Rugby Union not to assemble its 'A' team, the Junior All Blacks, in 2008; cite web | publisher=allblacks.com | title=New Zealand Maori to join IRB Pacific Nations Cup | url=http://www.allblacks.com/index.cfm?layout=displayNews&newsArticle=6983 | date=2007-09-26 | accessdate=2008-01-17] as a consequence, the New Zealand Māori, who have taken part in the last three Churchill Cup tournaments, will replace the Juniors in the Pacific Nations Cup and will not be available for the Churchill Cup. cite web | publisher=IRB | title=NZ Maori joins IRB Pacific Nations Cup | url=http://www.irb.com/newsmedia/mediazone/pressrelease/newsid=2012876.html#nz%20maori%20joins%20irb%20pacific%20nations%20cup | date=2007-09-26 | accessdate=2008-01-17]

Format

The teams were split into two pools of three teams each. Within each pool, the teams played one another once. All six teams participated in a finals day: the two pool winners competed in the final for the Churchill Cup, the two runners-up played in a Plate final, and the two bottom-placed teams competed for a Bowl.

Venues

After the 2007 tournament, which was the first to be played outside of North America, the 2008 tournament returned to North America again. The pool games were played at three venues in Ontario, Canada: Fletcher's Fields, Markham; Twin Elm Rugby Park, Nepean; and Richardson Memorial Stadium, Kingston. Finals Day took place at Toyota Park, Chicago.

Fixtures

USA Pool

rugbybox
date = 2008-06-07
14:00
home = ruA-rt|ENG
score = 62 – 10
report =
away = ru|USA
homescore =
awayscore =
stadium = Twin Elm Rugby Park, Nepean
attendance =
referee =

----

rugbybox
date = 2008-06-11
19:00
home = ru-rt|USA
score = 9 – 46
report =
away = ruA|IRE
homescore =
awayscore =
stadium = Richardson Memorial Stadium, Kingston
attendance =
referee =

----

rugbybox
date = 2008-06-14
14:00
home = ruA-rt|IRE
score = 12 – 34
report =
away = ruA|ENG
homescore =
awayscore =
stadium = Fletcher's Fields, Markham
attendance =
referee =

Canada Pool

rugbybox
date = 2008-06-07
16:30
home = ruA-rt|SCO
score = 24 – 10
report =
away = ru|Canada
homescore =
awayscore =
stadium = Twin Elm Rugby Park, Nepean
attendance =
referee =

----

rugbybox
date = 2008-06-11
16:30
home = ruA-rt|SCO
score = 27 – 24
report =
away = ruA|ARG|name=Argentinian XV
homescore =
awayscore =
stadium = Richardson Memorial Stadium, Kingston
attendance =
referee =

----

rugbybox
date = 2008-06-14
16:30
home = ruA-rt|ARG|name=Argentinian XV
score = 17 – 16
report =
away = ru|Canada
homescore =
awayscore =
stadium = Fletcher's Fields, Markham
attendance =
referee =

Finals

Bowl Final

rugbybox
date = 2008-06-21
16:15
home = ru-rt|USA
score = 10 – 26
report =
away = ru|CAN
homescore =
awayscore =
stadium = Toyota Park, Chicago
attendance =
referee =

Plate Final

rugbybox
date = 2008-06-21
11:45
home = ruA-rt|ARG|name=Argentinian XV
score = 8 – 33
report =
away = ruA|IRE
homescore =
awayscore =
stadium = Toyota Park, Chicago
attendance =
referee =

Cup Final

rugbybox
date = 2008-06-21
14:00
home = ruA-rt|ENG
score = 36 – 19 | report =
away = ruA|SCO
homescore = | awayscore = | stadium = Toyota Park, Chicago
attendance =
referee =

References

ee also

* Churchill Cup

External links

* [http://www.barclayschurchillcuprugby.com/ Churchill Cup] official site