During halftime of the very wet Russia/Canada game this past weekend at Swangard Stadium in Burnaby, BC, the Canadian Rugby Foundation was very fortunate to be able to “officially” cap 4 Canadian players that proudly wore the maple leaf on their chest in the past.

John Cannon, Garth Cooke, Ian Kennedy and David Speirs braved the elements to be presented their cap from Rugby Canada’s Chairman of the Board, Rick Bourne and the Canadian Rugby Foundation’s Executive Director, Matthuw Ronald-Jones.

Former Rugby Canada Team Manager, Don Whidden wrote a short pen sketch of each of the player’s rugby history which was shared with the 3000+ rugby fans in attendance:

Monday evening’s fundraising event was the perfect chance to recognize numerous current NSWT players for earning their first cap. A total of 19 athletes were capped at the Rugby Canada fundraiser held at Hemingway’s Pub in the trendy Toronto district of Yorkville.

The Canadian Rugby Foundation has realized the importance of recognizing Canadian rugby players – past and present, male and female – for representing their country for the first time. Player representative Sheila Turner has been a driving force behind the women receiving their caps.