The 2008 Churchill Cup took place between 7 June and 21 June 2008 in what was the sixth year of the Churchill Cup. Six rugby union teams took part: Canada, England Saxons, Ireland A, Scotland A, the 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;[1] as a consequence, the New Zealand Māori, who have taken part in the last three Churchill Cup tournaments, replaced the Juniors in the Pacific Nations Cup and were not available for the Churchill Cup.[2]

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

Place Nation Games Points Bonus
points		 Table
points
Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Difference
1 England Saxons2200962274210
2 Ireland A210158431515
3 United States200219108-8900

Canada Pool

Place Nation Games Points Bonus
points		 Table
points
Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Difference
1 Scotland A2200513417210
2 Argentinian XV21014143-226
3 Canada20022641-1511
2008-06-07
16:30
Scotland A 24 – 10 Canada
Twin Elm Rugby Park, Nepean
2008-06-14
16:30
Argentinian XV 17 – 16 Canada
Fletcher's Fields, Markham

Finals

Bowl Final

2008-06-21
16:15
United States 10 – 26 Canada
Toyota Park, Chicago

Plate Final

2008-06-21
11:45
Argentinian XV 8 – 33 Ireland A
Toyota Park, Chicago

Cup Final

2008-06-21
14:00
England Saxons 36 – 19 Scotland A
Toyota Park, Chicago

See also

References

  1. ↑ "New Zealand Maori to join IRB Pacific Nations Cup". allblacks.com. 2007-09-26. Archived from the original on 23 December 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
  2. ↑ "NZ Maori joins IRB Pacific Nations Cup". IRB. 2007-09-26. Archived from the original on 2008-06-04. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
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