August 4th, 2021

(WHITBY, ON) - The Club Anniversary Spotlight Series is a initiative which will recognize all Rugby Ontario Member Clubs that are celebrating a major anniversary during 2021. First up is the Ottawa Beavers & Banshees RFC, who are celebrating their 70th Anniversary!

History

The Ottawa Beavers and Banshees Rugby Football Club (OBBRFC) have a long history in the establishment and growth of rugby in the Ottawa area over the past 70 years. 
 
The Beavers are Ottawa’s original rugby club (1951), and the Banshees are the first women’s team in Ontario (1979). The two clubs merged in 2001 to form the Ottawa Beavers and Banshees RFC that we know today. Since the clubs creation, an estimated 4,000 players have come and gone through the Club.
 
One of the Club’s founding members, Freddie Miller, also helped co-found Rugby Ontario. As the OBBRFC grew over the years, the Club split off to create the Ottawa Ospreys and Bytown Blues in 1961 and 1971, respectively, helping to shape the current landscape of rugby in Ottawa.
 
In the 1970s, the Club co-founded Twin Elm Rugby Park along with the Ottawa Ospreys, Ottawa Irish and Bytown Blues. The Park has since become the hub for rugby in Eastern Ontario and has hosted numerous International tests and tournaments over the years (some notables include Canada vs. England 1993, Canada vs. France 1994, and Canada vs. USA 2015).
 
Over the course of its history, the Beavers and Banshees have competed in some of the highest divisions in Ontario and Quebec Rugby. The Beavers brought home the Ontario Marshall Cup in 2004.
 
As of 2019, the OBBRFC boasted the largest Senior rugby program in Ottawa and the forth largest program in Ontario. To celebrate the clubs 70th anniversary, all eyes are currently on rebuilding in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis.

Club Memories

The best part about the enduring history of the OBBRFC is that there are generations’ worth of memories that can be recounted. Some of the clubs recent memories include:

•   When club alum Eric Howard played for Canada at Twin Elm, his home pitch, in the Canada vs. Russia International Test (2018). More recently, some players even went to Japan to cheer him on against the All Blacks in the 2019 Rugby World Cup!


•   Being the first team to play rugby at Ottawa’s TD Place (2016 & 2018), which will now be going on to host the Ottawa Aces Pro Rugby League   Club.


•   Helping to establish the Ottawa Mixed Abilities Rugby Program, and seeing the mixed abilities team in the half-time show at the Canada vs. Russia game in 2018

Notable Alumni

Throughout the Club’s history, many players from the Beavers and Banshees have had the opportunity to represent the OBBRFC at the national level, including:

•    George Jones

•    Graham Sadler

•    John McCord

•    R. Gardiner

•    M.C. Ashton

•    Andy Stanton

•    Mike Alder

•    Steve Gray

•    Dan Gauthier

•    Brayden Gray

•    Pierre-Hardy Gouombas

•    Eric Howard

•    Kim Carruthers

•    Megan Cheung

•    Kathleen De Jesus

•    Sara Ednie

•    Erin Middleton

•    LeeAnn Napiorkowski

•    Sarah Verreault

•    Liz Wilson

•    Laura Haley

Additionally, many members have had the opportunity to lay the foundations of rugby in Canada and beyond: 

•    Tom Jones worked for World Rugby as the Regional Manager for the Americas until his retirement in 2018. 

•    From 1950 through to the 1970s, innumerable members from the Club helped build and grow current rugby institutions. John Russell went on to found two other rugby clubs in Ottawa and helped found the Ontario Rugby Union and served on the board for the Canadian Rugby Union for a decade. 

•    Neil Young started the Canadian Irregulars Charity 7s team that draws players primarily from the Ottawa area. The team won the social Invitational division of Dubai 7s, becoming one of the top-ranked recreational 7s teams in the world. 

Accolades

Quebec Men’s League Champions – 1961, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977

Quebec Senior Men Cup Champions – 1966, 1972, 1974

Ontario/Quebec Senior Men Cup Champions – 1972, 1977

Ontario Sevens Tournament Champions (Men’s) – 1973

Ontario Marshall Cup – 2004 

Future Goals


OBBRFC would like to thank all of their sponsors who have helped them grow over the past few years, and especially over the past year of COVID-related turmoil. OBBRFC especially would like to thank Canadian Tire Jumpstart Sport Relief Fund, Strathmore Commercial Landscape Management, and McKeen Metro Glebe.