Competing for the Spence McTavish Cup, the country\u2019s top eight university rugby sides in Canada, all descended upon the University of British Columbia\u2019s Point Grey Campus.<\/span><\/p>\n Playing three games over the course of five days, there was plenty of Major League Rugby<\/a> interest in a competition that saw four previous competitors selected in the 2022 MLR Collegiate Draft<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Assistant coach for the Toronto Arrows<\/a>, Academy lead, and University of Guelph head coach Cory Hector<\/a> was on Canada\u2019s west coast with his team and concluded their week with a third-place finish.<\/span><\/p>\n Amongst his charges that weekend was Kobe Faust. Still only 20, the back debuted for the Arrows senior side in 2021 while continuing his studies at Guelph.<\/span><\/p>\n Gaining a good seeding thanks to winning the Ontario Provincial Championship, the entirety of the Canadian University Men\u2019s Rugby Championship was broadcast on The Rugby Network<\/a> and offered insight into the next generation of rugby players coming out of Canada.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWith rugby being such a late entry sport in Canada for a lot of athletes, it [university rugby] extends the runway, compared to a player in Europe who is somewhat polished at 18, 19, whereas our athletes probably take a bit longer due to the late entry,\u201d Hector said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cUniversity extends that runway to putting up players that are of reasonable quality when they are 22 to 23 years old, and they have a university degree.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt does a lot to help prepare athletes for professional rugby, in terms of the programs being run as a varsity sport, which affords certain facilities and access.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPlayers will be in, training on a field four days a week, full access to strength and conditioning, which might be two to three days a week in season and one or two days a week out of season.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt really does prepare them for the grinds of a professional rugby season and the importance of strength and conditioning, athletic therapy, and the rugby side all working together.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe other important side is they are that while they\u2019re students as well. That\u2019s when they begin to understand the competing priorities of rugby and work or rugby and school.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFrom that respect, it really does a lot to help prepare students to become a really good person and rugby player down the track.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt was a great weekend,\u201d Faust said. \u201cEspecially just for development reasons. I think that tournament is very well run. But first time in program history that we\u2019ve had a medal and an overall performance across the three games.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe were pretty happy with ourselves, but nonetheless, I think going out there and playing three games in five days was tough on the body, but you see a lot of good players come out of that.<\/span><\/p>\n Rounding out the medals at the 2022 Canadian University Men's Rugby Championship were @McGillAthletics<\/a> — becoming the first Quebec school to reach the national final — and @guelph_gryphons<\/a>, marking the first-ever national podium for the Ontario institution. \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6\ud83c\udfc6 pic.twitter.com\/jcVOG8DYka<\/a><\/p>\n — Toronto Arrows RC (@TorontoArrows) December 6, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.majorleague.rugby\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Artboard-3.png\")
<\/p>\nA FIRST PODIUM<\/span><\/h4>\n
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