Many people (athletes and parents) in the past have asked about playing rugby at a higher level. The information is difficult to find and if you find it, it can be confusing about who to contact next. I have put together some information below about the current path to playing higher level rugby in Ontario. The level of competition increases as you read through this article.

Feel free to contact me or your coach if you have questions.

Club Rugby
Club rugby is what you play at Waterloo County. New in 2025, Rugby Ontario (RO) has introduced two levels of competition at U16 and U18 - the Cup and Regional Leagues.

The Regional League can be equated to house league as anyone who signs up to play can join the team. All members of the team will train with the team and will be able to play during the game. The teams will play other teams in the Region and there is a focus on player development. There is no Championship for the Regional League. There is no guarantee of equal playing time due to the physical nature of the sport and the athletic ability of the player. Player safety is paramount.

The Cup League is equivalent to a select team where the best 25 players will be chosen from the Club to compete against other Cup teams in a four team League. You will play three home and three away games. The two top teams in each league will continue to play against other Cup Leagues in knock-out style playoffs to be crowned as Provincial Champions. If you play on a Cup Team, you cannot play for the lower Regional League.

Regional Rugby
There are four Regions in Ontario. Waterloo County belongs to the Southwest Ontario Rugby Union (SWORU). The Regions typical play each other and will occasionally play a touring side. The goal is to see who is the best from each Region and be selected for Team Ontario for a future event like the Canadian Rugby Championship or Canada Summer Games.

As of 2025, to play for a Regional team, you must be a member of one of their Club Teams. You are ineligible to play for another Region. I will circulate information for any try-out for Regional teams to applicable Waterloo Teams. If you want to stay up to date, feel free to join the SWORU Insta pages.
Boys: SWRU_boysrugby
Girls: SWR_girlsHP

SWORU U17 15's
A combination of player from the U16 and U18 teams based on birth years, this group will begin tryouts early in the summer and practice through the summer months in addition to Club practices and games. Games will be held once the U16 and U18 season is over in mid-August over a short 2-3 week period.

SWORU U19 15's
A combination of current U18 players and players in their first year of University or College. This group will hold try-outs in March and April and play games in May. The season will be over prior to the U18 summer season and allow University or College players to play with their schools in the Spring semester. The goal here is to be selected from your Regional team to play for Team Ontario at the Canadian Rugby Championships!

SWORU U16 7's
This is a training ground for young athletes who excel at fast paced, high octane rugby. Selections and practices will typically happen in September during the Club 7's season.
Athletes will play against other Regions in 2-4 tournaments during October. Top 16 year old athletes may be selected for the Ontario Summer Games that happen during the following summer (even years).

SWORU U18 7's
Senior athletes will be selected in September for tournaments in October much like the U16 athletes. Top 17 year old athletes may be selected for the Ontario Summer Games that happen during the following summer (even years). The SWORU 7's teams typically go to International 7's tournaments like Tropical 7's in Tampa Bay or North American International 7's in Salt Lake City.

Ontario Blues Development Academy (OBDA)
The OBDA is a winter training academy where you have an opportunity to sharpen your skills with other excellent athletes and get a jump on the next year. It is typically run from December to the following April at the University of Guelph Field House over 10 sessions. RO will train for a select 7's tournament and a select 15's tournament to happen during the Academy. For the 2024 winter session, a one-day combine was held for athlete selection in October.

Provincial Rugby
Team Ontario is selected from athletes who have played at the Regional level. There are various competitions that Team Ontario is involved in over the year. Canada Summer Games (7's athletes) or the Canadian Rugby Championships (15's athletes) are two good examples. Team Ontario also competes in smaller Provincial tournaments during the year.

National Rugby
This is the pinnacle! There are many ways to participate here. It could be starting with a U18 training camp or a Rugby Canada selection course and end up being selected for a National training squad. Selections are made by National Coaching groups that watch Regional Tournaments and who work with Regional and team Ontario coaches.

If your goal is playing higher level rugby, Waterloo County will help you get there. If you have questions, please let me know. I will try to update this page based on your questions.

Trevor Williams
Director of Junior Rugby - Waterloo County Rugby
High Performance Director - SWORU