| 2009 Churchill Cup | |
|---|---|
| Date | June 6 to June 21 |
| Teams | 6 |
| Countries |  Argentina XV |
| Matches played | 9 |
| Attendance | |
| Final | |
| Venue | Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, Colorado |
| Attendance | |
| Champions | Ireland A |
| Runner-up | England Saxons |
The 2009 Churchill Cup took place between June 6 and June 21, 2009, marking the seventh year of the Churchill Cup.
For the first time in the tournament's history, all rounds were held in the United States. This was done in an effort to reduce the cost of the tournament after the discontinued sponsorship by Barclays[1] and to keep the tournament from being suspended for a year.[2] Six rugby union teams took part: Canada, England Saxons, Ireland A, the USA, Argentina Jaguars, and for the first time in the tournament, the Georgia national team. Tickets for the event went on sale to USA Rugby members on April 2, 2009, and general sales tickets went on sale on April 24, 2009.[3] The matches were broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK and Setanta Sports North America in the US.
Winners
The Main Cup was won by Ireland A (who beat the England Saxons in the Cup Final), the Plate Competition was won by the Argentina Jaguars (who defeated Canada in the Final), and the Bowl Competition was won by the USA (who beat Georgia).
Format
The teams played in a round-robin format between two pools to decide the elimination matches which took place on June 20, 2009. All six teams participated on the finals day: the two pool winners competed in the Cup Final, the two runners-up played in a Plate Final, and the two bottom-placed teams met in the Bowl Final.
Venues
After the 2008 tournament, which was played both in Canada and the United States, in 2009 all rounds of the tournament as well as the Finals Day were played around the Denver, Colorado area which is the future home for the tournament for the next three years. The first three days of round-robin play were at the modern, purpose-built rugby stadium Infinity Park in Glendale, Colorado on the south side of Denver. The finals were held at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, which is home to Denver's MLS team, the Colorado Rapids.
Tables
Pool A
| Place | Nation | Games | Points | Bonus points |
Table points | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference | ||||
| 1 |  Ireland A |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 24 | +46 | 2 | 10 |
| 2 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Canada |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 61 | 40 | +21 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 |  Georgia |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 82 | -67 | 0 | 0 |
Pool B
| Place | Nation | Games | Points | Bonus points |
Table points | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference | ||||
| 1 |  England Saxons |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 84 | 37 | +47 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | Argentina XV |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 55 | 42 | +13 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 |  United States |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 31 | 91 | -60 | 0 | 0 |
Results
Day 1
| June 6, 2009 14:15 |
| England Saxons | 28–20 | Argentina XV |
| Report |
| Infinity Park, Glendale, CO Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland) |
| June 6, 2009 16:30 |
| Canada | 42–10 | Georgia |
| Report |
| Infinity Park, Glendale, CO Referee: Matt Goddard (Australia) |
Day 2
| June 10, 2009 16:30 |
| Canada | 19–30 | Ireland A |
| Report |
| Infinity Park, Glendale, CO Referee: Matt Goddard (Australia) |
| June 10, 2009 19:00 |
| United States | 14–35 | Argentina XV |
| Report[usurped] |
| Infinity Park, Glendale, CO Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland) |
Day 3
| June 14, 2009 13:00 |
| United States | 17–56 | England Saxons |
| Report |
| Infinity Park, Glendale, CO Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland) |
| June 14, 2009 15:30 |
| Georgia | 5–40 | Ireland A |
| Report |
| Infinity Park, Glendale, CO Referee: Matt Goddard (Australia) |
Finals
Bowl Final
| June 21, 2009 16:30 (PST) |
| Georgia | 13–31 | United States |
| Report |
| Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO Referee: Matt Goddard (Australia) |
Plate Final
| June 21, 2009 12:05 PST |
| Canada | 29–44 | Argentina XV |
| Report |
| Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland) |
Cup Final
| June 21, 2009 14:30 PST |
| Ireland A | 49–22 | England Saxons |
| Report |
| Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO Referee: Matt Goddard (Australia) |
References
- ↑ "2009 Churchill Cup schedule". americanrugbynews.com. February 25, 2009. Archived from the original on June 7, 2009. Retrieved March 28, 2009.
- ↑ "Churchill Cup rugby officials scrap plans for round-robin games in Canada". thespec.com. February 25, 2009. Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2009.
- ↑ "2009 Ticket Information!". churchillcuprugby.net. April 16, 2009. Archived from the original on June 25, 2009. Retrieved April 17, 2009.