ROD SNOW
Two Newfoundlanders will be among the first seven inductees into the 2017 Canadian Rugby Hall of Fame class.
Rod Snow and Mike Luke will be the two Newfoundlanders to be inducted into the hall.
As one of the most prolific front rowers in Canadian rugby history, Snow enjoyed an illustrious career that saw him play in four Rugby World Cups for Canada.
The Bonavista, Newfoundland native, won 62 test caps for Canada, the most of any front rower. He made his test debut against Argentina in 1995 and made his final test appearance at the 2007 Rugby World Cup against Australia. He scored eight test tries during his career.
Snow played for Eastern Province in the 1995 Currie Cup where he started in all six matches. He would go on to play professionally with Newport RFC, where he is the highest scoring prop in their 140 plus year history, as well as the Newport Gwent Dragons making over more than 230 appearances between both clubs and winning the 2001 Welsh Cup. In 2016, Snow was inducted into the Newport Rugby Hall of Fame.
Snow also spent six seasons playing for his hometown Atlantic Rock winning national titles with them in 2006, 2007 and 2010. He also represented the famed Barbarians in matches against Wales in 1996 and the East Midlands in 2004. Snow is also a member of the Mount Pearl Sports Hall of Fame.
MIKE LUKE
After arriving in St. John’s, Newfoundland in 1969, and finding no club to play for, Luke established the St. John’s club and was co-founder of the Newfoundland Rugby Union as well as its first president.
Luke played 16 test matches for Canada, making his debut in 1974 against Tonga and bowing out against the USA in 1982. Luke captained Canada on eight occasions. He also represented the Barbarians on three occasions and was a member of the Overseas XV that played against Wales as part of the Welsh Rugby Union Centenary celebrations. He also played for the Meralomas in Canada and for the Pirates R.F.C. and Harlequins F.C. in the UK.
He was the coach and manager of Canada’s sevens team in the 1981 Hong Kong Sevens and also coached Canada’s U21 team from 1987-1989. He was an assistant coach and manager of the Canadian squad that reached the quarterfinals of the 1991 Rugby World Cup.
Luke served on the Board of Rugby Canada and was a member and then Chair of the Rugby Canada National Coaching Committee for over 20 years. He became a Master Coach in Canada’s National Coaching Certification Program before being elected Chair of the National Coaching Certification Council in 1993.
In 1999, Luke was the recipient of the 3M Coaching Association of Canada Coaching Award for Sport Development and in 2006 received the IRB Development Award for his contributions to the growth of rugby in Canada.
