The Unions of England, the United States and Canada have announced that the proposed Churchill Cup competition has moved a step closer to fruition.

The trio have signed a memorandum of understanding for a Strategic Alliance that features an annual tournament between the countries called The Churchill Cup.

It is hoped the agreement will provide regular competition for the USA, Canada and England as well extensive development opportunities for the North American nations.

The deal runs for an initial five year period and thereafter each union must give two years' notice if it wishes to withdraw from the agreement. The memorandum of understanding has been sent to the IRB for ratification at their November meeting.

The development programme will include coaching and referee support for rugby in North America and provide scholarship opportunities for outstanding young players from Canada and the USA to enter the academy system in England.

Pending IRB approval of the Alliance, the Churchill Cup will launch in June 2003 and will involve both men's and women's international teams from the three unions. A provisional date for the inaugural tournament, to take place in Vancouver, has been set as June 14th to June 28th, subject to confirmation. Tournament hosting is expected to alternate between the USA and Canada every few years.

Said RFU Chief Executive, Francis Baron, "This agreement comes after many months of discussion about the best ways of providing the North American Unions with long term assistance. The agreement reflects our touring and development policy paper which we submitted to the IRB in 2001.We are now actively looking for title and sole supplier sponsors and we are expecting to make further announcements in due course."

Graeme Cattermole, the Chairman of the RFU Management Board, added, "The agreement reflects our aim of helping other countries to develop their game and meets the IRB criteria of expanding the sport globally. The development opportunities are wide and varied and aimed at helping players, referees and coaches in the men's and women's game. The tournament in 2003 will be a competitive one providing players with international experience."

USA Rugby's President Neal Brendel hailed the Alliance as a model for the global growth of the game. "High-profile, economically viable competition is vital to every rugby union. The Alliance delivers that competition to North America. It helps all three countries develop their elite athletes and puts a meaningful annual event on the calendar for America's rugby supporters. It is prescient to include women's internationals as the women's game has great growth potential here and around the world."

Gareth Rees, Chief Executive of Rugby Canada, added, "This is an innovative deal and one which provides significant opportunities and profile for the game in North America. It is regular competition like this that will allow us to continue to play a meaningful role in the game world wide. I am looking forward to both our male and female athletes in the USA and Canada reaping the benefits of regular games against England's teams and I am sure the game will continue to grow as a result of this program."

"The Alliance is a targeted and focused approach to developing rugby in America," said USA Rugby's Business Development Director Jack Clark. "Initiatives like this, aimed at grabbing a slice of the American sports-entertainment market, will grow the value of every rugby union's intellectual property."

Carol Isherwood, Performance Director of the Rugby Football Union for Women also welcomed the agreement. "This is a great chance to compete outside Europe on a regular basis," she said. "For us the USA and Canada present a high level of opposition and playing them will give us opportunities for player development before our 2006 World Cup."

As part of the Alliance, coaching and referee development programmes in Canada and the USA will have support from the RFU which will dispatch up to four Rugby Development Officers and three experienced referees from England to each of the North American unions each summer. The RFU will also underwrite the start up costs of the Churchill Cup.