Planet Rugby Forum

CanNZ2000 wrote:

hornets wrote:

CanNZ2000 wrote:Some depressing news for all of us:

Hearn gone for the qualifiers
Coe has a broke arm, maybe gone
Carps could be gone too

But don't worry Parfrey is ready to go.

Hearn is horrible.

He's not great, but he is not horrible either. Also, Trainor is still out, isn't he?

Flyin Ryan wrote:Links to full women's university rugby matches here:

http://sportscanada.tv/usports/2017-wrug

Morgan14 wrote:A friend posted this on Facebook:

http://www.rugbytoday.com/clubs/new-yor ... rugby-2019


Possibly the strongest indication yet of two potential clubs in the Toronto and Vancouver areas (well, "Ontario", not Toronto - hopefully not too distant though) that I've seen at least.


I also thought it was interesting that Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment bought the Argonauts this week (or was it last week) - potentially an end game for someone who would build a Toronto-based rugby union team I would think (assuming they could get it to a certain size of course).

OttawaKat wrote:http://theprovince.com/sports/rugby/199 ... up-success

The 1991 Team is going into the BC Sports Hall of Fame. Some good comments. A different era, better days to be sure.

Nieghorn wrote:I played U19 when I was in school (Simcoe County), but we had five years of high school back then. I like the idea of having more time for young players to grow without having to go to adult rugby, but liked the idea of having U20. I coached a U21 team many years ago and we had about 20 guys play two more years of rugby who had no intention - at 17/18 - of going to men's.

I'm not against it, but am interested in seeing where it goes.

The 'alignment with other countries' thing makes me think, however, that they're only concerned about the 'elite' side of things and not the practicalities of the club + school situation. I hope they do some number crunching to see if numbers rise / shrink as a result.

moosehead wrote:

Nieghorn wrote:I played U19 when I was in school (Simcoe County), but we had five years of high school back then. I like the idea of having more time for young players to grow without having to go to adult rugby, but liked the idea of having U20. I coached a U21 team many years ago and we had about 20 guys play two more years of rugby who had no intention - at 17/18 - of going to men's.

I'm not against it, but am interested in seeing where it goes.

The 'alignment with other countries' thing makes me think, however, that they're only concerned about the 'elite' side of things and not the practicalities of the club + school situation. I hope they do some number crunching to see if numbers rise / shrink as a result.

The failure of BC rugby to really get behind a U 20 rugby league has resulted in thoussands of youth dropping out of the game. So many youth get well coached in BC highschool leagues... show up for Div 3 mens with no coaching.. and drop out of the game - go play some other sport with their buddies . Giving these kids a couple of extra years under a solid U 20 coach i think would dramatically raise the transition rates of highschool grads to mens rugby in BC.

Just my thoughts.. I coached highschool rugby in BC for 16 seasons.

Nieghorn wrote:

moosehead wrote:

Nieghorn wrote:I played U19 when I was in school (Simcoe



I'm not sure why it folded a year or two after I moved and started travelling, but I'd be willing to bet that clubs thought pulling those 5 guys who would play men's into their senior sides rather than building a development team around them was more important. The beauty of it was that fixtures were on Wednesday nights. You wouldn't want them playing two full games each week, but those clubs could have managed rotations if the guys were keen to do double duty.
.

moosehead wrote:

Nieghorn wrote:

moosehead wrote:

Nieghorn wrote:I played U19 when I was in school (Simcoe



I'm not sure why it folded a year or two after I moved and started travelling, but I'd be willing to bet that clubs thought pulling those 5 guys who would play men's into their senior sides rather than building a development team around them was more important. The beauty of it was that fixtures were on Wednesday nights. You wouldn't want them playing two full games each week, but those clubs could have managed rotations if the guys were keen to do double duty.
.

Very short sighted of clubs poaching 2-3 talented U 20's up to Div 1 or 2 and not wanting to run a U 20 or U 21 league....

Same thing in BC for last 20 years.... Just very short sighted club managment.
So many youth not transitionning from highschool. A typical high school side of 25 players in my town may see 1 player a year staying in the sport.... It is almost unbelievable how clubs are not taking the issue more serious.

A local highschool in my city runs a 9/10 side and a 11/12 side. They have 6 teachers at the school coaching the 2 teams. I think 5 of the 6 have played BC Premier level / Div 1 rugby. 2 have CDN caps with Sr. mens team. Kids that get this kind of coaching really struggle to move on to Mens div 3 rugby with a player coach and poor commitment from the players...

A solid U 20 program would address many of these issues. Clubs should make sure the U 20 coach is one of the best coaches in their club as a well coached side would set the club up long term......

CanNZ2000 wrote:And to think, Canuckles was worried about our two MLR sides losing 30 players due to WC prep next year.

canuckles wrote:

CanNZ2000 wrote:And to think, Canuckles was worried about our two MLR sides losing 30 players due to WC prep next year.

They will only lose 20 of them as RC will sign 2/3 for the 7s team.

A couple of us on this thread have tried to caution the 7s lovers lot about the direction Rugby Canada was taking rugby in our country, but some people do not listen. They are silent now; funny that.

Canada has a game next week. What should be done about it?

CanNZ2000 wrote:

canuckles wrote:

CanNZ2000 wrote:And to think, Canuckles was worried about our two MLR sides losing 30 players due to WC prep next year.

They will only lose 20 of them as RC will sign 2/3 for the 7s team.

A couple of us on this thread have tried to caution the 7s lovers lot about the direction Rugby Canada was taking rugby in our country, but some people do not listen. They are silent now; funny that.

Canada has a game next week. What should be done about it?

1. I turned from the 7s bandwagon ages ago.

2. I guess they should play the game next week.

3. Rest of ARC should be spent finding replacements for our aging vets. Barkwill/buydens,/mack etc

Nieghorn wrote:A mate posted on one of the many fall-out threads going around that sevens is a money loser for World Rugby and that the RWC of 15s is what pays for it. Is this true?

If true, is it all about propping it up for the Olympics?

Bowens wrote:Not sure if it's been discussed but Kingsley Jones has to go, right? No improvement over Crowley or Anscombe.

canuckles wrote:

Bowens wrote:Not sure if it's been discussed but Kingsley Jones has to go, right? No improvement over Crowley or Anscombe.

No; he stays. I think WR might be paying his ticket.

canuckles wrote:

Nieghorn wrote:A mate posted on one of the many fall-out threads going around that sevens is a money loser for World Rugby and that the RWC of 15s is what pays for it. Is this true?

If true, is it all about propping it up for the Olympics?

Chris LeFevre has confirmed it. He is the only one with WR connections that has gone on record to say it. My take is World Rugby is shocked at the little or no knock-on effect from the Olympics. As an event, a tournament has to be run like a motor race. A once a year event where 90% of the attendees do not know or care about the participants in the event. They are there for a bit of fun. There is nothing wrong with that, but it does very little for your domestic 'sport.' These events in Canada are subsidized (to a degree) by the three levels of government. They can make no money on their own. The Canadian Grand Prix had not paid its bills for years. Uncle Bernie threatened to take the race from the Montreal Grand Prix mafia if they did not own up.

I have no idea who is your mate, but Canadian rugby needs more like him.

Nieghorn wrote:

canuckles wrote:

Nieghorn wrote:A mate posted on one of the many fall-out threads going around that sevens is a money loser for World Rugby and that the RWC of 15s is what pays for it. Is this true?

If true, is it all about propping it up for the Olympics?

Chris LeFevre has confirmed it. He is the only one with WR connections that has gone on record to say it. My take is World Rugby is shocked at the little or no knock-on effect from the Olympics. As an event, a tournament has to be run like a motor race. A once a year event where 90% of the attendees do not know or care about the participants in the event. They are there for a bit of fun. There is nothing wrong with that, but it does very little for your domestic 'sport.' These events in Canada are subsidized (to a degree) by the three levels of government. They can make no money on their own. The Canadian Grand Prix had not paid its bills for years. Uncle Bernie threatened to take the race from the Montreal Grand Prix mafia if they did not own up.

I have no idea who is your mate, but Canadian rugby needs more like him.

He's a disgruntled 'nobody' like me who has a well-thought-out agenda that he brings up whenever he can. He started coaching boys club last year and started to see my side of things, and our convos have taught me more about the logistical side of things. (His profession has given him a pretty good scope of such things.)

canuckles wrote:

CanNZ2000 wrote:

canuckles wrote:

CanNZ2000 wrote:And to think, Canuckles was worried about our two MLR sides losing 30 players due to WC prep next year.

They will only lose 20 of them as RC will sign 2/3 for the 7s team.

A couple of us on this thread have tried to caution the 7s lovers lot about the direction Rugby Canada was taking rugby in our country, but some people do not listen. They are silent now; funny that.

Canada has a game next week. What should be done about it?

1. I turned from the 7s bandwagon ages ago.

2. I guess they should play the game next week.

3. Rest of ARC should be spent finding replacements for our aging vets. Barkwill/buydens,/mack etc

1. You will be back on the bandwagon during the Vancouver 7s.
2. Good answer. Have you considered working for Rugby Canada?
3. Wonderful. Let us sit three central contract guys who Rugby Canada pay to play for the country and replace them with three guys who RC will not pay. Rugby Canada management skills at its finest.

We are deeply disappointed to be in this position of having not qualified as Americas 2 for the 2019 Men’s Rugby World Cup.  We appreciate the Canadian rugby community is dismayed at this result.  This is not acceptable for Canadian Rugby.

The entire organization & our Men’s 15s program will finalize a robust schedule & plan to ensure the best preparation for a successful competition and qualification through the 2019 Men’s Rugby World Cup repechage tournament in November, 2018. 

The failure to qualify as Americas 2 for the 2019 Men’s Rugby World Cup has significant financial challenges for Rugby Canada with a loss of key 2019 Men’s Rugby World Cup planning and preparation funding and missed commercial opportunities in the form of a marquee international match planned for November.  The organization will be reviewing these implications, ensuring prioritization is placed on the Men’s 15s program’s preparation for the Men’s Rugby World Cup repechage tournament this November.

Building on the extensive Men’s 15s program review that was completed in July 2017, Rugby Canada continues to undertake a significant change in strategic direction with a focus on building a long-term plan that develops our current and aspiring high performance Canadian rugby players to be competitive at the International level.  In addition to the new leadership that has been brought into the Men’s 15s program, Rugby Canada will continue to bring experienced high performance leaders to the organization who will work with our existing development programs at the Club and Provincial levels, while embracing new performance program opportunities for our current and future domestic players.

Rugby Canada is keenly focused and dedicated on returning the Men’s 15s program to being the leading Tier 2 nation in World Rugby.   

Sincerely,
RUGBY CANADA

Allen Vansen
Chief Executive Officer

Nieghorn wrote:That would be the dream, but funding? We can't rely on pay-to-play because that's already excluding great athletes who can't afford to pay a couple of grand to be on a provincial team.

Your idea of club U20s, I think, is a much better first step. Make it mandatory for teams in Prem leagues and ensure they are well coached, hiring a very good development person who oversees them (in addition to other community development initiatives that cast a wide net).

ruskeye7 wrote:It's worse than that...the 7s team did not qualify for the 2016 Olympics, has finished well out of the top 10 through the past two HSBC stops, and is heading in the same direction as the 15s. Robbing Peter to pay Paul is not sustainable, and less money from WR is only going to exacerbate the situation.

The question is, who is responsible for the present situation? For good or bad it has to rest on the current board's shoulders. So many of the problems facing grassroots rugby today are a direct result of policies and decisions of the board. Rugby is not in a healthy place, changes need to be made, but all that emerges is another terse and vacuous statement from RC. I agree that the worst result from here on in would be to qualify if that means the 'powers'-that-be remain in place.

The players could not provide what was required vs. Uruguay. They do hold some responsibility, but the structures within which they exist are not conducive to success. Beyond that, the barbarians are not only at the gate but also inside...the Toronto Wolfpack won on Sunday, in style...people (the ones rugby needs to attract) like teams that win.