Planet Rugby Forum

Nieghorn wrote:Can we also talk about how embarrassing Gareth Rees' commentary has become?

After years of lurking I have joined to comment on this.

Gareth is likely our greatest ever International but his commentary is a complete joke. Not a critical word for "the lads" who are "all heart" and commit basic error after basic error.

Constant whining about the ref. Constant. The fact is Gareth is an RC employee and basically a propagandist in the booth. The same pablum that gets fed to us in press releases and town hall meetings becomes the colour commentary. Bad luck, bad calls, oh so close. I know Blake Price is a smart enough guy and must roll his eyes.

I played against Gareth in his final days - second division UBCOB Ravens. It was neat to play against him, but he basically just stood there, jersey not covering his stomach, directing the ref all game. I had flashback to those days Saturday. In classic homer fashion, he commented more on the officiating than the game.

Speaking of the game, that has to be a low point for the men's XV. Is it the bottom? As the Drive-By Truckers said "I'll meet you at the bottom if there really is one, they always gold me when you hit it you'll know it. But I've been falling so long it's like gravity's gone and I'm just floating."

OttawaKat wrote:

Nieghorn wrote:Can we also talk about how embarrassing Gareth Rees' commentary has become?

After years of lurking I have joined to comment on this.

Gareth is likely our greatest ever International but his commentary is a complete joke. Not a critical word for "the lads" who are "all heart" and commit basic error after basic error.

Constant whining about the ref. Constant. The fact is Gareth is an RC employee and basically a propagandist in the booth. The same pablum that gets fed to us in press releases and town hall meetings becomes the colour commentary. Bad luck, bad calls, oh so close. I know Blake Price is a smart enough guy and must roll his eyes.

I played against Gareth in his final days - second division UBCOB Ravens. It was neat to play against him, but he basically just stood there, jersey not covering his stomach, directing the ref all game. I had flashback to those days Saturday. In classic homer fashion, he commented more on the officiating than the game.

Speaking of the game, that has to be a low point for the men's XV. Is it the bottom? As the Drive-By Truckers said "I'll meet you at the bottom if there really is one, they always gold me when you hit it you'll know it. But I've been falling so long it's like gravity's gone and I'm just floating."

Quality first post! Welcome to the Bored.

Morgan14 wrote:

Nieghorn wrote:Can we also talk about how embarrassing Gareth Rees' commentary has become?

Was it bad? I couldn't tell my facebook feed was so inferior

As noted above, very one sided and very harsh on the ref. I think one line was something like: "If the ref doesn't give a penalty try, he knows nothing about rugby." The ironing was delicious, because the - admittedly yellow card - infringement was not during a moment where a try was likely to be scored, so a penalty try was not even a factor.

Nieghorn,

Send me an email or message or something. I have an interesting update.

Anybody else going on Saturday? I'm a glutton for punishment.

I guess the only benefit of attending the last two games was not listening to Rees', ahem, observations of the games. I recorded Saturday's game but have not had the stomach to watch it. TSN should fire Rees if he was that bad.

Morgan14 - Keith, Barton and Beukeboom were on the ARC team so, technically, they have graduated. The two forwards have big futures; Barton does not have the speed to play at #13. Jake Thiel and McMullan (if they do not go to 7s) have very good chances. I think two others (Kotze and O'Neill, say) have shots. The tournament coming up will say more.

Remember, RC made the decision in 2013 for Canada to be a 7s rugby country, and make no mistake, we are that. One read of Rugby Canada's Strategic Plan will tell all.

canuckles wrote: I recorded Saturday's game but have not had the stomach to watch it. TSN should fire Rees if he was that bad.

Hi, I look to find the game from few days already...can you share it somehow trough wetransfer or something similar?

canuckles wrote:I guess the only benefit of attending the last two games was not listening to Rees', ahem, observations of the games. I recorded Saturday's game but have not had the stomach to watch it. TSN should fire Rees if he was that bad.

Morgan14 - Keith, Barton and Beukeboom were on the ARC team so, technically, they have graduated. The two forwards have big futures; Barton does not have the speed to play at #13. Jake Thiel and McMullan (if he does not go to 7s) have very good chances. I think two others (Kotze and O'Neill, say) have shots. The tournament coming up will say more.

Remember, RC made the decision in 2013 for Canada to be a 7s rugby country, and make no mistake, we are that. One read of Rugby Canada's Strategic Plan will tell all.

Thanks Canuckles, good to hear there are some prospects at least.

Agreed about us being a 7s country, on the men's side at least. I just don't understand how RC monetizes that - my understanding is they don't make a huge amount from Vancouver 7s, which is the one and only showcase, but maybe I'm misinformed.

OttawaKat wrote:Nieghorn,

Send me an email or message or something. I have an interesting update.

Congrats! Very happy for you both.

canuckles wrote:TSN should fire Rees if he was that bad.

It was a complete embarrassment.

CanNZ2000 wrote:

OttawaKat wrote:Nieghorn,

Send me an email or message or something. I have an interesting update.

Congrats! Very happy for you both.

Without getting into details, I posted a gripe about Gareth on the RC facebook page.

A well known figure in Canadian rugby contacted me, said they agreed with me wholly, and asked me to pursue the compliant further. I suspect the act is wearing thin with more than just the public.

OttawaKat wrote:

CanNZ2000 wrote:

OttawaKat wrote:Nieghorn,

Send me an email or message or something. I have an interesting update.

Congrats! Very happy for you both.

Without getting into details, I posted a gripe about Gareth on the RC facebook page.

A well known figure in Canadian rugby contacted me, said they agreed with me wholly, and asked me to pursue the compliant further. I suspect the act is wearing thin with more than just the public.

Oh, very interesting! These people are supposed to help grow the game, not turn people off it... especially in trying to defend DTH's yellow as 'controversial'. Head contact, had to walk. No one intends to do it, to be fair, but to downplay it as not that bad is irresponsible, imo.

Yeah it was a clear yellow. Rees is the Don Cheery of rugby.

oh and by the way, Trainor is done with an Achilles injury.

CanNZ2000 wrote:Yeah it was a clear yellow. Rees is the Don Cheery of rugby.

oh and by the way, Trainor is done with an Achilles injury.

Looking at Cherry, it's not a bad career steategy.

CanNZ2000 wrote:Yeah it was a clear yellow. Rees is the Don Cheery of rugby.

oh and by the way, Trainor is done with an Achilles injury.

Yeah, the Trainor injury happened in front of the stand I was in. He was carried off with his right foot turned out. Don't tell me Rugby Canada actually announced the injury? Our national union cares so little for its supporters it has not even announced the 26 player roster for the next two games. When we do qualify Rugby Canada will give the ultimate insult to Canadian rugby fans and say "The NSMT has met Rugby Canada's objective."

Flyin Ryan wrote:

CanNZ2000 wrote:Yeah it was a clear yellow. Rees is the Don Cheery of rugby.

oh and by the way, Trainor is done with an Achilles injury.

Looking at Cherry, it's not a bad career steategy.

Rees continues to demonstrate the same competance and nuance that allowed him to excel as Rugby Canada's CEO.

Congrats to DTH for setting the new try mark for Canada. Thought he was the difference today, class apart from everyone else on the pitch. Too bad he wasn't quite able to bag a third there near the very end.

As for the rest of it, well, I'm still angered by that fumble by Coe, that's rugby 101 stuff

Decent article below by Cathal Kelly in the G & M before Saturday's game. Kelly has done some good stuff on rugby in Canada. I wish the article below would hit a bit harder. The sport needs more of this stuff in the press.

Kelly: Men’s rugby must get over being nice Canadian losers
CATHAL KELLY
TORONTO — The Globe and Mail
Published Friday, Jun. 23, 2017 8:05PM EDT

Three months ago, Mark Anscombe, the New Zealander who recently took control of Canada’s senior men’s rugby union team, gave a depressing assessment of where the program stands.

Speaking to an audience at Rugby Canada’s annual general meeting, he notched off which of his charges were playing professional club rugby at what he called “a reasonable level.” He came up almost empty. On one 29-man squad, he judged that three men hit the bar. Many were coming into the team having not played at all in the weeks and even months previous.

“We keep bringing out the same old guy that we know is not good enough to play rugby at the high level, but because we have to make the numbers to get the squad together, we keep throwing out names that get found out time and time again,” Anscombe said. Although the words were not used, the message was clear: Good enough is no longer good enough. As such, Canadian men’s rugby at the international level is in the midst of an existential crisis.

This weekend, facing the United States with a berth in the 2019 Rugby World Cup at stake, it will either start tipping forward or begin toppling back.

The history of Canadian men’s rugby is one of workmanlike perseverance. That is the charm of the team – a group of part-timers, semi-pros and the odd star slugging it out with the very best.

Canada has been part of every Rugby World Cup since the tournament’s inception 30 years ago. They’ve lost three times as many matches as they’ve won. Canadian rugby doesn’t deliver many punches, but it knows how to take one. For most of our history, the country seemed happy if one team – the national hockey team – mattered. Every one else was free to travel around the world showing good spirit and losing with dignity. That was the Canadian way. It was both a shield from criticism and a hindrance to performance.

That’s changed. The women’s soccer team is ascendant. The women’s basketball team has entered the public consciousness. Based on the young talent in the NBA, the men’s basketball team will very soon. The women’s rugby sevens team won a medal in Rio.

It’s a bad time to be slipping, which is where the men’s rugby team finds itself.

Six years ago, they were ranked 12th in the world. Today, they are 23rd. They’ve won only one game this year. Many of the losses came to iffy competition.

After its most recent setback to Romania, Anscombe said: “We didn’t do anything we set out to do.” They aren’t in a great head space.

The Canadian team continues to be filled largely by players who do not play at the highest professional level. An exception is 26-year-old Tyler Ardron, who just signed to a team in New Zealand’s Super Rugby competition. Rugby Canada officials likened it to a kid from New Zealand making the NHL.

Ardron is a good example of the sort of player that could help Canadian rugby become a mainstream concern. Not because he’s good at the game, but because he has that easy charisma that marks most of the sport’s participants. The real allure of rugby is its brutality on the field contrasted with its gentleness off it.

Ardron is the exact type – a quiet, quick-witted man with a slight lisp and a lot of confidence. In Canada’s last game, he got punched in the face by a Romanian, then had a friendly chat with his attacker afterward.

“We just bumped into each other at the dinner table. He said he was sorry. I just laughed and said, ‘That was pretty dumb.’ And he said, ‘Yeah.’”

It’s like that after every game at every level – both teams get together for a tipple (although for pros, the post-match beers have largely given way to energy drinks and recovery shakes). Ardron’s advantage is that he’s doing it with the best players in the world.

“In Canada, you don’t think of rugby as a professional sport. It’s something people do on the weekend for fun,” he said. “The main thing for Canadians is just playing rugby every day and making it your full-time job.”

Those jobs are hard to come by. Ardron is only the third Canadian to plant our flag in New Zealand – and only managed it because he’d already spent three years as a standout pro in Wales. In order to make the move, he had to pass up more lucrative offers in Europe.

A few others are scattered throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and France, but most still play here. The bulk of them work out of a practice facility near Victoria.

The national women’s soccer team tried a variation of this approach heading into the 2015 World Cup. Then, coach Carolina Morace persuaded her players to abandon their pro teams and move en masse to an Italian resort for months of group training. They came dead last in that tournament.

Of course, there are many chickens and many eggs involved here, and it’s hard to say which should come first. You can’t get a pro team until you have exposure. You don’t get exposure when you’re playing pretend games in British Columbia. And you certainly don’t get it if your national side is slipping into the world’s also-rans. For many Canadian players, their only opportunity to make a deep impression on the international rugby community is at a World Cup.

Some have taken drastic measures to make that happen.

Dan Moor, a 26-year-old wing, was until recently an associate at a Bay Street private-equity firm, working 70-hour weeks. He would shoehorn two hours of training in before he went to work. He quit that job to train full-time in B.C. with the senior team on a carding salary, with a small bonus per game played.

How much money did you give back to make that change?

“A lot,” Moor said ruefully. “Like, multiples.”

This week, the national team did a publicity junket at the TSX. With his connections to finance, Moor was pencilled in to ring the opening bell. However, at the last minute, he was told he wouldn’t be going because it was too much of a time commitment.

Moor stood there looking perplexed. It only gradually dawned on him that the only reason he was being held back was because he was about to be named to the team for Saturday’s game.

Moor didn’t look happy, exactly. More stunned. It’s a rare treat to see someone’s life-altering gamble pay off in real time.

It won’t mean much if the Canadian men fail in their World Cup qualifying adventure. They play the U.S. – another middling international side – in Hamilton on the weekend. They’ll play again in San Diego in a week’s time. The winner, determined by aggregate points, qualifies for Japan 2019.

The loser enters a two-game playoff against Uruguay, with a second and final entry at stake. Paradoxically, the latter route leads into a slightly easier World Cup group. Not that it matters much on paper. For Canada, every group is a group of death. The only worthwhile goal at this point is getting there. Once that happens, who knows what’s possible?

“The times most of us got over to professional rugby were the times Canada was climbing the ranks,” Ardron said. “Now that our ranking has gone down, we’re not getting as many signings for professional rugby.”

Can you believe Canada is 23rd now?

“No, I can’t,” Ardron said, suddenly very serious. “It hurts.”

However this turns out, in the years before Japan, there will be more of the usual handwringing about funding, grass-roots development and long-term planning that dominates the conversation around every sport in Canada that is not hockey.

But Ardron has identified the only issue that matters. The way out of the problem – at least temporarily – is moving up and recreating the virtuous circle of a good national team with good prospects playing at high-profile tournaments being noticed by good club teams elsewhere.

If that momentum stalls, the real trouble begins.

Morgan14 wrote:Congrats to DTH for setting the new try mark for Canada. Thought he was the difference today, class apart from everyone else on the pitch. Too bad he wasn't quite able to bag a third there near the very end.

As for the rest of it, well, I'm still angered by that fumble by Coe, that's rugby 101 stuff

Had to record and watch - as others have said, very messy.

Canada has produced two rugby greats, Rees and Charron, but DTH is the best player to have worn the Maple Leaf. Anscombe realized he has one international class player on his team and it is no use having the guy on the wing where he will touch the ball once or twice a game. Crowley made two silly moves in his second term as coach, moving Carpenter from #8 to hooker and moving DTH from centre to wing. The NSMT has not been the same since those moves were made.

Coe messed up, but I thought he played well. I thought it was a bit strange putting him at wing, but Anscombe clearly wanted experience at #15. I felt I was going into cardiac arrest when Spanton said there is going to be an issue between the 7s and the NSMT for Coe. FFS, why would a major leaguer want to play in the minors? There is no debate: Coe is on the NSMT.

hp18 - if you are reading this, we have told you for two years to tell Glasgow to sign Coe. We have to get Coe out of the country. He cannot develop here.

I thought the pack played well, would like to see a bit more from the back row. Capenter, who always plays well against the Yanks, and Blevins were excellent subs. The latter ran hard and forward, which made a difference when he came on.

I would be tempted to start the same XV. Perhaps Baillie at #6 or Carpenter at #8, and Ardron switching to blind, to start. We have no cover at lock if Baillie starts, but he or Ardron would move over to the second row. Braid has to do more at #12, and we need to get Paris much more into the game next weekend.

Great being at the the game. Lots to enjoy at a great stadium.
The difference between the teams ?
......DTH.
Our boy Aaron and his great pick up and go at the end....the crowd were screaming encouragement at him..thrilling rugby.

Well, we're on to Uruguay, and I'm not confident, without trying to sound despondent / defeatist.


Who will be available do we think? who do we think we should pick?

Morgan14 wrote:Well, we're on to Uruguay, and I'm not confident, without trying to sound despondent / defeatist.


Who will be available do we think? who do we think we should pick?

The team we had yesterday, with the exception of one or two guys here or there, will play Uruguay. We have nothing else; we have no one else. In the forwards only Sinclair was missing; he did not show this summer: we cannot expect him next winter. Evans and Hassler are coming off major injuries. I would not expect them to make themselves available. Trainor is out. DTH has given everything for Canada for 10 years. He has a couple of years left as a top pro; he should stay there. I would not expect Newcastle to release DTH and Olmstead, anyway.

When it comes to the game of Rugby the men's XVs is the big leagues. The question to ask is Rugby Canada going to make the necessary radical changes to get Canada back to where the big boys play? I say no. There are a number of guys in charge of the national union who have put Canada down this sorry road. They are not going to get us back on track. They are minor leaguers who think they can hit big league pitching. Rugby Canada is directly in charge of organizing, selecting and preparing our NSMT. The national union is responsible for this mess. With yesterday's game we are officially a tier three country and that is the level of Rugby Canada.

Canada's decision making just seems really poor to me. It's not thoughtful rugby.

I swear when I watched BC Premier games 15-20 years ago it was better. I don't mean the players or calibre were better, but the in game strategic thinking was at a higher level.

OttawaKat wrote:Canada's decision making just seems really poor to me. It's not thoughtful rugby.

I swear when I watched BC Premier games 15-20 years ago it was better. I don't mean the players or calibre were better, but the in game strategic thinking was at a higher level.

And I mean not enough realistic skill work when young. Most training methods I see at school and club level is not enough. We need to send emissaries to Argentina and look at how they produce such amazing players from their club system.

Breaking news from Rugby Canada:

Just 150 days to the start of the 7s 2017/2018 season. Rise as one!

Interesting comments from Anscombe following the loss:

“The game today happened in stages: we started off poorly and they scored a try off the opening kick off, we contested a lineout and bobbled the ball for them to score a try, we missed a tackle and they scored another try. That’s how they got 19 points off the start.

“Same as last week we clawed our way back to 19-16 at the 50-minute mark but then there were a few reversed penalties at crucial moments and their big men came off the bench and we couldn’t contain them. Too big, too strong, too powerful and we couldn’t contain them in the final 20.

“We did have that (Scrum) advantage but it didn’t lead to anything. We had 19 set pieces today and only used them three times so unless we start playing a little bit smarter you won’t win games on the back of a strong scrum. We’ve got to look at our overall game: our decision-making, our accuracy and how we perform under pressure. We didn’t handle those things very well today.

“One of the major differences you saw out there today was the size of the big men they have coming onto the field; we don’t have those types of players. In today’s game you have to have big men that can carry the ball and get you go-forward and we’re not producing them in Canada. You look at international rugby around the world and the size of the men that are playing the game. Big men that are powerful and can get over the advantage line; they had a good bench and they used them well.

“We need to get go-forward ball with players who can get you over the advantage line. We ended the game with 34% possession. With only 34% possession it’s hard to get good go-forward ball and create chances because you’re playing with scraps.”

Thoughts? Are we under-sized / small vis-a-vis other countries? He seems to make a big deal out of it - not something I've really noticed before tbh, although I agree we don't seem to produce Nemani Nadolos or Opeti Fonuas for instance

Morgan14 wrote:Interesting comments from Anscombe following the loss:

“The game today happened in stages: we started off poorly and they scored a try off the opening kick off, we contested a lineout and bobbled the ball for them to score a try, we missed a tackle and they scored another try. That’s how they got 19 points off the start.

“Same as last week we clawed our way back to 19-16 at the 50-minute mark but then there were a few reversed penalties at crucial moments and their big men came off the bench and we couldn’t contain them. Too big, too strong, too powerful and we couldn’t contain them in the final 20.

“We did have that (Scrum) advantage but it didn’t lead to anything. We had 19 set pieces today and only used them three times so unless we start playing a little bit smarter you won’t win games on the back of a strong scrum. We’ve got to look at our overall game: our decision-making, our accuracy and how we perform under pressure. We didn’t handle those things very well today.

“One of the major differences you saw out there today was the size of the big men they have coming onto the field; we don’t have those types of players. In today’s game you have to have big men that can carry the ball and get you go-forward and we’re not producing them in Canada. You look at international rugby around the world and the size of the men that are playing the game. Big men that are powerful and can get over the advantage line; they had a good bench and they used them well.

“We need to get go-forward ball with players who can get you over the advantage line. We ended the game with 34% possession. With only 34% possession it’s hard to get good go-forward ball and create chances because you’re playing with scraps.”

Thoughts? Are we under-sized / small vis-a-vis other countries? He seems to make a big deal out of it - not something I've really noticed before tbh, although I agree we don't seem to produce Nemani Nadolos or Opeti Fonuas for instance

First Anscombe complained that last year the team was out of shape. He then blamed the ARC losses because few of our players had played any rugby in the two months before the tournament (without acknowledging that neither had players from the other countries); he now blames the losses on our lack of size. It is nothing new. We have been out-sized up front for 15 years. We used to beat the Yanks with a back row of Kleeberger, Dala and Carpenter. Traditionally, our men's team overcame the weaknesses, pettiness and silliness of its national union. What is happening now is the men's XVs has been dragged by Rugby Canada to its own low level. The problem is structural and the structure has been put in place by Rugby Canada. In the last decade the finest our NSMT played was in 10/11. We played some good rugby: beat Italy/Italy A, beat France A, made a couple of Churchill Cup finals, played well in RWC 2011; had good players coming through the system. During the 09/13 seasons we also did not have a full-time 7s squad that took time, effort and money away from the XVs. 7s back then was a secondary program. If Canadians want the men's team to turn around, they have to demand that Rugby Canada put back in place the importance of the programs that had always existed. The men's 7s can no longer be the primary men's program and the 7s guys be deprogrammed and go back to what they were before Rugby Canada got its hands on them: rugby players. I always have a good laugh when someone says this guy or that guy is a 7s specialist. Yeah, because Rugby Canada made them that. The situation we find ourselves in is what happens when a national union takes its eyes off its men's XVs team.

Amen, canuckles.

I don't know if I said it above or in another thread, but what are schools, clubs, unions doing to educate and attract the 'freaks' who either choose another sport, play no serious sport after school, or who were never taught the game well enough and were not selected for the next level because they were too 'raw'?

I've disagreed with the latter ever since I first helped with evaluations for a provincial team. This was way back in my younger days as a coach, so I didn't make a stronger case than "seriously, check out those two really mobile big kids with great attitudes". Bigger than most of the trialists, looked good but admittedly raw skills, and largely - I gathered - overlooked because of the latter and because they came from no-name schools. In my opinion, and I have seen a lot of things that suggest this, junior provincial coaches tend to pick the kids who look great now so they can win this year's tournament, not develop people who might have the potential to make it to the next level.

I know full well that a lot of U20s from even the strong countries fail to make it, but are we even giving the massive kids a chance? If they're truly not good enough, physical freak or not, at this level, then serious questions have to be asked about what's not being done at the levels below to get them there. The way I see it, provincial rep teams and uni coaches should NOT be spending ANY time teaching concepts or training new skills. It should be about harnessing the abilities of stand-out athletes and rugby players who look like they might have the goods to make it to the next level.

Fire: Anscombe, Rees, Dixon. Give the reigns to either Ratier or Moffat, at least either of them would put 100% into the job. I get the impression Anscombe didn't.

Yes, if the games come back to Alberta next summer I will go, but right now I don't give a shit about rugby in Canada. RC doesn't, so why should I?

I think we will beat Uruguay, but I do concede that they will not be easy games. Fire Anscombe now and give the new HC the ARC, AIs to prep the team.

I'd like to apologize for sewing the seeds that infected CanNZ. He was such a positive and upbeat bloke.

Anscombe GONNNNNNNNE!

CHANGES TO RUGBY CANADA'S NATIONAL MEN'S FIFTEENS PROGRAM LEADERSHIP
0
Thursday, August 3, 2017 - Submitted by Rugby Canada

LANGFORD, BC – Rugby Canada’s General Manager of Rugby Operations and Performance, Jim Dixon announced today that Rugby Canada will be making a change in the Men’s Fifteens Head Coach position.

Today’s announcement comes after an extensive review of the National Men’s Fifteens Program – which Mark Anscombe has been the Head Coach of since May of 2016 – following a disappointing loss to USA in the 2019 Men’s Rugby World Cup Qualification matches in Hamilton and San Diego. Full details from the program review will be made available tomorrow morning.

“On behalf of everyone at Rugby Canada, I would like to thank Mark for his commitment to the organization and the program, we wish him every success in the future,” said Dixon from Langford, BC.

“It is very apparent to all in the Canadian Rugby community that in order for our Men’s Fifteens Team to be a successful and respected program we must continue to drive a culture of excellence, commitment and discipline. This goes for every level of the game. As a collective community we must address the gaps in our system and strive to provide our young players with the best possible environment to excel in the game, and we have a lot of work to do in this regard. I am 100% confident the National Senior Men’s Fifteens program staff, and most importantly the players, will respond to the challenge in front of them. The program will recommence in September with new resources in place to support them,” added Dixon.

Rugby Canada’s current staff will maintain preparations for the Men’s Fifteens Program, including re-centralization in September at the Canadian Rugby Centre of Excellence in Langford, BC. A Canada “A” side will compete in the Americas Pacific Challenge in Uruguay as part of preparations for their four-game November International series.

"Rugby Canada will work with World Rugby in conducting a global search for a permanent head coach. Fulfilling this important role is critical for Rugby Canada and we will take the necessary time to find the right candidate," said Allen Vansen, CEO of Rugby Canada.

Nieghorn wrote:Anscombe GONNNNNNNNE!

CHANGES TO RUGBY CANADA'S NATIONAL MEN'S FIFTEENS PROGRAM LEADERSHIP
0
Thursday, August 3, 2017 - Submitted by Rugby Canada

LANGFORD, BC – Rugby Canada’s General Manager of Rugby Operations and Performance, Jim Dixon announced today that Rugby Canada will be making a change in the Men’s Fifteens Head Coach position.

Today’s announcement comes after an extensive review of the National Men’s Fifteens Program – which Mark Anscombe has been the Head Coach of since May of 2016 – following a disappointing loss to USA in the 2019 Men’s Rugby World Cup Qualification matches in Hamilton and San Diego. Full details from the program review will be made available tomorrow morning.

“On behalf of everyone at Rugby Canada, I would like to thank Mark for his commitment to the organization and the program, we wish him every success in the future,” said Dixon from Langford, BC.

“It is very apparent to all in the Canadian Rugby community that in order for our Men’s Fifteens Team to be a successful and respected program we must continue to drive a culture of excellence, commitment and discipline. This goes for every level of the game. As a collective community we must address the gaps in our system and strive to provide our young players with the best possible environment to excel in the game, and we have a lot of work to do in this regard. I am 100% confident the National Senior Men’s Fifteens program staff, and most importantly the players, will respond to the challenge in front of them. The program will recommence in September with new resources in place to support them,” added Dixon.

Rugby Canada’s current staff will maintain preparations for the Men’s Fifteens Program, including re-centralization in September at the Canadian Rugby Centre of Excellence in Langford, BC. A Canada “A” side will compete in the Americas Pacific Challenge in Uruguay as part of preparations for their four-game November International series.

"Rugby Canada will work with World Rugby in conducting a global search for a permanent head coach. Fulfilling this important role is critical for Rugby Canada and we will take the necessary time to find the right candidate," said Allen Vansen, CEO of Rugby Canada.

The Gong Show that is RC continues. And the three guys who hired Anscombe 18 months ago, Dixon, Powers, Vansen, are still on the job.

Unlike Crowley, who took the Pearsonian diplomatic approach, Anscombe likely told the RC board that the men's system they put in place is garbage.

Two things need to be done to get us back on track:

1. "Rugby Canada Strategic Plan 2016-2019" needs to be publicly burned.
2. Those persons primarily responsible for the content and the implementation of the above plan can never hold positions of power within Rugby Canada again.

Start with the above and we can begin the process to go forward.

Viva la Revolucion!

Nieghorn wrote:Viva la Revolucion!

This is Canada. We have rebellions here, and rebellions are lost revolutions. Simplified, it is the premise of "the loser mentality" within Canadian historiography, which has come to dominate the writing and the 'teaching' of Canadian history in the last 40 years.

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.


hearing the whole coaching staff might have been fired.

Bang! Anscombe fires back. The excellent CP pressman Neil Davidson's report below:


Rugby Canada fires men’s head coach Mark Anscombe after World Cup qualifying loss
NEIL DAVIDSON
TORONTO — The Canadian Press
Published Thursday, Aug. 03, 2017 4:32PM EDT
Last updated Thursday, Aug. 03, 2017 5:40PM EDT
0 Comments Print

Mark Anscombe’s tenure as Canadian men’s rugby coach ended abruptly Thursday when the New Zealander was fired after just 16 months on the job.

Rugby Canada said the move came after an “extensive review” of the national men’s 15s program in the wake of Canada stumbling at the first hurdle of World Cup qualifying.

Anscombe, while not surprised, reacted to the news with disappointment and anger.

“At the end of the day, the team is only the product of a system and the system is (broken),” he said in an interview Thursday. “And no one’s doing anything to improve it.

“What are we doing in this country to help the athlete? And the answer is absolutely nothing.”

A straight shooter, he has consistently argued Canada is up against it in the rugby world because too many of its athletes are not playing at a high enough level and are not conditioned to compete on the international scene.

It was a blunt message that likely did no go down well with the players in question.

The Canadian men, currently ranked 23rd in the world, lost to the 17th-ranked U.S. in a two-game aggregate series, tying the Eagles 28-28 in Hamilton on June 24 before falling 52-16 in San Diego on July 1.

“It is very apparent to all in the Canadian rugby community that in order for our men’s 15s team to be a successful and respected program we must continue to drive a culture of excellence, commitment and discipline,” Jim Dixon, Rugby Canada’s GM of rugby operations and performance, said in a statement announcing the firing.

“This goes for every level of the game. As a collective community we must address the gaps in our system and strive to provide our young players with the best possible environment to excel in the game, and we have a lot of work to do in this regard.”

Canada has another chance to qualify, via a playoff with No. 18 Uruguay early next year with the loser relegated to a world repechage.

Changing horse in mid-stream would seem a questionable strategy – Anscombe was under contract through the 2019 World Cup. The two Rugby Canada executives will have more to say Friday in a media conference call.

Getting to the World Cup qualification is crucial to the men’s program, with much needed funds from World Rugby accompanying qualification. Canada has never failed to qualify.

In the same statement, Rugby Canada CEO Allen Vansen said there will be a global search for a new coach.

“Fulfilling this important role is critical for Rugby Canada and we will take the necessary time to find the right candidate,” Vansen said.

Anscombe’s test record as coach was 2-11-1 but it can be argued that he never got to field his strongest team because of injuries and club commitments.

In the second leg of the World Cup qualifier against the Americans, for example, he was missing star quality in injured backs DTH van der Merwe, Taylor Paris, Jeff Hassler and Matt Evans. Veteran Phil Mack was also unavailable.

Canada was 18th in the world when Anscombe took over but fell five spots after going 1-4-0 early his year at the Americas Rugby Championship with a largely developmental squad.

Anscombe estimated that his ARC squad was without 12 or 13 top players, whom he elected to leave at their European teams so as not to endanger their club status.

With a stronger lineup during the November tests, Canada lost 25-23 to Samoa, 21-16 to Romania and 52-21 to Ireland. At the time Ireland was ranked No. 5, Samoa No. 14 and Romania No. 16.

But Anscombe’s fate seemed tenuous after Rugby Canada promised a “comprehensive review” after the July 1 loss to the U.S.

“This is not the result we have been working towards, but we are confident we will qualify in the second round,” Dixon said at the time.

Anscombe said he knew his fate was decided then.

“A head was going to always go in this and I knew then, the day that (call for review) went out, that it was going to be mine. No matter what happened.”

Similar reviews resulted in men’s seven coach Liam Middleton’s firing after his team failed to qualify for the Rio Olympics. And Kieran Crowley, Anscombe’s predecessor, resigned to take a club job in Italy after a post-World Cup review that came with a short contract extension and several catches.

Anscombe led New Zealand to the IRB Junior World Championships in 2011 after winning the same title as an assistant coach in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

He spent three years as head coach of the Auckland ITM Cup side in New Zealand before taking charge of Ulster ahead of the 2012-13 RaboDirect Pro 12 (now Guinness Pro 14). In his first year, Ulster led the standings at 17-4-1 before losing in the final. The team went 15-7-0 the next season, losing in the semifinals, before he left the club in June 2014 with a year remaining on his contract.

He led Ulster to back-to-back Heineken Cup quarter-finals.

“As we enhance our domestic program over the next 12-18 months and prepare for RWC (Rugby World Cup) 2019 qualification, Mark’s experience and leadership will be vital,” Dixon said in hiring Anscombe in March 2016.

I'll feel better about things changing when I stop seeing photos on social media of Powers, Rees and Charron palling around at various RC functions.

I'm honestly not informed enough these days to have a pithy opinion on the fired coach, but a true overhaul and change of thinking is needed.

Clearly lots needs to change. What a mess we're in. Anscombe seemed at first to be a good hire, he certainly had the CV, but as was pointed out above, his comments after some of the recent losses didn't really ring true to me (and others). But this won't help the hiring initiative; Anscombe was here for the proverbial cup of coffee, hardly enough time to make impact / changes that most coaches would like to, and potential applicants will have noticed that.

Is there anyone domestically that could fit the bill?

I didn't and still don't rate Anscombe but he raises the odd valid point.

My advice is this: a Kiwi doesn't necessarily make a great coach. What's James Pritchard up to these days?

You're right, he does make a few good points, and I did respect that he spoke plainly if bluntly and outlined hard truths.

I'm not sure about Pritchard, all I can find is that he was let go as defence coach / player at Coventry in late Dec. Loved that guy though. Hopefully he's upping his coaching credentials / skills, and can contribute to rugby canada or australia in some capacity.