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High Performance - May 2023

May 15 2023

We had covered this in a May 3rd article but Rugby Canada made their official announcement today. If you want to get some insights into his work with Italy, listen to the Irish podcast embedded below. It was recorded February 2023 and has some candid views on his recent work in Italy. Based on that I'm anticipating he'll be putting a significant amount of emphasis on the 17-19 age group in his development plans. It will be interesting to follow his progress and see if he can create successful high performance development structures in Canada.



from Rugby Canada

Rugby Canada is pleased to announce that Stephen Aboud has been appointed as High Performance Director.

Aboud has a wealth of experience developing successful player pathways and systems in Ireland and Italy. His work began in the early 1990s, establishing a pathway for Ireland’s then amateur players. Over what would become a 26-year career with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), Aboud served in many roles, which included helping create IRFU’s academy program as well as designing coaching courses and mentoring coaches at all levels. He spent his last seven years with IRFU as Head of Technical Direction, guiding the development of players, teams, and coaches.

In 2016, Aboud joined the Italy Rugby Federation, where he served as Head of Technical Direction for the Development of Players and Coaches for six years, overseeing the establishment of Italy’s robust U17 to U20 structures and academies.

“The work that Stephen has done in Ireland and Italy speaks for itself,” said Nathan Bombrys, Rugby Canada CEO. “He is a world-class expert in elite player and coach development, and his expertise will help foster and maintain thriving and successful Canadian players and coaches. We look forward to working with Stephen when he joins the Rugby Canada team.”

“I am honoured to take up this role with Rugby Canada and would like to thank Nathan and the Board for the confidence and support they have shown me,” said Aboud. “I would especially like to thank my new colleagues for their warm welcome and selfless assistance with my induction over the last few weeks. From our initial conversations together, I am convinced we have the determination and passion to further develop quality systems and pathways to make Canadians proud of their rugby and proud of the players who represent Rugby Canada.”

Aboud will officially commence his role as High Performance Director starting in June 2023.

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