Lesley McKenzie, Canadian Coach from Fort Nelson BC, Named to Portugal Men’s Coaching Staff
Rugbypass.com published a story a few days ago that hasn’t had much exposure in Canada, Lesley McKenzie the Canadian coach from Fort Nelson, BC has been added to the Portugal men’s coaching staff. Formerly, she was in charge of the Japan women’s team for six years 2019-2025 and guided them through two world cups. She had 25 caps playing for Canada then coached UBC for five years. She went to NZ for three years as a development officer before going to Japan to start as assistant coach in 2018, and then head coach in 2019. Now she’s in Portugal getting professional experience in the men’s game. She’ll also be assistant coach of the Europe Super Cup side Lusitanos which plays out of Lisbon and is the feeder for the Portugal national team.
The rugbypass article mentions she’ll be focused on “the breakdown, winning collisions and tackle technique”. Portugal are in World Cup Pool D along with Ireland, Scotland and Uruguay.
We wrote an article on Lesley in 2023 after she had her Japan contract renewed, it features a video interview done by the Rugby Hive podcast. Best wishes to Lesley, and you never know, maybe we’ll see her back in Canada sometime after the World Cup to take on a new role.
Lesley McKenzie has joined Rugby World Cup-bound Portugal after six years in charge of the Sakura Fifteen.
The 25-cap Canada international has joined Simon Mannix’s Portugal coaching staff as a contact coach focusing on the breakdown, winning collisions and tackle technique. In November, Os Lobos will play World Rugby Nations Cup fixtures against Chile, Samoa and Uruguay in Lisbon.
At Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, McKenzie’s Japan exited the tournament after a third-place finish in Pool C before concluding their time in England with a 29-21 victory against Spain in York.
Over nearly two decades, McKenzie has forged a reputation in high-performance rugby as a coach who not only focuses on the individual, but also the collective.
Portugal have been named in Pool D at Rugby World Cup 2027 alongside Ireland, Scotland and Uruguay. They will begin their campaign against Andy Farrell’s Ireland at the Sydney Football Stadium on Monday 4 October.
McKenzie joins an Os Lobos team that secured Rugby World Cup 2027 qualification at the 2025 Rugby Europe Championship with a fourth-place finish. It will be just the third time that Portugal have played at a Rugby World Cup.
Portugal were the surprise package at Rugby World Cup 2023. Named in Pool C, the side which had qualified via the final qualification tournament, drew with Georgia 18-18 and pulled off a shock 24-23 win against Fiji.
McKenzie has also joined Rugby Europe Super Cup side Lusitanos XV – also coached by Mannix – as an assistant coach.
After representing her country at two Women’s Rugby World Cups, McKenzie immediately moved into coaching. She spent five years coaching her alma mater, the UBC Thunderbirds, before spending three years as a development officer for the Wanganui Rugby Football Union in New Zealand.
In 2018 she joined the Japan Women’s Sevens set-up as an assistant coach. Less than a year later, McKenzie was appointed head coach of the Women’s XVs team.
During a six-year tenure with the Sakura Fifteen, the Canadian led Japan at two Women’s Rugby World Cups. In 2022, McKenzie’s team completed an unbeaten two-match tour of Australia.
During their time on the Gold Coast, Japan beat Fiji 28-14 before overcoming the Wallaroos 12-10. It was the first time Japan had beaten a team ranked in World Rugby’s top five.
In a 2019 interview with World Rugby, McKenzie said she felt no extra pressure as a female head coach: “I’m not in the game to be a female head coach. I’m a rugby coach.
“And it may look different to people outside who are looking at relative numbers but I’m doing the same job as anyone else is and people get just as upset when you lose games if you’re a female as they do if you’re male. So, no I think the pressure is just inherent in what the task is.”