Category Archives: Coaching

Coaching Updates – January 2026

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Is Kevin Rouet Creating a Coaching/Director Model That Specifically Fits Canadian Rugby?

RugbyPass, the World Rugby run media company, doesn’t cover Canadian rugby very often. They did an article on Jamie Cudmore in December 2024 lauding his attempt to revive Canadian men’s rugby, then immediately took it down when they discovered that Rugby Canada had hired Stephen Meehan as head coach. It was embarrassing for Rugby Canada and World Rugby. It seems they’ll stick to Canadian women’s rugby now which is much more stable under Kevin Rouet. They ran an article a few days ago, at the end of December 2025, which focused on Kevin Rouet and his unique position as head coach of Canadian women’s rugby and assistant coach at Saracens. The article is posted below but there are a couple of excerpts that deserve some more analysis from a Canadian perspective.

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National Team Coach Updates – December 2025

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Kévin Rouet Joins Saracens Coaching Staff on Secondment While Continuing Role of Canada Women’s Head Coach

In the “why not” category, today’s story is Kevin Rouet taking up the role of Attack Coach with the Saracens while maintaining his role as Head Coach of the Canada Women’s XVs team. The next matches for the Canadian women’s XVs are likely part of the Pacific Four series which according to a NZ Rugby source will take place in April. The PWR season takes a break after March 28th, Round 16, and resumes Round 17 on May 30th. The only conflict may be around the end of March depending on when in April the Pacific Four begins. With 25 Canadian players in England taking part in the PWR it seems like a sensible move. The only question is who is monitoring the talent in Canada during this time. If there’s good communication between Rouet and the Provincial leads, like John Tait in BC, then this shouldn’t be an issue. There’s also the 7s coach, Jocelyn Barrieau, who reports to Rouet and deals with a lot of the University level players and upcoming talent. The women’s program seems to have their act together, which is why they’re #2 in the world.

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Coaching Updates – December 2025

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Francois Ratier Named Head Coach of France Women’s XVs and Jack Hanratty Named Head Coach of USA Women’s XVs

Two Canadian coaches have been hired by other countries to lead their women’s rugby programs. Francois Ratier who led the Canadian women’s XVs team to a 2nd place finish at the 2014 World Cup is being appointed as the new France women’s XVs head coach. Jack Hanratty who led the Canadian women’s 7s team to a 2nd place finish, Silver Medal, at the 2024 Olympics is being appointed as the new USA women’s XVs head coach.

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Coaching Summit October 2025

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Two Day Coaching Summit in Vancouver October 4th and 5th Featuring Phil Mack, Lesley McKenzie, Ben Herring

The Rugby Site is hosting a coaching summit at Capilano Rugby Club on October 4th and 5th, it will feature two international level Canadian coaches, Phil Mack and Lesley McKenzie. The website and registration link is here, the poster and some information on the summit is posted below. Well known BC coach Curry Hitchborn endorsed the coaching summit, the Rugby Site and CEO Phil Connolly , “the Rugby Site is THE best online resource for coaches, Phil ran a successful coaching development conference in Ontario a few months back. Based on feedback from some of the attendees I immediately reached out to Phil to see if he’d be keen on doing one in BC.”

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Coach Development Camp 2025

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Elevate Your Game: Gainline Sports Coaching Brings World-Class Rugby Development to BC with Russell Earnshaw in Summer 2025!

Elevate your rugby coaching expertise with Gainline Sports Coaching’s world-class Coach Development Camp in British Columbia during Summer 2025. This highly anticipated program features lead coach Russell Earnshaw, a distinguished figure in rugby development.

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Top Canadian Coaches

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Coach Francois Ratier Leads Stade Bordelais to 3rd Consecutive French Elite 1 Title Along with Canadian Players Justine Pelletier, Fabiola Forteza and Sarah-Maude Lachance

It’s 3 in a row for former Canadian women’s coach Francois Ratier as Stade Bordelais won their 3rd Elite 1 title in France, the top club competition for women in France. They defeated Toulouse in the final.

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Coaching Updates – May 2024

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Jocelyn Barrieau Announced as Successor to Jack Hanratty as Women’s 7s Head Coach Post Olympics

Former Concordia Stingers coach, Jocelyn Barrieau, has been announced as the successor to Jack Hanratty when the Olympics are completed. Barrieau has been with the women’s 7s team as Assistant Coach since May 2023, Hanratty is moving on to a coaching position at the University of Ottawa.

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Coaching Updates – April 2024

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Introducing Gainline Sport Coaching: Interview with Aaron Takel

We had a chance to chat with Aaron Takel about the new venture, Gainline Sport Coaching, he and Scott Manning have started. Links to their website and the SMUS summer camp they’re partnering with are included in the article. Also profile information for Aaron and Scott are appended below the interview.

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Rugby Canada Coaching Updates – March 2024

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Jack Hanratty to Leave Head Coach Position of National Women’s 7s Team Following 2024 Paris Olympics – Starts at University of Ottawa in 2025

Jack Hanratty will leave his position as Head Coach of the national women’s 7s team after the Paris Olympics which ends mid-August. The Rugby Canada press release indicates he will take a short break and start his university role in 2025 which would mean he would miss the 2024 USports rugby season which runs from September to November. The 2024 championship will be hosted by UPEI.

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