Editorial: Men’s High Performance Rugby, Comparing USA and Canada

RugbyPass Publishes Article on USA Rugby Head Coach Scott Lawrence; Reviewing Rugby Canada High Performance Plans

RugbyPass, owned by World Rugby, published an article on Scott Lawrence, the USA head coach (and GM), this week. It’s worth a read, it outlines his plans for the men’s XVs rugby program and how the U20 and U18 teams fit into that picture. It also talks about the results he’s getting, 3 wins in November against good teams, Portugal, Spain, Tonga, raising USA to #15 in the world rankings.

Scott Lawrence is doing a good job, I knew he would, as a former Eagle and coach of the U20 team that won the JWRT in 2012, he understands the game in the USA and he’s results driven. USA Rugby acted decisively when they didn’t make the 2023 World Cup, they fired the coach and put Scott Lawrence in charge, that was January 2023. They’re now reaping the rewards of that decision.

The article also reveals some information that’s interesting, there’s no JWRT in 2025 so USA U20 are travelling to South Africa. Also USA have three tests in July before the Pacific Nations Cup (RWC 2027 qualifier), according to Wiki one of the tests is against England. The RugbyPass article is linked here.

Meanwhile in Canada

Unlike USA Rugby, Rugby Canada were indecisive, they kept Kingsley Jones on for almost 2 years beyond his expiry date, compared to the USA timeline, and if you factor in that Canada were eliminated from the World Cup before USA, it’s over 2 years. Rugby Canada then hired Steve Meehan, an Australian, and at the time of writing we don’t know what he’s doing or if he’s even in the country. The RugbyPass article also was a stark reminder that they recently wrote an article on the Canada men’s XV coaching situation, and then promptly deleted it a day after. That article, of course, was about Jamie Cudmore and how he was eager to help turn Canada’s fortunes around. The article was removed from RugbyPass but you can read the archived version here.

Canada doesn’t have a Scott Lawrence to provide updates on the men’s programs, we have a quiet leadership team who are likely keeping their heads down until something good happens. What we do have are the documents Rugby Canada created in late 2023, their Strategic Plan and the High Performance Training Centres Plan.

Both documents are listed below and both have missed goals. The Strategic Plan states, “men and women both compete in the Olympic Games 2024 and 2028”, we know the ship has long sailed on the men’s 2024 Olympic aspirations. The High Performance Training Centres document states “initiate up to 4 training centre Hubs across the country in 2024”, as far as we know Langford remains the only high performance training centre operated by Rugby Canada.

It seems from the high performance documents that Rugby Canada’s focus is on the women’s programs, they come right out and say in the Training Centres document, the “initial focus would be elite Canadian women’s 15s players”. The Canadian women’s XVs are currently ranked #2 in the world and Rugby Canada’s thinking seems to be it’s easier to keep them top 4 than the men top 12 which is in their stated goals.

Meaghan Howat was appointed as Program Director, National Training Centres in May 2024 but we haven’t heard any updates on what’s happening, hopefully that will be coming shortly. If I was to hazard a guess at this point I would say Ottawa would be the first in the east to host a “Hub”, Rugby Canada have stated they would like to partner with universities. The University of Ottawa recently hired former national women’s 7s coach Jack Hanratty on a 6 figure salary, and now Jack is posting for an assistant coach position. There’s money there, top level coaches, the CEO is stationed there, it’s right on the border of Quebec. Based on Rugby Canada’s goals that they want these “Hubs” to focus on women’s rugby to start, it’s a perfect location. We’ll see what happens.

As for the men’s high performance scene, USA have their act together, they’re over 2 years ahead of Canada in this world cup cycle due to decisive action in replacing their head coach, they hired someone who has come through the American system, someone who inspires and communicates. In Canada we don’t know what’s happening, Stephen Aboud who was hired as the High Performance Director in 2023 has been invisible, the new head coach Steve Meehan is MIA at the present. Again, we’ll see what happens.

In Rugby Canada’s Strategic Plan it references “community” 5 times in the document, the first is to state they recognize there is a lack of confidence in Rugby Canada from the rugby community and they hope to restore it, “restore the confidence of the rugby community and its supporters”. The other references are largely about getting money from the rugby community to support Rugby Canada. There’s only 2 mentions of “clubs” and none of those reference rugby but are focused on getting clubs to support national team events.

There needs to be some recognition of the rugby that’s taking place across the country, especially in the top level leagues across the country. Scott Lawrence, in his article, mentions the concept of “meaningful match minutes”, he applies it to MLR but has also applied it to top amateur Premier competitions outside of the MLR season. This is a concept Rugby Canada needs to introduce into its high performance thinking, that will go a long way to breaking down the chasm that currently exists between Rugby Canada and the rugby community it’s supposed to represent and wants support from.

Rugby Canada National High Performance Training Centres
October 2023

https://rugby.ca/uploads/Rugby_Canada_National_High_Performance_Training_Centers_Overview_%282%29.pdf

  • The first goal will be to initiate up to 4 training centre ‘HUBs’ across the country in 2024
  • Rugby Canada is interested in discussions with any potential partners that see mutual value in a National
    High Performance Training Centre. Universities, given their ability to run performance sport programs and
    access top facilities, have been an early focus.
  • The initial focus would be elite Canadian women’s 15s players with a focus on providing opportunities for players outside of, post or as an alternate to USPORTS rugby programs.
  • Once established, the training centres may quickly evolve to provide the opportunities to elite men’s players in the same way.

Rugby Canada Strategic Plan 2024-2027
November 2023

https://rugby.ca/uploads/about/RugbyCanada_FullStrategicPlan_Nov2023.pdf

  • When implemented, the plan will solidify the foundation of rugby in Canada, restore the confidence of the rugby community and its supporters, and re-awaken our players’ pride in wearing the jersey.
  • Women always in the top four and in contention to win Rugby World Cup 2025. Men qualify for Rugby World Cup 2027 and return to top 12. Men and women both compete in the Olympic Games 2024 and 2028.
  • The plan is also the product of extensive, open and inclusive consultation, including with players, coaches, provincial unions, government agencies, funding partners, and others. As we work to implement the plan, we will hold ourselves accountable to these same stakeholders.
  • Provide purposeful opportunities for our community to support us in improving our teams and programs
  • Support the success of major events through targeted community engagement with local clubs, communities and organizations.
  • Invest in communicating the financial gap to our community members to demonstrate how philanthropic support will help our national teams achieve their highest potential.
Posted in Editorials, Front Page.