Karl Fix Open Letter to Rugby Canada in Support of Jamie Cudmore as Head Coach
The following is an open letter from Karl Fix to the CEO of Rugby Canada and the Rugby Canada Board. It’s in support of Jamie Cudmore as Canadian Head Coach. The recent announcement by Rugby Canada that Kingsley Jones will be vacating that position has opened the options for a new head coach.
An open letter to Nathan Bombrys , CEO of Rugby Canada and the Rugby Canada board
I’m writing this to you as a devout but concerned long time supporter of Canadian rugby .
The rapid decline in world rankings with our men’s programs (both 7s and 15s) has stood in stark contrast to the remarkable successes of the women’s program and I’m cautiously optimistic that a coaching change will re-ignite some of the passion that our men’s 15’s program has had in the past .
I sincerely hope that the coaching choice made by the Board and Selection panel for the next Men’s National 15s coach knows and understands the geographical challenges faced by this massive Nation, is familiar with players from Coast to Coast, is connected to knowledgeable rugby people for counsel/player identification in Canada and abroad, possesses the intrinsic ability to re-ignite Canadian Rugby Passion and has a proven track record of success in Canadian Rugby.
To this end I would like to voice my support for Jamie Cudmore to assume the role of Canadian Head Coach to lead the National Team into the next stages of World Cup Qualification. Jamie exemplifies the spirit and fortitude we need to compete internationally and has a playing/coaching resume that I believe will inspire our players to take the next competitive step and get the ship going in the right direction again. He has also paid a very heavy price for ill-advised tweets from almost 4 years ago and, even though he saw a few red cards in his playing days, we believe a lifetime ban from coaching professionally in Canada is egregiously heavy handed. He has done his time and we need Jamie now more than ever !!
Thanks and sincerely,
Karl Fix , president of the Dog River Howlers Rugby Club and former :
– member of the Rugby Canada, Sask Rugby and Regina Rugby Union boards
– director of the Rugby Canada’s U17 and U19 national men’s programs
– coach of Saskatchewan’s U17, U19 and senior men’s teams
– CEO of the Prairie Fire Rugby Club in the former Rugby Canada Super League
Rugby Canada should never have let Kieran Crowley go. Everything went downhill very, very fast when they did.
RC didn’t let KC go. They rehired him then he bolted for
more money in Italy. He was not successful as Canadian
National Coach. Quit trying to rewrite history.
HH Jono
Yes, RC did let him go, by virtue of not paying him enough. And everything went downhill very fast when they did. The close losses (near wins) to Italy and Romania in the World Cup weren’t because of KC, but rather despite KC. They would have been huge losses without him, as they soon came to be, and Canada was playing some very good rugby with an increasingly strong development system.
Your “HH Jono” is arrogant, and always was. Years and years of it. It’s a kind of arrogance that has plagued rugby in this country.
I agree with Ryan Touhey (below). KC was “easily the best coach we’ve had since 1995”.
What do HH jono mean, for someone who hasn’t heard it before and why is it so arrogant?
I agree about Crowley. Tyler Ardron recently said the same thing in an interview. The man was class. We were close to knocking off Tier One teams and fans were engaged. Easily the best coach we’ve had since 1995
I second Karl’s endorsement of Jamie Cudmore Long time overdue !!
pjcarr
Jamie Cudmore is what we need a Canadian coaching Canadians
Jamie, with the right people around him, could be a great fit. Unfortunately “the right people” would exclude many in the Rugby establishment in Canada. Clean house, go lean & mean, and we might edge our way back to relevance!
Mark … how long can comments be here? 😉
Cheers
Cam