Phil Mack Named as Attack Coach for Men’s XVs Team
Phil Mack the iconic Canadian scrum half has been named as the Attack Coach for the men’s XVs team. Currently acting as head coach of the Pacific Pride, the Rugby Canada Academy, he’ll continue in that role while taking on this new role.
This falls in the “about time” department, finally there’s some Canadian content in the men’s XVs coaching staff. It was beginning to feel like Rugby Canada had outsourced the management of the men’s XVs program to World Rugby and their designates, the Welsh Rugby Union.
Maybe someone at Rugby Canada is listening after all, it’s a start, and hopefully there will be more changes to come over the next year or two.
Phil’s coaching career took off in 2017 when he was part of the coaching team that brought the MacTier Cup back to BC. The cup was originally awarded to the winner of the Rugby Canada Super League but later to the winner of the Canadian Rugby Championship. BC hadn’t won it since 2009 but claimed it in 2017 with Phil as player/coach. That player/coach role continued with the Seattle Seawolves when they won the first two MLR titles under Mack’s guidance. In 2020 he was added to the Pacific Pride coaching staff and took over as head coach in 2021.
from Rugby Canada
Rugby Canada is pleased to announce that Pacific Pride Head Coach Phil Mack has been appointed Attack Coach of Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team. In addition to his work with the senior national team, Mack will remain as Technical Lead of the Pacific Pride.
“Having been involved with Rugby Canada since 2003 as a U19 player, this appointment carries a lot of weight and meaning, and it is an honour to step into this role,” said Mack. “I am excited to take on this new opportunity and look to effect some positive change working with our senior national team while also continuing my work developing young talent with the Pacific Pride. I fully understand the responsibilities and challenges at hand with getting Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team back to where we want it to be, and it’s something I’m prepared for and excited about.”
The Victoria, BC scrum half played 59 caps for Canada between 2009 and 2019, including competing at the 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cups. Mack also represented Canada in 52 international sevens tournaments, winning gold at the 2011 and 2015 Pan American Games and competing at the 2009 and 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens.
Mack signed with the Seattle Seawolves in 2017, winning back-to-back MLR championship titles as player-coach in 2018 and 2019.
In September 2020, Mack joined Rugby Canada’s Pacific Pride Development Academy as an Assistant Coach, moving into the Head Coach position in 2021 and seeing players excel despite facing a global pandemic that halted rugby in North America. Since Mack joined the program’s coaching staff, 20 Pacific Pride players have gone on to sign MLR contracts, with 13 players earning their first caps for Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team and nine making their debuts with Canada’s Men’s Sevens Team.
“Phil is a standout individual with immense leadership qualities. He is a student of the game, has a huge work ethic, and genuinely cares about the players, and these are some of the key characteristics required to be an elite coach,” said Kingsley Jones, Head Coach of Canada’s Men’s Rugby Team. “He has vast experience as a player and has done the hard yards over the last six years or so as a full-time coach, making many personal sacrifices and stepping up to lead players and teams, like the Seattle Seawolves, to great success. He’s done a fantastic job leading the Pride and is a standout candidate to step up to the national team coaching staff, and I’m looking forward to working with him in this new capacity.”
Phil Mack Gallery
[photos from top to bottom by Sharon Tiffin, pjCARR, Judy Teasdale]
