Beginning in March of 2016, Canada finally and permanently enters the big leagues in 7s Rugby, having secured a stop in the Rugby Sevens World Series, which has been gaining popularity and momentum as a massively celebratory series showcasing the fast pace and lightening speed of 7s games.
Rugby Canada’s foray into the 7s tournament comes at a crucial time for 7s in Canada. Our women are easily within the top four in the world and have much to be proud of in both 7s and 15s. They are fast and consistent, and entertaining beyond belief. Their training has paid off, and they have capitalized on the speed and accuracy of their players time and again. They are almost certainly guaranteed a podium place in the Rio Olympics, which kicks off only 4 months after both our men’s and women’s 7s teams host the world.
The men’s team is energized by the recent announcement that Vancouver will host a stop on the World Series Tour at their modern and centrally located BC Place Stadium in April of next year. And they need to be energized. The men are talented and there is no question they can win because we’ve seen them do it. But coaching changes in recent years and the fact that so many of the men also favour considerably in the 15s program has hindered their ability to stay strong and stay atop the leaderboard.
If only we were a tier one rugby nation, we would have the funding needed to dedicate certain players with pace, agility and legs to a 7s program to hone their skills and work consistently on one type of play. Alas that isn’t so, so some of the hardest working rugby players are constantly having to switch their style of play to suit the game. It’s hindering individual players and it’s hindering the programs. Both 7s and 15s need a boost, and this is too crucial a time to be reinventing the wheel. There’s literally no time to make drastic changes in either program.
We enter a year-packed world rugby schedule with the Pan Am Games in Toronto in July this year (only 4 months away!), where our 7s teams intend to show the world how great we are at both hosting and winning at home. Both teams and in particular the men need the shot of confidence that will come with a big win at this tournament. A loss will not do any good whatsoever to energy levels that the men need to push themselves harder in training, touring, and tournaments.
After the Pan Am games, we switch our focus back to 15s for a few months while the world stands at attention and makes rugby a massive focus. First we have the Pacific Nations Cup, with Canada hosting a couple of the games and wanting very much to factor as it’s the lead-up to the Rugby World Cup in the UK in September/October 2015.
World Cup fever has certainly hit the UK, which is already in preparation-mode as they wrap up their 6 Nations Cup. There is already much talk about World Cup squads, and the teams are already volleying for position atop the leaderboard in advance of the World Cup’s start. They are ahead of us here at home – most rugby supporters in Canada are aware of World Cup but probably only vaguely. Certainly it’s not on [most of] our lips as it is among the fans in Tier One Rugby Nations.
Regardless of where we place after World Cup has ended, our focus shifts back to the 7s programs and will be keenly locked there – or at least SHOULD be locked there – for the 9 months leading up to the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics in July 2016. Between hosting our first big tournament in April and preparing for Rio in July, there will be no talk of anything else.
It’s massively exciting for supporters of Rugby in Canada that there is so much great rugby going on for a full year. We get lots of rugby and we’re guaranteed that Canada will be part of the focus. It’s great to showcase our country and our burgeoning talent. But it comes at a price to our players. There has been no question for a long time that the talent pool is definitely there in Canada, but it’s hard to tap, and it’s not overflowing. We have talented players, as we’ve proven on the international and professional stage.
We are proud of all of those great ambassadors of sport and Canada who are out there plying their trade and doing a massively good job at it. An entirely separate article would be to focus on a few of these players who are so popular in their professional clubs that hundreds of people post in social media beseeching them not to move, or players who are given the keys to the city they play their professional rugby in because they are so highly respected.
All of these great players who work day in and day out and potentially in both 7s AND 15s duty give all they’ve got, no question, and the concern among rugby press in Canada lately is that they are starting to fatigue. Some of the world’s best teams have three first teams. We have some great players for sure, and we have some positions that are overflowing with talent. But we don’t have three first teams. We’re lucky enough to have a good solid bench when we play our international ball.
Clearly we have a problem in Canada. The country is big. It’s too big, and the weather too variable, to get much movement going in terms of local tournaments. We don’t get enough time to get the players together significantly enough to train, though that’s definitely changing where 7s is concerned.
Rugby Canada is doing the best they can under the circumstances. Their Centre for Rugby Excellence is a world-class facility in Langford BC. Their media and communications team is professional and thorough. They’re just as good at inciting passion for the game with their promo pieces as those guys across the pond. Their players are committed, focused, professional and have a mutual respect with their supporters.
More players are needed. More coaching support is needed. More supporters are needed. More money is needed. But there is no doubt that Canada is on the international stage and that we mean to show that we’re deserving of being there. A few great wins would certainly stoke the fire in players and their supporters alike.
The #RedNation of Canadian rugby supporters is needed to stand firmly behind all the Rugby Canada teams and cheer loudly for them as they make their mark on the world stage in the next 18 months. It’s as great a time as any to be a rugby supporter in Canada and an exciting time for our programs.
