Sports Beat by Riley Denver
Rugby is a tough sport. What goes on during a game looks more like a war than an athletic competition.
Since Rugby Canada fired head coach David Clark in August, the fight has moved off the field and nobody is winning. Rugby Canada fired him after losses to lower-ranked teams like Fiji and Japan.
After Clark was fired, the entire men’s national rugby team went on strike, boycotting matches against international heavyweights Australia, ranked number one, Scotland, ranked eighth, and Ireland, ninth.
The match against Australia was to be held in Vancouver. There is no way to measure how important that match would have been to increasing the popularity of the sport in Canada.
Australia is one of the best sides in the world, having them play in Canada is like having Michael Jordan playing the Toronto Raptors: people want to see the best.
To be the best, you need to play the best.
The two sides remain at an impasse: Rugby Canada won’t re-hire Clark and the players simply will not play for anyone else.
Bridges are being burned. Last month, Rugby Canada president Barry Giffen was critical in his annual report of Ottawa native, and team captain, Al Charron. Charron wrote about potential sponsors who did not like the direction of Rugby Canada in his column on www.rugbyrugby.com.
In September, some players accused Rugby Canada of withholding the grant money many of the players depend on to live.
Bad blood has been brewing for months now and the national program is stuck, ranked 14th.
First, Rugby Canada has no team to represent our country.
The rest of the world plays on while Canada’s profile on the international rugby stage drops lower and lower. This is one wound that will take a long time to heal.
Second, players don’t get to test themselves against the best international squads.
When the dust clears and the players finally return, they will not be as experienced as they would have been if the dispute had been settled without losing their scheduled fall matches.
Third, Canadian rugby fans missed out on Canadian rugby. Everyone wants to match their team against the best, to use those matches as a measuring stick to see how good their team is.
A good showing against Australia, in Canada no less, could have inspired the next generation of Canadian rugby players.
But it’s all a moot point now. What could have, should have, or would have happened doesn’t mean anything now. What matters now is that the two sides find some middle ground and resolve this dispute as soon as possible.
In the end, Clark’s dismissal was justified. When a team loses, the coach is the first to go. While admirable, the players’ loyalty to him has hurt the Canadian rugby community irrevocably. It’s time to get back to work.
If a solution doesn’t come from this month’s general meeting, look for Canadian rugby players to be on the sidelines for a very long time.