Canadian rugby is facing a critical moment
Push to get men's team into World Cup is costly — but the alternative may be worse
It's a difficult time to be a Canadian rugby fan.
The women's sevens team — after years of success that included an Olympic bronze medal in 2016 — has come up short at both the Commonwealth Games and the recent World Series tournament in Kitakyushu, Japan. The men's sevens squad, on the other hand, is still trying to find consistency on the pitch and crack the top 10 in the world rankings.
Adding to these struggles is the ongoing situation with the men's 15s team, which is in serious danger of missing the Rugby World Cup for the first time ever. In preparation for a last-chance repechage tournament in November, Rugby Canada announced a registration fee increase for players across the country to directly support the men's team.
That decision from the national union was heavily criticized by some members of the rugby community — but the alternative could be even worse for the sport in Canada.
"The 15s men, whether it's right or wrong, they're the financial backbone of rugby in Canada. If they're not working, it's going to be really hard to get everything else working," said Karen Gasbarino-Knutt, who runs the #RugbyUnitedCanada Twitter account and serves as the community manager and content editor at rugby brand Aedelhard.
"I'm not just a superfan, I also have a son who plays, so there's also money out of my pocket. I'm as invested as everybody else is who's invested in rugby from the grassroots level and we're all suffering right now."
Rugby Canada says it would lose more than $1 million in funding from World Rugby, the sport's governing body, if the men fail to qualify for the 2019 World Cup in Japan. The financial impact from this loss would inevitably extend beyond the men's team.
"The reality is if we don't pay a little bit more to get the guys to the World Cup, the girls aren't going to have the opportunities that they need to progress," says Gasbarino-Knutt.
'Dropping F-bombs' not the solution
It's difficult to pinpoint exactly how Canadian rugby reached this point. While other countries have invested in high-performance development of players and coaches, Canada has "really stalled" over the last five to 10 years, according to Rugby Canada CEO Allen Vansen.
"We could always do a lot more with a lot more resources," Vansen says. "But we're still an amateur sport, we're still growing our sport, still looking to find ways to be more efficient and to obviously generate more revenue."
Vansen commends countries like Uruguay — who qualified for the World Cup at Canada's expense — for their "smart, strategic investment" and says he is committed to supporting both the men's and women's program going forward. He's also seen the criticism online, ranging from constructive to vulgar.
"Dropping F-bombs all over Rugby Canada is not the solution," says Gasbarino-Knutt, whose social media accounts are not affiliated with the national union. "I believe that they do have the best interests of the players at heart. I believe that they wish they could do more."
For Andrea Burk, a veteran of Canada's 15s, sevens and rugby league national teams, a "concerted effort" to establish more open communication from the top down to the grassroots level is critical to the sport's future.
"Anytime a change is being implemented, there's going to be pushback. If you don't have pushback, that's concerning in itself," says Burk, who also works as a rugby analyst and commentator for CBC Sports.
"If we move through it together, it can only strengthen rugby in Canada."
Optimism amidst doubt
The fate of women's rugby in Canada is inextricably connected to the success of the men's 15s program — despite the fact that there is more tangible success and talent on the women's side, according to Gasbarino-Knutt.
The specific allocation of the fee increase to the men's 15s program was a major point of contention for critics as well. In response, Vansen says Rugby Canada's budgeting for its various programs revolves around marquee events, and right now it's the men's team's time.
In this situation, Rugby Canada hopes some short-term discomfort will prevent a sporting crisis down the road.
"People don't want to be part of a sport that's not successful," Gasbarino-Knutt says. "It's already on the fringes as it is."
As for the ongoing sevens seasons, Canada's teams have different issues to address on the pitch. The Canadian men head to Singapore on April 27-29, while the women have a few weeks to regroup before hosting a stop on the Sevens Series in Langford, B.C., on May 12-13.
The men, despite heading to Singapore as defending champions from last year's tournament, have frequently found themselves relegated to the Challenge Trophy consolation bracket this season. But that doesn't tell the full story of the team, according to Burk, especially with rising stars like Justin Douglas on the squad.
"What isn't always seen is what is going on in the pool play," says Burk. "The men are falling out of the Cup round by a try here or a try there. They're playing very exciting rugby."
The absence of women's captain Ghislaine Landry was felt during the tournament in Kitakyushu, but the team has time to regroup ahead of its home tournament.
Canada will need strong performances from Kayla Moleschi and Charity Williams — who recently returned from injury — and from unsung contributors like Natasha Watcham-Roy in order to get back on track ahead of this summer's Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco.
"They're not going to fold," says Gasbarino-Knutt. "I believe that what's happening is a glitch."
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