Canadian rugby players, national body agree to move forward

Rugby Canada and its disgruntled sevens players have come to an agreement ending the player boycott.

Thirteen players including co-captains Nate Hirayama and Harry Jones have boycotted training since their contracts ended Aug. 31, unhappy at the new offer and training conditions. The players, who had been practising by themselves, returned to training Thursday at the Al Charron Rugby Canada National Training Centre in Langford, B.C.

Time is of the essence. The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series season opens Nov. 30 in Dubai.

Sevens coach Damian McGrath, who was essentially desk-bound during the dispute, is back in charge of the squad.

The two sides had been at odds since Rugby Canada announced in early August that it would have one centralized player pool rather than separate sevens and 15s squads.

“We’re obviously very pleased to have them back,” Rugby Canada CEO Allen Vansen said in an interview.

Vansen said while the agreement isn’t fundamentally different with the centralized player pool still in effect, issues such as appearance fees and performance bonuses have been renegotiated.

“We’re quite pleased with where they are,” he said.

A request for player reaction did not produce an immediate response.

The new player agreement will be effective dating back to Oct. 1.

The sevens players are continuing with their bid for union certification, making their case to join the United Steelworkers of America before the B.C. Labour Relations Board.

While Rugby Canada supports the concept of a player association, it opposes the unionization bid.

The two squads had previously trained apart in Langford with separate coaches — with some 17 carded athletes in the sevens squad and up to 30 non-carded players in the 15s — although there has been some movement between the two.

Rugby Canada says its bottom line is built on World Rugby funding contingent on qualifying for the Rugby World Cup.