Rugby Canada axes Anscombe as senior men’s coach

Mark Anscombe is out as head coach of the Canadian men’s rugby team.

The New Zealander lasted just over a year in the job; he was hired in March 2016.

On top of a review by Rugby Canada which found a new coach was needed following a disastrous June campaign, a source close to the situation told The Province most of the senior members on the team asked for his resignation and that he had lost the dressing room.

Anscombe was hired to replace Kieran Crowley, who had resigned in January 2016 after eight years in charge. Crowley had received a lukewarm endorsement by Rugby Canada leadership following the 2015 Rugby World Cup; Crowley had also landed a coaching offer in Italy.

Under Anscombe, Canada won just twice, against Russia in June 2016 and against Chile last February. There was a draw with the USA in the first leg of the Rugby World Cup Qualifying series against the USA in June, but the Canadians slumped to a devastating loss in the second leg, missing out on the first Americas qualifying spot for the first time ever.

There were a series of narrow losses during his tenure — to Italy, Romania and Samoa — which might have painted a different picture of his tenure, but in a resultsbased business, he came up short. He was hired to lead the Canadians to the 2019 Rugby World Cup and while some argued the pool which a win over the USA would have landed them actually wasn’t the best possible outcome, the fact remains his squad didn’t look good in the process.

On top of the loss to the Americans, there was a disastrous Americas Rugby Championship last winter, where the Canadians suffered a first-ever loss to Brazil as well as a first loss to Uruguay in 15 years.

In a statement, Rugby Canada general manager of rugby operations and performance Jim Dixon thanked Anscombe for his work, but said a review conducted after the June losses led to the current conclusion: Anscombe had to go.

“It is very apparent to all in the Canadian rugby community that in order for our men’s fifteens team to be a successful and respected program we must continue to drive a culture of excellence, commitment and discipline. This goes for every level of the game. As a collective community we must address the gaps in our system and strive to provide our young players with the best possible environment to excel in the game, and we have a lot of work to do in this regard. I am 100 per cent confident the national senior men’s fifteens program staff, and most importantly the players, will respond to the challenge in front of them. The program will recommence in September with new resources in place to support them,” Dixon said in the statement.

Anscombe was hired after a broad search which yielded a large number of candidates.

It was a somewhat surprising choice, given Anscombe had a controversial departure from his last coaching job, with Ulster in Ireland. He was also accused in 2012 of sending a racist text to countryman Pat Lam.

But on the other hand, Anscombe did have very good coaching results with both Auckland in New Zealand and then with Ulster.

Eyes will now fall on Dixon and company, who clearly missed on the hiring of Anscombe. They may argue otherwise, but the fact is, they’re letting go a coach just one year into what was supposed to be a four-year term.