Former Samoan rugby coach happy in Canada as he prepares for start of World Series

While Damian McGrath has spent all his life in rugby, he soon found out the sport in Samoa is something else.

“Samoan people are rugby-mad,” said the 57-year-old Englishman, who spent 16 months living on a “paradise island” while coaching the Samoan sevens squad.

Everywhere he went, people had something to say.

“I went to mass on a Sunday morning and even the priest on the altar wanted to give a bit of advice — ‘Before we finish today, I’d just like to tell coach that we need to work on the breakdowns,’” recalled McGrath, now head coach of the Canadian men’s sevens team. “There was just no escape from it. It really is the only game in town.

“The only thing was the (rugby) organization off the field didn’t reflect that. It was difficult and there were a couple of us that did just about everything — we managed, we coached, we did logistics … It’s a refreshing change to come here to Canada when the management and the administration are so good and efficient.”

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McGrath led Samoa to a ninth-place finish in the 2015-16 HSBC Sevens World Series, with his team winning the penultimate event of the season in Paris.

The Samoans were the top seeds at a June Olympic qualifying repechage tournament in Monaco but lost to upstart Spain 22-19 in the final on a last-second try. McGrath was subsequently dismissed. He is currently suing Samoan rugby authorities for the remaining 19 months on his contract, saying he was terminated without cause.

He found work in Canada, which opted not to renew Zimbabwe native Liam Middleton’s contract after the Canadian men finished fifth in the Olympic qualifier and 13th on the world circuit.

McGrath, who has been joined by his wife on Vancouver Island, worked for the first time with the Canadian team at a camp in Florida before heading to Trinidad and Tobago where Canada won the Rugby Americas North Sevens earlier this month, outscoring lesser opposition 227-5 in five matches.

The new coach is taking 12 of the 13 players who went to Trinidad to Dubai for the Dec. 2-3 start of the 2016-17 world sevens circuit, a 10-stop competition that returns to Vancouver in March. Veteran Adam Zaruba comes in at the expense of Andrew Battaglia.

McGrath’s opening gambit in the World Series is a doozy. Canada begins in Dubai against powerhouse Fiji before facing Argentina and Wales. 

“I don’t think there are any easy games any more on the World Series Sevens but to have the world and Olympic champion first up is I think as tough as it could be,” said McGrath. “We’re going to have to be on our mettle.

“I’m not expecting miracles but I’m hoping our performances will show there’s going to be improvement. Who knows we may just upset a couple of bigger names as we go.”

Of the 22 sevens players centralized in Langford, B.C., 15 are returning veterans. The newcomers are Battaglia, David Dinbandhu, Caleb Jordan, Isaac Kaay, Kyle Lagasca, Josiah Morra and Crosby Stewart.

Sean White, Mike Scholz and Sean Duke have retired while Admir Cejvanovic, Nanyak Dala, Phil Mack and Conor Trainor are focusing on the 15s game.

McGrath says he has been impressed by what he has seen so far, especially the young talent. He has work to do but will take his time implementing changes so as to avoid overkill.

“I’ve explained to the players that we will change things but we will do it slowly and methodically to begin with. It might not change things in terms of results dramatically but I’m confident we can improve as the year goes on … There’s a lot of reasons to be optimistic for Canada and rugby.”

The team leaves Saturday for Dubai.

Canada

Phil Berna, UBC Thunderbirds, Vancouver; Justin Douglas, Abbotsford RFC, Abbotsford, B.C.; Mike Fuailefau, Castaway Wanderers, Victoria; Nathan Hirayama, Richmond, B.C.; Harry Jones, Capilano RFC, Vancouver; Caleb Jordan, Montreal Wanderers, Montreal; Pat Kay, Castaway Wanderers, Duncan, B.C.; Karsten Leitner, UBC Thunderbirds, Vancouver; Luke McCloskey, Castaway Wanderers, Victoria; John Moonlight (capt.), James Bay AA, Pickering, Ont.; Matt Mullins, Queen’s University, Belleville, Ont.; Liam Underwood, Balmy Beach RFC, Toronto; Adam Zaruba, Capilano RFC, Vancouver.

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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press