Liam Middleton’s replacement will is set to be named soon as the country seeks to get a new rugby coach who will lead the national team.
The former Canada men’s sevens coach was let go after his squad failed to qualify for the Rio Olympics. Rugby Canada left open a long application window, only closed on Aug. 31
In the wake of a review of the men’s sevens program, Rugby Canada said it would renew Middleton’s contract and afterwards launched a global search for a new head coach immediately.
The Canadian men had three opportunities to make the 12-team field for the Olympic debut of rugby sevens.
First was finishing in the top four of the 2014-15 World Series (Canada placed ninth). The second was a June 2015 regional qualifying tournament for the North America and Caribbean region (NACRA) where Canada lost 21-5 to the U.S. in the final.
And the third was a June last-ditch repechage qualifying tournament in Monaco with the final Olympic spot up for grabs. Canada finished fifth.