By Canadian Press

Liam Middleton out as Canada rugby sevens coach after disappointing season

Jul 13, 2016 | 4:35 PM

TORONTO — Canadian rugby sevens coach Liam Middleton has paid the price for missing out on the “very attainable” goal of Olympic qualification.

In the wake of a review of the men’s sevens program, Rugby Canada says it will not renew Middleton’s contract and will launch a global search for a new head coach immediately.

Middleton, a Zimbabwe native, was appointed coach in September 2014.

His departure is perhaps not unexpected given an underachieving World Series season that saw the men finish 13th overall and go 12 matches without a win during a dismal run that touched on tournaments in Hong Kong, Singapore and London.

But the Olympic failure particularly stung.

closing arguments

Crown refutes self-defence claims for Nanaimo woman on trial for murder/dismembering ex-boyfriend

1h ago

rental rules

Thousands of short-term rentals go back to long-term May 1: B.C. government

4h ago

sweet sounds

Nanaimo woman tries to coax trapped killer calf out of tidal lagoon with her violin

9h ago

“There’s no doubt we’re very disappointed we’re not there and we believe we should have been (in Rio),” Jim Dixon, Rugby Canada’s GM of rugby operations and performance, told a media conference call Wednesday.

While Dixon said there were many factors behind Canada’s underwhelming performance, “on the whole it’s about performing under pressure and performing on demand. And unfortunately we weren’t able to do that at critical moments in the season.”

“We hope and feel confident that with a (coaching) change, we can improve those factors and get results at the times that are critical to the program,”  he added.

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 third was a June last-ditch repechage qualifying tournament in Monaco with the final Olympic spot up for grabs. Canada finished fifth.

“I think it was very attainable,” Dixon said of making the Olympics. “We’ve already expressed that we were very disappointed not to go to Rio for the men.

“I believe they went to the competition in Monaco and even to NACRA the year prior with a very strong chance of winning those competitions and they didn’t do that. And obviously the review has made us look pretty hard at not just leadership within the moment but also our playing depth and how we’re playing and all sorts of other issues to see how we move forward.”

Asked about the players’ thoughts on Middleton, Dixon said they had a “huge amount of respect” for the coach, his work ethic and many of the programs he implemented.

But the Olympic qualification failure reverberated. 

“There’s a lot of very disappointed men who had aspirations of going to Rio. That dream for some of those players is over,” Dixon said.

Middleton was seen by some as a taskmaster. After several months on the job, he certainly believed there was much work to be done to improve the squad in terms of fitness and depth. He also wondered about the cause of a spate of injuries.

He did develop depth in the program and when the Canadians were on, they were formidable opponents. But it came all too rarely.

Three players contacted by The Canadian Press declined to talk about the coaching decision, referring questions to Rugby Canada’s manager of communications or Dixon.

In Rugby Canada’s new release on the coaching change, Middleton was quoted saying “There are some outstanding people in the Rugby Canada men’s sevens program, who are genuine world-class deliverers in their respective fields and I wish them well and look forward to watching their progress.”

Middleton previously served as the Zimbabwe sevens coach and director of rugby at the Zimbabwe Rugby Union. He also coached in England with second-tier Bristol and Hartpury College.

He arrived here with big shoes to fill.

Canada had a breakthrough season in 2013-14 when it finished sixth on the world circuit under Welsh coach Geraint John, who subsequently quit to take over the Australian sevens program.

Middleton’s men had more than their share of bad luck this season, missing out on the elite Cup quarter-finals at three events this season due to tiebreakers. One of those tournament was the inaugural stop in Vancouver where Canada went 6-1 on the weekend but only finished ninth.

Still the tournament drew more than 60,000 over two days at B.C. Place, helping put rugby sevens on the domestic map.

“It’s been a World Series of small margins that we haven’t got on the right side of,” Middleton said prior to the Monaco tournament.

Middleton is the second men’s coach to leave this year. Kieran Crowley quit as coach of the 15-man team in January to take a club job in Italy. 

Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press