Squamish’s Jamie Cudmore has been plying his trade on the professional rugby pitches of France for several years.
Having won 39 test caps playing for Canada, this month the 37-year-old will again join the Canadian team but this time from the sidelines for an upcoming tournament.
Head coach Francois Ratier named Cudmore to the coaching staff for the Canadian team for the inaugural Americas Rugby Championship, where he will serve as forwards and defence coach for the first three games.
“Jamie is a great ambassador for Canadian rugby,” Ratier said in a news release. “He will bring a lot of energy and share his professional experience. It’s never too early to start coaching, and I’m delighted Jamie will be joining us.”
Cudmore had played in several countries before moving to France, where he has settled in with the pro team ASM Clermont Auvergne, which plays in the top tier among the French leagues.
Internationally, he first played for Canada in 2002 and competed in the 2003, 2007, 2007 and 2011 World Cups.
Coaching is not a new experience for Cudmore, as he helped from the sidelines while playing on the West Coast, as well as at the academy level with pro teams.
“I’ve actually coached through my whole rugby career,” he said. “If a player is at a higher level, it’s important that they pass that knowledge on.”
He had been talking about being a part of the team over the past few months, and a combination of a break in the French league schedule and recovery time for neck surgery meant he was able to help coach the Canadian side for the Americas Rugby Championship.
The tournament is a round robin, meaning Canada will play each of the five other nations taking part: the U.S., Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Chile.
Canada begins play this weekend, hosting Uruguay on Feb. 6. It will also play at home against Brazil on Feb. 20. Both games will take place at Westhills Stadium in Langford, B.C. The team also heads on the road to play against the U.S., Argentina and Chile.
World rankings from December suggest Argentina will be the team to beat; the country is ranked fifth globally. The U.S. is ranked 16th, Canada is 19th, with Uruguay right behind in 20th and Chile in 24th. At 42nd, Brazil could be considered the underdog, although the team has climbed in recent rankings.
Cudmore expects the Canadian team to be intense when players hit the field.
“We’ve got extremely high standards,” he said. “We want to win every game.”
They will have to take it one game at a time, starting with the match against Uruguay this weekend.
“We’ve just got to concentrate on getting a good win at home on Saturday,” he said.
Regardless of the tournament outcome, the experience of playing high-level rugby at the international level can only help the players for Canada, most of whom, unlike Cudmore, are not playing professionally.
“This is exactly what Canada needs,” he said. “For us, it’s more of a learning experience.”
Tickets for the two games in Canada are available at events.rugbycanada.ca.
