Former Canada rugby captain looks to rebuild bridges, return to national scene
Former Canada rugby captain Jamie Cudmore believes he has a lot more to give the game. Now he hopes others agree.
The 44-year-old Cudmore lost his job as head of Rugby Canada’s national development academy (better known as the Pacific Pride) and assistant coach with the Canadian men’s 15s team in July 2021 after several social media posts critical of the Canadian women’s sevens team’s disappointing performance at the Tokyo Olympics.
Cudmore, a native of Squamish, B.C., has been coaching in Newfoundland since on a contract that expires at the end of November. He’s not sure what comes next but is grateful to those who helped him getting him back coaching.
“If I can stay here and continue to build here with the great people that have opened their arms to having us here and help build rugby on the East Coast, I’ll happily do that,” Cudmore said in an interview. “But to be honest I do have a bit of an itch to get into professional rugby. That’s been my life for the last 20, 22 years.