Article content

It’s official.

Damian McGrath, formerly coach of Samoa 7s, is the new head coach for the Canada men’s rugby sevens side, Rugby Canada confirmed on Friday.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Damian McGrath is the new Canada 7s coach Back to video

McGrath fills a vacancy created when Liam Middleton was let go in July, following the team’s elimination from Olympic qualifying. Middleton had been at the helm for two seasons.

McGrath, 57 and born in England, was the coach of the Samoa 7s team in 2015-16, winning great acclaim for how he turned around a flailing program. The Samoans, formerly a power on the World Rugby 7s series, won the Paris 7s in May, their first tournament victory in a number of years.

But they also came up short in Olympic qualification, losing to Spain in dramatic fashion in the final of the last-chance qualifying tournament for Rio. Most observers had Samoa as the heavy favourites to win the spot.

McGrath was dismissed by the Samoa Rugby Union board just over a month ago. The coach was well into his pre-season planning and was shocked by the sacking.