Article content continued

..been a good run. Looking forward to the next chapter ahead. Thanks to my family, friends, and especially my team mates over 9 yrs. Sssss.. — Sean White (@whiteslither) July 23, 2016

“The response was pretty powerful,” he told The Province. “It got way more traction than I could’ve forseen.”

After the Canadian men’s sevens squad failed at its final attempt to qualify for Rio in June — the women qualified and are considered strong medal contenders — White took time to consider his future.

“You look for another target,” he said. “It was a big year leading up to Rio. We put a lot of effort in.

“The Sevens World Cup (in San Francisco) is in two years, but I didn’t think I could hold out that long.”

For much of his time as a Canadian international, players based in this country were pure amateurs. In recent seasons, Olympic funding meant the players earned a small salary, but White said it was never about the money.

“We were strong because we didn’t have a paycheque,” he said.

His proudest rugby moment? Forget the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, where he faced the All Blacks.

It’s the gold medal win in last year’s Pan Am Games in Toronto.

“Singing the anthem in front of home fans like that was amazing,” he said.

On the flip side, the toughest part for him was missing out twice on Rio qualifying tournaments over the past 12 months. First, it was the North American tournament last June, where Canada lost to the USA. Then, again in June, the last-chance tournament for the final spot in the Rio tournament.

Both times White was healthy, but both times he was left out of the squad, despite having played plenty over the preceding Sevens World Series seasons.