{"id":354761,"date":"2025-12-17T22:07:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T22:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/354761\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T22:07:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T22:07:07","slug":"rugby-canada-updates-december-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/354761\/","title":{"rendered":"Rugby Canada Updates – December 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\tShawn Bullock Named as High Performance Director for Rugby Canada<\/p>\n

Shawn Bullock, who has been working as a High-Performance consultant with Rugby Canada since 2022, has been named High Performance Director, replacing Stephen Aboud. According to his Linkedin profile, he also was working as the interim High-Performance Director for Nordiq Canada, the cross-country skiing NSO, during his time consulting with Rugby Canada. Nordiq Canada is based out of Canmore, Alberta. Prior to that he had time with Biathlon Canada (Canmore) as a High-Performance Consultant, and Hockey Canada as Director of Men\u2019s National Teams (Calgary).<\/p>\n

The first question is if Shawn Bullock was a High-Performance consultant with Rugby Canada since 2022, why did Rugby Canada hire Stephen Aboud from Ireland in 2023? They could have gone with Bullock in 2023 and avoided the wasted time and money. Other questions that come to mind, will he be based out of the Canmore\/Calgary area or in Victoria? How much influence did he have on the Canada 7s program deciding to decentralize in 2024, or Rugby Canada\u2019s decision to reduce its footprint at the U18 high-performance level?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s wait and see what direction Rugby Canada takes in high-performance. The men\u2019s 7s program trying to finish top 2 in the SVNS 3 tournament in January seems an immediate priority as that will affect the national men\u2019s 7s program for 2026. In the long term providing high-performance pathways from club to country in both men\u2019s and women\u2019s rugby is paramount.<\/p>\n

You can also read Neil Davidson\u2019s Canadian Press article here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

from Rugby Canada<\/a><\/p>\n

SHAWN BULLOCK APPOINTED AS HIGH PERFORMANCE DIRECTOR OF RUGBY CANADA<\/p>\n

Wednesday, December 17, 2025 (Langford, BC) \u2013 Rugby Canada is pleased to announce the appointment of Shawn Bullock as the new High-Performance Director, effective January 2026.<\/p>\n

Bullock brings more than 27 years of experience in high-performance sport in Canada. He previously spent 12 years at Hockey Canada serving as the Manager, Hockey Operations, and moving into Director of men\u2019s and para national team programs. In 2021, Bullock served as the High-Performance Consultant at Biathlon Canada before taking on a High-Performance Consultant role with Rugby Canada in 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve enjoyed my time at Rugby Canada these past three years in a consultancy role and am excited to be leading the high-performance strategy,\u201d said Shawn Bullock. \u201cI understand the magnitude of this responsibility and am ready to continue building a culture of excellence across our teams.\u201d<\/p>\n

The High-Performance Director position underwent a comprehensive global process that attracted a strong field of candidates. The position went to the Canadian for his proven leadership, experience in building systems and his understanding of Rugby Canada\u2019s culture and circumstances. Bullock is thrilled to work with the CEO, coaches, staff, and players to continue to bring the One Squad vision to life. Shawn will oversee the delivery of Rugby Canada\u2019s National Teams and pathways heading into the RWC 2027 in Australia and LA2028 Olympics.<\/p>\n

\u201cShawn brings outstanding experience and a track record of success in Canadian sport,\u201d said Nathan Bombrys, Rugby Canada CEO. \u201cHe has developed a clear understanding and passion for Rugby Canada and our One Squad ethos, and we look forward to his collaborative approach to leadership as we build this next phase of Rugby Canada\u2019s strategic plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAmong all the NSOs I have collaborated with, Rugby Canada is highly professional and carries itself with a tremendous sense of pride. I look forward to leading this next chapter of excellence in what has become an incredible era for rugby in Canada on the global stage.\u201d said Shawn Bullock.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Shawn Bullock Named as High Performance Director for Rugby Canada Shawn Bullock, who has been working as a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":354762,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-354761","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-rugby","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=354761"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354761\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/354762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=354761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=354761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=354761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}