Son of Scotland Grand Slam hero joins Canadian coaching staff

Craig Dods has left Scottish Rugby to join Rugby Canada’s coaching setup as head coach of Canada’s men’s sevens team and assistant coach of the men’s 15s team.

The son of Peter Dods, a mainstay of the great Scotland 1984 Grand Slam-winning team and a British and Irish Lions tourist, was chosen from a long list of 70 applicants.

He comes into the role after serving as Scottish Rugby’s specialist skills coach, GB7s assistant coach and as a national talent pathway coach for Scottish Rugby.

Previously, he has worked for Gala and Kelso in the Scottish Borders, as well as heading up Hungary’s women’s rugby programme for a couple of years,leading them to their best-ever finish on the Rugby Europe Sevens circuit.

“I’m delighted to be joining Rugby Canada at a pivotal time for the sport in such a proud and passionate rugby country”, said Dods.

“I’m excited to have the opportunity to make an impact on the Men’s Sevens programme as we aim towards the 2028 LA Olympics and support Stephen Meehan as the 15s team look towards the Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027.

“I can see that Rugby Canada has elite high-performance players who have the skillset and desire to compete at the highest level of our game, across both sevens and 15s.

“My family and I look forward to arriving, meeting the players, coaches and seeing the impact the sport has across the country.”

Shawn Bullock, Rugby Canada’s high performance director, added: “This position attracted over 70 highly qualified applicants from domestic and international backgrounds. Our selection panel conducted a multi-stage recruitment process, assessing candidates against the position profile and the high-performance requirements of the programme.

“This included two phases of interviews designed to evaluate coaching expertise, leadership capabilities, technical knowledge, and alignment with our programme’s values and performance environment. We are excited to welcome Craig to our coaching staff with his experience and expertise in 7s and 15s.”