High performance director Stephen Aboud is leaving Rugby Canada and rejoining the Italian Rugby Federation.
The 62-year-old Irish native says he made the decision to leave in May in order to be closer to his family. The Italian federation subsequently reached out and offered him a job.
"That's the bonus part about going home," Aboud said in an interview. "But the decision to go home was made with my wife and my family. When the Italians heard that I was going to be finishing up (with Rugby Canada) at the end of my two-year contract, then they just asked would I consider going back. And I said of course."
Aboud joined Rugby Canada in May 2023 after six years with the Italian federation as head of technical direction for the development of players and coaches. Before that, he spent 26 years with the Irish Rugby Football Union in a variety of roles.
Aboud's wife continued to work as a medical secretary in an Irish hospital when he joined Rugby Canada in May 2023.
"The reality is I have missed family weddings. I have missed all my family's birthdays. And I have missed the funeral of nearly half a dozen colleagues and friends since I've been here," said Aboud. "It's just too far. Which means my wife has to go to all these things on her own."
Aboud, who signed a two-year contract with Rugby Canada with an option for another two years, said his wife is working on transitioning to work remotely so they can spend more time together in Italy.Â
Rugby Canada CEO Nathan Bombrys paid tribute to Aboud's work in Canada.
“Under Steve's leadership, we’ve restarted and aligned our age grade-programs, recruited a new head coach (Steve Meehan) to rebuild our men’s program and seen our women’s teams win Olympic silver (in sevens) and climb to No. 2 in the world rankings (in 15s)," Bombrys said in a statement.
"He has been a significant influence on embedding our 'one squad' philosophy across our national programs and we know that he will remain a friend to Rugby Canada for years to come."
The one squad philosophy has seen players transition between the sevens and 15s teams. The sevens programs were decentralized in favour of regional development hubs.
"We've been able to put together a very clear strategy which is important to steer the ship," said Aboud, who was in charge of all aspects of Rugby Canada's pathway. "In terms of personnel, we've been able to recruit and put in place some fantastic people."
Rugby Canada says work has started on finding a successor.
In joining Rugby Canada, Aboud acknowledged he wasn't looking for a full-time job after his time in Italy. Instead, he was working as a consultant on projects that interested him and whose timing suited him.
Rugby Canada fit that bill, at the time.
Aboud arrived in Canada in the wake of an independent review into Rugby Canada's high-performance programs, a study that painted a damning picture of a dysfunctional organization at odds with its athletes, staff and supporters.Â
"That was one of the things that attracted me to coming here, and saying 'OK I'm going to give it seven days a week every single week and try and help things' because we believed that we could turn it around," he said, referencing the report.
He believes the culture at Rugby Canada has changed for the good.
"People work here with a smile on their face, with a positivity," he said.
Aboud played rugby at Blackrock College in Dublin and got involved with the Irish Rugby Football Union while studying to be a teacher. He went on to teach mathematics and physical education and coach rugby at Belvedere College in Dublin.
Eventually, the IRFU offered him a position as a development officer, prompting him to take a leave from teaching.
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This report by ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø was first published Feb. 13
