Dr. Rugby: Pat Parfrey takes his rugby expertise to international stage

There's not a lot that Pat Parfrey hasn't accomplished in rugby.

He's brought the sport to prominence in Newfoundland and Labrador, through his work with the Swilers organization and more importantly The Rock provincial team.

He's brought national championships to the province, and taken more players to higher levels and more teams on fantastic trips than many other sports combined.

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Nationally, he coached the Canadian senior men's national team back in the late 1990s, taking them to the 1999 World Cup. He also served as the president of Rugby Canada.

In this province, and many others, he is Mr. Rugby.

Well, technically because he is a nephrologist (akidney specialist, that is) and a world-renowned physician, we'll call him Dr. Rugby.

Partially because of his day job, but because he can also fix what's wrong with the sport at any given time.

Canada's voice at the table

And that's probably why he's been given the task of representing Canada on the new World Rugby Council. The council formerly known as the IRB (International Rugby Board) is the governing body of the sport, and Parfrey is now Canada's voice on that board. The announcement was made just last week, but Parfrey was actually invited to join the board about a year ago.

"I'm quite happy to be involved in this," Parfrey said last week in his office on the campus of Memorial University.

"The way it's sorted out is that Rugby Canada has to select their representative and then they recommend that to World Rugby Council. I was asked a while back, and it was decided upon more recently."

And the position took effect last month.

Parfrey was appointed to the board for a four-year term, and hopes to serve two terms. Based on the history of what he's accomplished with rugby in the past, expect a lot from the Cork, Ireland native who emigrated to Canada in the early 1980s and eventually settled in St. John's.

Putting Newfoundland on the rugby map

It was in the capital city where he built rugby into the sport it is today, putting Newfoundland on the Canadian rugby map. Now he wants to put Canada in that same position on the global scale.

I have a plan that I'm trying to execute and the first part of it is already come through- Pat Parfrey

Part of that process is to raise money to help build the sport, but another crucial element is to arrange games or fixtures for the Canadian team to play, allowing the sport to grow and our nation's team to improve.

"I have a plan that I'm trying to execute and the first part of it is already come through," he said, in a rare moment of proud reflection, "because we've got a very good 20-game fixture for Canada's senior men's team for this coming year, which is something we've never had before, and that was partly related to the work that I did.

"So I want now to create that for four years and then for eight years. I understand the aging process is something you're uncertain about when it'll kick in when you'll get more fragile or more demented. If I become either I hope somebody tells me to pack up."

In the interim, Parfrey is hoping to bring more of a professional approach to the game with the senior men's team, a venture that will cost approximately $1 million annually to operate. Raising that money and more is part of his role.

Mission: Put Canada in the top tier

For rugby to be taken more seriously by more people, more teams need to be competitive. Currently there are six to eight countries that dominate New Zealand, South Africa and others. Parfrey recognizes getting to that level is a large task, but says a more realistic goal is improving Canada's ranking from the current 17th in the world to somewhere between fifth and 10th.

(Canada was ranked 12th when Parfrey took them to the 1999 World Cup.)

"World Rugby doesn't care who's strong, but they do want to have teams that are capable of beating the New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Wales, England, Scotland, France those countries that have been there forever," he stated.

Canada's men's rugby sevens beats New Zealand

9 years ago

Duration 2:35

Canada's men's rugby sevens team claimed only their second-ever victory over New Zealand in the opening day of the second leg of the HSBC Sevens Series.

"World Rugby doesn't care if it's Japan, Canada or the U.S. They just like us to do it. It increases the human interest in the stories and diminishes the hegemony of the bigger countries. Competitive is the nature of sport. People want to look at sport when it's uncertain what the result is."

Building relationships, and selling stories

Improving their ranking can only be done by playing better teams and improving. Arranging or organizing these games both home and away are also a big part of Parfrey's job on council.

"It's all about relationship-building and selling your story, that Canada is doing stuff as well as they can, or they have a good strategy and it's worth supporting. If you don't persuade people that your strategy is worth supporting you won't get any money.

"Within Canada there's also the feedback from World Rugby back to Canada that there are efforts to try to provide the resources that Canada needs. But the people in Canada need to support their team. It's a dual street."

But there's no concern we are losing Parfrey to a larger global audience. While his time on council will mean time away from home and many hours at the executive level, it doesn't mean he's put away his track suit and whistle just yet.

"I am looking forward to it, because I know a lot of the people involved with World Rugby and I know a lot of the people involved in Canadian rugby. From that perspective I'm quite happy to get involved, but I'm going to continue coaching Newfoundland teams, because that's what I want to do."

And that's perhaps the best news out of rugby this week!