Rugby CanadaB次元官网网址檚 plan to have one centralized pool of menB次元官网网址檚 players rather than having separate 15s and sevens training squads is off to a rocky start.

A source said 13 of the sevens players have boycotted training in suburban Victoria and secured legal representation out of concerns their pay is being reduced and their side of the sport is being minimized.

Several months of back and forth between Rugby Canada and the player dissidents have not solved the impasse.

The sevens playersB次元官网网址� previous contracts expired at the end of August and they are balking at the new version. Rugby Canada CEO Allen Vansen acknowledges that some of the sevens players are being offered less compensation, saying it is necessary in order to spread the organizationB次元官网网址檚 limited resources among the entire player pool.

Vansen, while sympathetic to those whose lot is changing under the new framework, says Rugby Canada has no alternative. And that it would move on as needed to field a team if the current crop of sevens players continue to dig their heels in.

Co-captains Nate Hirayama and Harry Jones, meanwhile, took to social media to bang the drum for the sevens game B次元官网网址� seen as taking a back seat to the 15s game under the reorganization.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 2018. 7s is no longer just a development tool. We have to get with the times or weB次元官网网址檙e going to get left behind,B次元官网网址� Hirayama tweeted above a picture of the Canadian team celebrating its victory at the 2017 Singapore Sevens.

JonesB次元官网网址檚 tweet contained another photo of Singapore celebrations that showed the players hoisting coach Damian McGrath in the air.

B次元官网网址淭hese players and staff have dedicated their lives and careers for moments like these. All we want is to keep chasing our dreams,B次元官网网址� Jones said.

The sevens team members are looking into forming a playersB次元官网网址� association, a move Vansen said Rugby Canada would not oppose.

Related: Canada menB次元官网网址檚 rugby team beats Brazil for itB次元官网网址檚 first win in the ARC

Related: Rugby Canada receives funding for goal of earning World Cup berth

These players and staff have dedicated their lives and careers for moments like these. All we want is to keep chasing our dreams.

B次元官网网址� Harry Jones (@jonesharry3)

In August, Rugby Canada announced it would centralize a group of 40 to 50 men under contract B次元官网网址渢o maximize the development of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 menB次元官网网址檚 national team players.B次元官网网址�

The two squads essentially have trained apart in Langford, B.C., with separate coaches B次元官网网址� with some 17 carded athletes in the sevens squad and up to 30 non-carded players in the 15s B次元官网网址� although there has been some movement between the two. CanadaB次元官网网址檚 top 15s talent plays professionally overseas.

The reorganization is an admission that Canada does not have the depth to run the two programs separately B次元官网网址� and also that Rugby Canada has to focus more on the 15s program to maintain badly needed World Rugby funding.

The reorganization has pitted the 15s against the sevens with a source describing the current situation as B次元官网网址渢oxic.B次元官网网址�

One cut reduction has the Vancouver sevens participation fee from $5,000 to $500. It is particularly galling to the seven players given the revenue the tournament produces for Rugby Canada.

Such a cut is big for players who make only $1,765 (senior) or $1,060 (developmental) a month in carding money, Rugby Canada offers a monthly B次元官网网址渢op-upB次元官网网址� of $1,200 or $500 but, under the new blended player pool arrangement, only to a maximum of eight players for each of the senior and developmental categories per year.

The bonus structure is also modest B次元官网网址� for example, $1,000 for qualifying for Olympics, something the men have yet to do.

Those in the sevens camp, whose ultimate goal is Olympic qualification, point to the different demands of the sevens game and say specialized training is needed. They also note the rising popularity of the sevens game.

The 15s stalwarts play down the need for special sevens training and point to the worldwide roots of the traditional version of the game.

Canada is currently ranked 23rd in the World Rugby 15s rankings. The Canadian menB次元官网网址檚 sevens squad, meanwhile, finished ninth on the 2017-18 HSBC World Sevens Series.

Rugby Canada said it will continue to pursue Olympic menB次元官网网址檚 sevens qualification, with the sevens program B次元官网网址渁lso serving as a key development programB次元官网网址� for the 15s team.

But the focus is clearly back on the 15s game. Lee Douglas, an assistant menB次元官网网址檚 sevens coach, was an early casualty of the reorganization and is no longer with Rugby Canada.

B次元官网网址淩ugby CanadaB次元官网网址檚 board of directors has clearly stated that our menB次元官网网址檚 fifteens program is the priority program for the union,B次元官网网址� Tim Powers, chair of Rugby CanadaB次元官网网址檚 board of directors, said in a statement in August. B次元官网网址淚n the environment in which we live, key core funding for our entire union is driven by our menB次元官网网址檚 fifteens performance.B次元官网网址�

The Canadian men 15s side, which has never failed to qualify for the World Cup, is headed to a last-chance repechage tournament in November in its third and final attempt to crack the field for the 2019 World Cup.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 critically important for Rugby Canada and for Canadian rugby that we continue to have a menB次元官网网址檚 15s team that qualifies for the Rugby World Cup,B次元官网网址� Vansen said in August.

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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press

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