Canada's head coach was fired and rehired, and Rugby Canada's board of directors was remade as rugby's administrators took more hits than the players. But by the end of 2001, there was hope that something good might come in 2002 from a year that featured little rugby and much rancour.

 Canada was a modest 2-5 on the field in 2001 when all hell broke loose off it.

 In a surprise move, Rugby Canada announced Aug. 1 that Canadian men's coach David Clark had been fired.

 "Essentially David appears to have lost the confidence of the board and some other people," said Rugby Canada CEO Graham Baldwin.

 Clark, an Australian native unhappy at the glacial pace of movement within an overburdened Rugby Canada, had been openly campaigning for reform. Ironically the Rugby Canada board precipitated that change by axing Clark.

 Top Canadian players, who had long been simmering over their sport's governing body, went on strike and a high-profile Test match against world champion Australia and tours to Ireland and Scotland were cancelled.

 The brain trust at Rugby Canada underestimated both the players' affection for Clark and their ire at past mistakes by rugby's leadership.

 Clark coached many of the current national team players as they rose through the ranks in the under-23 program in Victoria he also oversees. Clark is a charismatic leader who teaches on and off the field and his players are fiercely loyal.

 For veterans of the national team, the Clark firing was just the latest episode of Rugby Canada shooting itself in the foot. Players have long complained about poor organization and travel, symptoms of the chronic shortage of funds that has crippled Rugby Canada.

 But the firing of Clark touched another hugely sore spot -- Rugby Canada shedding yet another talented rugby person with plenty to offer. Players have stewed in recent years as sponsors and potential benefactors have turned away from Canadian rugby because their expertise seemed unwanted.

 And given the fragile nature of Rugby Canada's finances, it seemed insane to pay Clark a year's salary not to coach, as per his contract.

 So the players went on strike. Within the rugby community, there was a bitter war of words over who was right and wrong. Overseas, Canadian rugby received a black eye -- the last thing the sport needed since Canada's image was already taken a beating on the pitch.

 For those with some perspective, the Canadian infighting was simply the product of a country where the sport remains an amateur affair trying to keep abreast with the professional elite of rugby.

 Like soccer, Canada's best rugby players have to go abroad to ply their trade. And while they withdrew their services in 2001, no one can question their loyalty. Anyone who has seen the team belt out the national anthem or checked out the wide array of Maple Leaf tattoos can attest to that.

 Canadian players sacrifice to represent their country, often missing important matches for the overseas clubs that pay their salaries. There is no pay for wearing the Maple Leaf and in some cases no per diem to cover expenses such as doing laundry.

 Some three months after Clark was fired, there was a shakeup at Rugby Canada's highest level as a slate of reformers led by former national team coach Pat Parfrey took control of the board at an annual general meeting in Toronto on Nov. 12.

 Baldwin, president Barry Giffen and others of the former board quit or lost their seats. Well-meaning, they misread the players and much of their membership, it appears. They also paid for a host of sins before them, inheriting a cast-strapped organization with an unhappy, distrustful national team.

 Rugby Canada's recent history has been turbulent to say the least. Directors have quit the board and benefactors have pulled out of the sport. A verbal harassment suit between a former director and Rugby Canada staff member was a particularly ugly episode.

 Now Parfrey and his so-called agents of change running mates have to put things back together again. Clark was restored as coach in late November and Victoria businessman Chris Le Fevre was named Canada's representative to the International Rugby Board.

 Job One is to find sponsorship money for the national team. Parfrey has to rebuild the platform for Canadian rugby so Clark has a shot at narrowing the gaping chasm between Canada and the top countries in the world.

 The Canadian men, who last played July 8 in a 39-7 loss to Japan, are scheduled to tour Australia in late May and early June before Scotland visits in June. World Cup qualifying begins later in the summer.

 Test matches against Wales and France are slated for November.

 The Pacific Rim championship, however, has been cancelled.

 In 2002, Canada's seven team can look forward to a high-profile date at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester. The Canadian women are gearing up for the May World Cup in Spain where the Canadians are seeded fourth.

 Prior to the upheaval, the Canadian men were beaten twice -- 22-10 and 59-20 -- by a touring English team missing essentially its entire starting lineup because of the British Lions' tour of Australia.

 Canada's lone wins in 2001 came over the U.S. and Uruguay.

 On the women's front, Canada had a successful tour of Wales and split the Can-Am series with their U.S. rivals, winning 23-3 in Ottawa and losing 22-21 in Saranac Lake, N.Y.

 The Canadian under-19 men's team, facing a tough draw because of past failures at the tournament, failed to win promotion to the A pool at the world junior championships, finishing third in Pool B in Santiago, Chile, in April.

 In England, Regina prop Kevin Tkachuk helped Oxford to a 9-6 win over rival Cambridge at the 120th University Match in early December.

 Back home in July, the Fraser Valley Venom won their second straight Rugby Canada Super League title, defeating the Toronto Renegades 20-14.