Scott Harland - Builder
Rare are individuals who have made significant contributions to the sport of rugby in a number of areas at the local, national and international levels, and Scott Harland is one of them.
Scott’s love of Rugby started as a player in 1982. He played junior and senior provincial for Manitoba, was named to the Canada U21 team in 1988, and played semi-pro in Nevers, France. Scott started coaching in 1987 and coached at least one team every year until 2008. During that period he was head or assistant coach for 14 Manitoba provincial junior or senior women’s teams, including the 1995 Western Canadian Jr. Women’s Champions; served as assistant coach for the Canada Sr. Women’s team from 1998 to 2001, helping with Canada’s first win ever over the USA women’s team; served as head coach for the Canada U-23 Women’s team from 1999 to 2002 and the Canada U-19 Women’s team from 2005 to 2008, including Canada’s first ever - men or women’s - rugby victory over England; and served as head coach for a combined team from 7 countries at the North America and Caribbean Women’s International 15s Championships. In addition to these coaching contributions and successes, Scott was instrumental in helping to establish the high school women’s leagues in both Winnipeg in 1987 and Saskatoon in 1992.
Scott’s enthusiasm for the game was further demonstrated when he undertook to begin a career as a referee in the very same year that he started to coach. Continuing as a referee to this day, Scott has accomplished a breadth of officiating experiences and attained an enviable record of achievement rivaled by few. Of note, Scott has refereed in over fifteen interprovincial junior and senior championship matches, refereed at two regional International Sevens championships as well as one women’s and four men’s International 15’s matches and served as Citing Commissioner for four Regional International Sevens championships and two Regional International U-19 tournaments.
In addition, Scott has served as a Match Commissioner for 30 plus International matches and Sevens tournaments including Canada vs USA World Cup qualifiers, NZ vs Ireland, NZ vs USA and the 2018 Junior World Championship in France and was appointed Head Official for the Pan Am Games Rugby Sevens in Toronto and the 2016 Regional Olympic Qualifiers in North Carolina, and was named Tournament Director for the 2013 Tbilisi Cup (Georgia, Uruguay, South Africa and Ireland), the 2017 Youth Commonwealth Games (Bahamas) and the 2018 Youth Olympic Qualifiers in Las Vegas.
Scott is accredited as a World Rugby Master Trainer, and has trained Citing Commissioners, Judicial Officers, Referees, Coaches, Match Commissioners and World Rugby Educators and Trainers. He currently works as the Regional Training Manager for Rugby Americas North, overseeing a range of rugby programs and all accreditation courses in Canada, the USA, Mexico and the Caribbean. He has also been involved in revising the Laws book and many of the current World Rugby courses.
All in all, an impressive array of accomplishments that are worthy of Hall of Fame induction.
Rare are individuals who have made significant contributions to the sport of rugby in a number of areas at the local, national and international levels, and Scott Harland is one of them.
Scott’s love of Rugby started as a player in 1982. He played junior and senior provincial for Manitoba, was named to the Canada U21 team in 1988, and played semi-pro in Nevers, France. Scott started coaching in 1987 and coached at least one team every year until 2008. During that period he was head or assistant coach for 14 Manitoba provincial junior or senior women’s teams, including the 1995 Western Canadian Jr. Women’s Champions; served as assistant coach for the Canada Sr. Women’s team from 1998 to 2001, helping with Canada’s first win ever over the USA women’s team; served as head coach for the Canada U-23 Women’s team from 1999 to 2002 and the Canada U-19 Women’s team from 2005 to 2008, including Canada’s first ever - men or women’s - rugby victory over England; and served as head coach for a combined team from 7 countries at the North America and Caribbean Women’s International 15s Championships. In addition to these coaching contributions and successes, Scott was instrumental in helping to establish the high school women’s leagues in both Winnipeg in 1987 and Saskatoon in 1992.
Scott’s enthusiasm for the game was further demonstrated when he undertook to begin a career as a referee in the very same year that he started to coach. Continuing as a referee to this day, Scott has accomplished a breadth of officiating experiences and attained an enviable record of achievement rivaled by few. Of note, Scott has refereed in over fifteen interprovincial junior and senior championship matches, refereed at two regional International Sevens championships as well as one women’s and four men’s International 15’s matches and served as Citing Commissioner for four Regional International Sevens championships and two Regional International U-19 tournaments.
In addition, Scott has served as a Match Commissioner for 30 plus International matches and Sevens tournaments including Canada vs USA World Cup qualifiers, NZ vs Ireland, NZ vs USA and the 2018 Junior World Championship in France and was appointed Head Official for the Pan Am Games Rugby Sevens in Toronto and the 2016 Regional Olympic Qualifiers in North Carolina, and was named Tournament Director for the 2013 Tbilisi Cup (Georgia, Uruguay, South Africa and Ireland), the 2017 Youth Commonwealth Games (Bahamas) and the 2018 Youth Olympic Qualifiers in Las Vegas.
Scott is accredited as a World Rugby Master Trainer, and has trained Citing Commissioners, Judicial Officers, Referees, Coaches, Match Commissioners and World Rugby Educators and Trainers. He currently works as the Regional Training Manager for Rugby Americas North, overseeing a range of rugby programs and all accreditation courses in Canada, the USA, Mexico and the Caribbean. He has also been involved in revising the Laws book and many of the current World Rugby courses.
All in all, an impressive array of accomplishments that are worthy of Hall of Fame induction.