Rugby: Canadian players deliver ultimatum

Canada's top rugby players have asked Rugby Canada to reinstate fired coach David Clark or face a boycott of upcoming matches against world champion Australia, Scotland and Ireland.

Rugby Canada fired Clark on August 1, saying the Australian had lost the board's confidence.

A statement from the country's leading players said they wanted Clark back "as a stop-gap measure" for the three matches, allowing Rugby Canada to "revisit the coaching issue" afterwards.

Only five of the 11 board members actually voted to remove Clark, the players say. Clark was appointed head coach in January last year with a contract running through to the 2003 World Cup and has guided the team to five wins from 15 matches.