Vancouver, BC
There certainly are a limited amount of souls out there like Stuart Craig Ault; the Canadian National Senior Men’s Team is lucky to have one in their midst.

To quote a former Rugby Canada head coach and a man of many quaint sayings, David Clark, Stu Ault is “about the nicest man you could meet in a day’s walk”.

While the quote, and the reference to Clarkie, may bring a smirk to your face, an afternoon with Stu, such as the one that I recently enjoyed, would have you in stitches.

Having recently, myself, been a carded athlete training out of Victoria with the 21 other rugby players selected to receive carding, when the opportunity to write biographies on the athletes currently training and residing in British Columbia’s capital, I jumped at it.

From my experience with the training, and many of the players themselves, I know that there are some absolutely outstanding things going on both on and off the rugby field, which are not common knowledge to the Canadian rugby supporter.

Further to this, and more importantly, there are some pretty special - albeit relatively unknown- athletes doing said amazing things. It is my mission now to raise these players’ profiles, and the awareness of the rugby public, to the 22 carded athletes.

Over the next weeks and months, I will be introducing Rugby Canada’s carded athletes to you, discussing their rugby careers and unearthing some lesser-known facts about the players themselves.

As you may have guessed, the featured participant this time around is Stu Ault, a second row/back row player who hails the burgeoning metropolis of Perth, Ontario.

Stu has been involved with the national team program for only one year. But with recent retirements and a carding youth movement, he now finds himself in a position of leadership with the group - something he is not totally familiar with but is relishing nonetheless.

The name of Stu Ault may not be totally foreign to the Canadian rugby supporter, as he has represented Canada on a number of occasions for various teams. Stu has two full test caps, a single ‘A’ cap having played against Portugal ‘A’ in 2007, and he has also featured for the Canadian sevens team at four events.

Stuart’s rugby began thirteen years ago, playing in Ottawa. In a reflective moment when asked how long he’d been at this rugby thing, he replied: “You would think I would be a little better of a player by now!”

Despite this humble and easy-going attitude, Stu’s ascent to the top flight of rugby in Canada has happened at an astronomical pace. Stu played twelve years for the Ottawa Scottish; his travels around the world that have also led him to a great number of rugby clubs, and an even greater amount of life experiences.

However, since his selection to the North America Four (NA4) tournament as a lock for Canada East, his rugby career has taken off, moving him through the ranks of club, region, and straight into the high performance set up.

Playing a hunch, Ottawa-based Canada East coach Greg Thaggard pushed for Stu’s selection to the 2006 NA4. After coming mostly off the bench in the first leg of the tournament, Stu found himself starting and scoring, in the second leg.

Stu took his opportunity with both hands, winning the tournament scoring race, which is practically unheard of for a lock. While he admits he had some help, it was still an amazing feat.

“I played with a pretty outstanding pack of forwards. And yes- mauling tries still count!” assures Stu.
After storming the NA4 tournament, Stu soon found himself involved in the November tests, earning caps against both Wales and Italy. Stu recalls his first cap as his best memory,

“Running on to win my first cap was amazing” recalls Stu. “And to do it in front of 75,000 fans in Millennium stadium - two of whom were my parents who had flown from Perth to be there- made it an incredible experience that I will never forget.”

At the end of the fall tests, while all the other players returned home for a rest, Stu’s tour of duty continued. While he had been a late addition to the fall tests, Stu had previously been selected for the Dubai and George legs of the iRB Sevens.

As soon as the test window concluded in Italy, Stu boarded a plane to head to Africa, to make it a five- week tour. Stu’s most recent trip with the Canada sevens team was in London in 2007.

In front of several thousand spectators, including the Canadian Churchill cup team, London was the site of his most infamous rugby moment.

“I remember it as if it was yesterday,” Stu begins with a distant, troubled look, stopping only to wipe an invisible tear from his eye. “We were playing Russia, a team that sometimes, well, struggles with the speed aspect of the sevens game.

“The Russians had turned over the ball and began attacking in my direction. I suddenly found myself one-on-one in a LOT of space. Their winger absolutely gassed me and rounded the corner for a huge try.

“As if this wasn’t embarrassing enough, I could hear Scott Franklin (Canadian tight-head prop) chirping me from thirty rows away. Awful.”

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Stuart Craig Ault- Factfile
Nickname: The Franchise
Position(s): lock, back row
D.O.B.: December 17, 1981, 26 years old
Height: 6’5”
Weight: 225lbs
Colleges Attended: Sir Sanford Fleming College, diploma in fire safety
Club(s): Castaway-Wanderers / Ottawa Scottish
RCSL Teams played for: Ottawa Harlequins
Best coach: Paul Britton
Best captain: Phil Mack
Best manager: Rodger Swany
Most difficult opposing player: Adam Kleeberger
Toughest opposing team: Newfoundland Rock, I’ve never beaten them
Favorite playing field: The Athletic Ground, Richmond, England
Favorite movie: Grease
Favorite food: Coke floats, or frozen yogurt with a late berry spritzer!
Favorite quote: “The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.”
Stu is an active member of the Castaway-Wanderers Rugby Club, turning out not only to play on the weekends, but he is also a coach of the club’s junior program.

Stu maintains a close relationship with his hometown despite having lived in Australia, England, Scotland, and recently, in Victoria in that last few years.

Stuart still visits home as often as possible and is still a member of the Perth, Ontario’s volunteer fire department.
Prior to playing and training for rugby full time, Stu was an employee of the Ontario provincial government, as a corrections officer.

“I could tell you stories for hours about working on the ‘inside’, were it not for those pesky confidentiality agreements”, quips Ault. “But in all seriousness- it was job that I really enjoyed.”

Despite his demanding involvement in the High Performance aspects of rugby in Canada, his work with Scrum Master, and as a bartender, Stu always makes time for his personal life and recreation to keep his sanity.

Stu has a passion for music that some would deem of questionable quality, and enjoys taking time out for ‘90s Night’ and “any cheesy pop tunes that I can sing to”.

He also likes relaxing in the hot tub at the end of his days, and can often be seen in Victoria’s Oak Bay Rec, wallowing in the tub for hours at a time.

Stuart’s primary goal is to secure himself a professional rugby contract in Europe, something that would see him training and playing at his very best week-in and week-out.

If Stu continues his great run of form, and plays and trains with his usual intensity, my belief is that he isn’t far off.

By Mike Webb