Related Research Articles
Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union or rugby league.
Rugby sevens is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. Rugby sevens is administered by World Rugby, the body responsible for rugby union worldwide. The game is popular at all levels, with amateur and club tournaments generally held in the summer months. Sevens is one of the most well distributed forms of rugby, and is popular in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, and especially in the South Pacific.
The United States men's national rugby union team, nicknamed the Eagles, represents the United States of America Rugby Football Union in men's international rugby union. USA Rugby is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States, and is a member of Rugby Americas North, one of six regional governing bodies under World Rugby. Until rugby returned to Olympic competition, with sevens at the 2016 Rio Games, the United States was the reigning Olympic rugby champion, having defeated the one other competitor in 1920 and the two other competitors at the 1924 Summer Olympics.
Sports in Canada consist of a wide variety of games. The roots of organized sports in Canada date back to the 1770s, culminating in the development and popularization of the major professional games of ice hockey, lacrosse, basketball, baseball, soccer, football and cricket. Canada's official national sports are ice hockey and lacrosse. Golf, baseball, tennis, skiing, ringette, badminton, cricket, volleyball, cycling, swimming, bowling, rugby union, canoeing, curling, squash, and the study of martial arts are widely enjoyed at the youth and amateur levels. Great achievements in Canadian sports are recognized by Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, while the Lou Marsh Trophy is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete by a panel of journalists. There are numerous other Sports Halls of Fame in Canada.
While rugby league has been played in the United States since 1954, with Australia and New Zealand playing games there on their return from the Rugby League World Cup in France, serious attempts to start the sport in the United States began only in the late 1970s. The establishment of a national team and a domestic competition in the late 20th century has seen more recent progress.
Rugby union in the United States is played at youth, high school, college, amateur, professional, and international levels and governed by USA Rugby. There were over 125,000 players registered with USA Rugby as of 2016. Over 2,500 rugby union clubs exist around the country, including those who are part of college rugby. Professional club competition has existed as Major League Rugby (MLR) since 2017.
Greg Sutton is a Canadian former soccer player and broadcaster. He played as a goalkeeper for several A-League and Major League Soccer teams, including the Montreal Impact and Toronto FC, as well as the Canada national team.
Cameron Dolan is an American rugby union player who normally plays at the Number 8 position. He currently plays professionally for the NOLA Gold, since 2018, in the Major League Rugby (MLR). Dolan previously played rugby outside the United States at professional level.
Major League Rugby is a professional rugby union competition for clubs in North America. In the 2023 season it was contested by twelve teams: eleven from the United States and one from Canada. While operating outside of the governance and oversight of the national governing body, the league is officially sanctioned by USA Rugby—a member union of Rugby Americas North (RAN)—and is consequently part of World Rugby. The league was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
The first recorded match between two colleges in game played in United States using rugby union code rules occurred on May 14, 1874 between Harvard University and McGill University. Predating rugby using the rugby union rules were rugby union style "carrying games" with use of hands permitted including a game between Harvard College Freshmen and Sophomores at a game played at Harvard campus in 1858. Harvard varsity interscholastic rugby team was not founded until December 6, 1872
The New Orleans Gold, stylized as NOLA Gold, is a professional rugby union team based in New Orleans. The team was founded in 2017 and competes in Major League Rugby. Since January 2020, French rugby power ASM Clermont Auvergne has owned a minority stake in the team.
The American Raptors are a professional rugby union team based in the municipality of Glendale in Colorado. The team plays in the transcontinental Super Rugby Americas competition. Established as the amateur Glendale Raptors in 2006, the team became a professional club upon joining Major League Rugby as a founding member in 2017, but they played there only three years, competing as the Colorado Raptors in their final shortened season of 2020 before withdrawing from the league.
Nate Brakeley is an American former professional rugby union player who played lock and flanker for Rugby New York (Ironworkers) of Major League Rugby (MLR) and for the United States men's national team. Brakeley also played for the New York Athletic Club.
The New England Free Jacks are a professional rugby union team in Major League Rugby (MLR) based in the Greater Boston area. They were announced in September 2018 and began to compete professionally in October 2018. They competed in their first season in MLR in the 2020 season. On July 8, 2023, they became the MLR Champions for the 2023 season, after defeating San Diego Legion in a closely fought match.
Old Glory DC RFC is a professional rugby union team based in the Washington, D.C., area that is a member of Major League Rugby (MLR). Old Glory was founded in 2018, played some exhibition games in 2019, and began regular-season MLR play in 2020.
Rugby FC Los Angeles (RFCLA) is a professional rugby union team in Major League Rugby (MLR) from Los Angeles. The team began play in 2020 as Rugby ATL, based in Atlanta, Georgia but announced they would relocate to Los Angeles for the 2024 season, under new ownership.
Ben Mitchell is an English-born Irish professional rugby union player who is currently a lock. As of 2023, he is with the United States team Seattle Seawolves in Major League Rugby (MLR).
The Dallas Jackals are a Major League Rugby team that began play in the 2022 season as an expansion franchise. They were originally going to join the MLR for the 2021 season, but on January 19, 2021, the Jackals delayed their inaugural season to 2022. The team is owned by an investment group including Neil Leibman of the Texas Rangers and Top Tier Sports. The team is based in Arlington, Texas, playing at Choctaw Stadium.
The North American Rugby League (NARL) is an unsanctioned rugby league club competition in North America.
The Chicago Hounds are a professional rugby union team in Major League Rugby (MLR) based in Chicagoland. The team was founded in 2022 and is co-owned by a small group of investors including majority owner Peter Bernick and part-owners Matt Satchwell and Phil Groves. Their home stadium is SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois. Games are broadcast on Marquee Sports Network.
References
- 1 2 "New England Free Jacks Signs Kaleb Geiger". djcoilrugby. December 17, 2023.
- ↑ Pengelly, Martin (July 18, 2022). "Will You Care When a $4B Rugby World Cup Hits the U.S.?". Sports Illustrated .
- ↑ "Geiger catches on quickly for Major League Rugby championship team". Concordia University, Nebraska. July 14, 2022.