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Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union or rugby league.
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.
The United States national rugby league team represents the United States in international rugby league competitions. The team is managed by the USA Rugby League (USARL).
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.
The Canada men's national rugby union team represents the Canada in men's international rugby union competitions. They are overseen by Rugby Canada the governing body of rugby union in Canada.
The Italy national rugby league team represents Italy in rugby league football. With origins dating back to the 1950s and 1960s, the team has competed regularly in international competitions since 2008, when their current governing body, the Federazione Italiana Rugby League, was formed. They are currently ranked 13th in the IRL World Rankings.
The Japan national rugby league team, nicknamed the Samurais, represents Japan in rugby league football. Japan have played some international competition since 1994. The Japanese National Cup, the JRL domestic club competition, was founded in 1998. In 2021 the season was restarted after a break for COVID with five teams in two divisions, three clubs in East Japan, the Abiko Ducks, Mitaka Spartans and South Ikebukuro Rabbitohs; and two clubs in West Japan, the Kamisenryu Sea Turtles and The Kansai Kaminari.
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.
Rugby union is a moderately popular sport in Canada; it is quite strong as a participation sport, particularly in several hotspots like British Columbia, Atlantic Canada, the West Island of Montreal, Quebec City and Ontario but does not attract the same level of spectator support yet, likely because the CFL's popular brand of Canadian Football is still similar to rugby in many ways, whilst also being the dominant football code in the country. Rugby Canada is the administrative body for rugby union in Canada. Every province also has its own union.
David Hodges is an American businessman and former professional rugby union player and coach. His current role within rugby is uncertain following his last employer, the Austin Gilgronis, being expelled from the MLR. He was an American rugby union coach of the United States national rugby union team, the Eagles. Hodges is a former professional rugby union player, professional, collegiate American football player, and collegiate American football coach. Hodges was captain of the U.S. national rugby team for 28 matches, a U.S. record that stood until 2013. Since retiring from the international game, Dave has had a long run of bad fortune in the business of rugby. He was let go from Rhino Rugby as the Vice President of Sales, let go from USA Rugby after a woeful 2019 Rugby World Cup as the Men's National Team General Manager, and more recently has found himself out of work after his most recent employer, the Austin Gilgronis, we're expelled from the MLR.
San Francisco Golden Gate Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in San Francisco, California. SFGG's first side competes in the Northern California Rugby Football Union's Men's Division I, Women's Division II, and Pacific Rugby Premiership. The SFGG Youth Program includes high school Varsity, Junior Varsity, Frosh-Soph teams as well as U-12, U-10 and U-8 (non-contact) youth teams. SFGG also fields nationally competitive Rugby Sevens squads over the summer. The SFGG Old Boys team, the Señors, feature in occasional matches.
Tom Billups is an American former rugby union rugby player, who played for the USA Eagles as an international and Blackheath Rugby Club, Harlequin F.C., and Pontypridd RFC as a professional. After retiring as a player in 1999, he joined the staff of the United States national team and was the head coach from 2001 to 2006. In addition to coaching the Eagles, Billups managed the U.S. national sevens team program and coached the 2005 U.S. sevens team. In 2015 Billups was inducted into U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame, and was the first person to be inducted as both a player and coach. In 2018 Billups became the 14th recipient of the Craig Sweeney Award which was first award in 1979 in memory of former United States national team member and captain, Craig Sweeney. The Sweeney Award is presented to a former national team player who has contributed significantly to the game while displaying exemplary character on and off the field.
The Chilean national rugby union team represents the Chilean Rugby Federation in men's international rugby union. Nicknamed Los Cóndores, they play in red and white jerseys. They are currently ranked 22nd in the World Rugby Rankings, making them the third highest-ranked nation in South America.
David Niumataiwalu, better known as David Niu, is an Australian-American dual-code international rugby league and rugby union administrator, coach and former player. Regarded as one of the founders of rugby league in the United States, he established the American National Rugby League (AMNRL), the United States' first domestic rugby league competition and formerly the national governing body for the sport. He later served as president of AFL Global, an organization promoting arena football.
Philip Eloff is an American former rugby union centre. Eloff played for the United States national rugby union team from 2000 to 2007, earning 35 caps.
Jack Clark is an American former rugby union player, former head coach of the U.S. national rugby team, and the current head rugby coach at the University of California, where he became the sixth head coach in team history in 1984.
Folau Niua is an American rugby union former player. He played fly-half for the United States national rugby sevens team from 2011 to 2022, and holds the U.S. record for most tournament appearances with over 65 caps.
David Walter Fee is an American former rugby union player who played for the United States national teams, where he primarily played wing. Fee earned 28 caps for the 15's US national team from 2002 to 2005 and started all four games in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Fee also played on the 7's team, competing in the 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Hong Kong.
References
- ↑ Laucher, Karl (August 17, 1994). "National titles at stake". Palo Alto Online .
- ↑ Laucher, Karl (June 25, 1997). "Scharrenberg rumbling on rugby field". Los Altos Town Crier .
- ↑ "Key player: Mark Scharrenberg". BBC News . September 17, 1999.
- ↑ "U.S. Qualifies For World Cup". New York Times . August 23, 1998.
- ↑ "All-Time American List: Mark Scharrenberg". Goff Rugby Report. January 5, 2021.