Hey there, Rugby Rioter!
👊 Happy Friday.
There are two big international games today: The USA Women take on England in the World Cup Opener, and the USA Men’s squad face Canada in the Pacific Nations Cup.
Plus, an interview with a rising U.S. flyhalf who just spent his summer training in New Zealand.
Packed with rugby. Let’s go 👇
In This Issue
🇺🇸Women’s RWC (round 1): TODAY - USA Women’s Eagles vs England
Watch it on Paramount. Kickoff at 2:30 ET.
🇺🇸Pacific Nations Cup (round 1): TODAY - USA Men’s Eagles vs Canada
Watch it on Paramount. Kickoff at 9PM ET.
West Coast Sevens (round 1): 36 days (September 27th)
Billy is a procrastinator.
His cleats were a little tight, and the seams were looking a little iffy, but he told himself “Meh, they’ll probably hold up” and put off getting himself new boots for months.
But they did not hold up.
While Billy was playing fall sevens, his left boot burst open, exposing a naked toe mid ruck! A split-second later…*crunch* and the poor toe was stomped by another player.
And that’s how Billy ended up missing three weeks of practice with a busted toe.
Don’t be like Billy.
Replace your gear before you’re desperate.
Here’s the place: World Rugby Shop
Here’s the secret code: RIOT15
You’re welcome 😉
👀 The rumor mill
The Telegraph recently published a piece with a juicy headline: “URC considering US franchises to replace potentially axed Welsh regions.”
What’s that mean? Well, apparently the MLR isn’t the only league struggling to keep its house in order. The URC (United Rugby Championship), which features teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales, has been dealing with drama and turmoil.
There’s talk that a handful of Welsh squads may be erased from the league, which could open the door for new teams. The USA has been floated as a candidate, but there’s a LOT of logistical issues to resolve—not to mention the finances, etc.
One thing that jumped off the page in the Telegraph article was this section:
“According to those with knowledge of the talks, the URC would instead weigh up how competitive those [U.S.] teams would be, as well as logistical and travel issues. That would currently rule out sides from Major League Rugby, who would not be able to hold their own against those in the URC.”
So would that mean zero MLR teams are in play? The wording seems to suggest as much — which points to brand new U.S. franchises entirely.
Interesting…
🏉Riot Take: These are just rumors—so we’re not putting much stock in them yet. But it kinda makes sense for the URC to sniff around the US ahead of the 2031 World Cup. Everyone is eyeing that date—and the assumed promotional spend—hoping to cash in on an American boom. As far as creating new US teams to compete in the URC, that’s an exciting prospect.
📊First off the board!
The MLR college draft happened last night. Anthem wasted no time with back-to-back forward pack picks, while Central Washington sent three players to the league in the first round. Here are the results👇
⓵Round One:
William Sherman | UCLA | Lock | 👉 Anthem
Campbell Robb | Central Washington | Hooker | 👉 Anthem
Tiai Vavao | Central Washington | Flanker | 👉 Seawolves
Connor Devos | Lindenwood | Prop | 👉 Old Glory
Oscar Treacy | Central Washington | Wing | 👉 Legion
Elias Garza | Life University | Prop | 👉 Hounds
Jacob Ince | University of Guelph | Center | 👉 Warriors
Ieremia Ieremia | UC Berkeley | Flanker | 👉 Legion
Adam Chadwick | Life University | Hooker | 👉 Free Jacks
⓶Round Two:
Tevita Mapa | Life University | Flanker | 👉 Free Jacks
Charles Walsh | UC Berkeley | Prop | 👉 Seawolves
Jamie Phillips | Dartmouth | Hooker | 👉 Old Glory
Joshua Cox | UCLA | Fullback | 👉 Legion
Bastian Brunello | Mount St. Mary’s | Fullback | 👉 Hounds
Filimone Manu | AIC | Fullback | 👉 Warriors
King Matu Jr. | St. Mary’s College | Flanker | 👉 Sabercats
Leon Best | Life University | Prop | 👉 Free Jacks
⓷Round Three:
Chad Tinney | Lindenwood | Prop | 👉 Anthem
Jack Worobel | University of Vermont | Lock | 👉 Free Jacks
Keelin Coyle | South Florida | Flyhalf | 👉 Seawolves
Merlin M’Cloud | University of Victoria | Flanker | 👉 Old Glory
Grant Meadows | Brock University | Flanker | 👉 Legion
Lachlan McDonald | Walsh | Fullback | 👉 Hounds
Jacob Hall | University of Arizona | Scrumhalf | 👉 Warriors
Ian Roudybush | Penn State | Flanker | 👉 Sabercats
Remy Thomson | Walsh | Scrumhalf | 👉 Free Jacks
💬From San Diego to Kiwiland: Rees Curtis’ semester abroad
While you were sleeping this summer, rising sophomore Rees Curtis was on the other side of the world — dropping guys on the turf and working on his grubber at Nelson College, a famed rugby school where rugby is literally on the class schedule.
He was initially a finalist for the US Rugby Foundation Scholarship—which sends a few US players to Nelson each year—but the program is only open to sophomores and up. Once they realized he was too young, his name was dropped from the list. 👉READ MORE
A flying try from NAI Sevens.
If anyone knows who this player is—and who took the photo—please let us know!
Think you know rugby? Prove it!
During a conversion kick, if the ball goes over the crossbar but the wind blows it back into the field of play, what happens?
Oddball musings from the cold tub.
🏉 What if new teams ditched animal nicknames and went with old-school comic strip sounds instead? Imagine the “Philadelphia POW!”, the “Washington WHOOOSH!”, or the “Zionsville ZAP!” Or my personal favorite… the “Boston BAMF!” (Nightcrawler fans, you know the sound.)
🏉 The Savannah Bananas generated ~$33 million in local economic impact from just two games in Charlotte, NC. Two games! They’re not even a major league team — just showmanship and Harlem Globetrotter-style baseball. Rugby may not need banana suits, but we could definitely steal a page from their marketing playbook.
🏉 Is there a single college rugby player who’s inked an NIL deal? Genuinely curious here… and if not, someone call Dude Wipes.
That’s a wrap, gang!
👀Next week we’ll be looking back at the three 2025 HS national champs; their paths to the title, and thoughts from their coaches. Stay tuned!
If you like this stuff, share it with your friends 👉
Be well, ruck with gusto, and may your compression shorts always stay in place.
-The Rugby Riot Team