The United States has long been dubbed the sleeping giant of world rugby.
But such has been the slow rate of growth, one wonders whether the giant will actually ever wake from its slumber.
There have, however, been positive signs over the past few years with Major League Rugby bedding down its early roots and then expanding, while the national team recently turned in a credible performance against an understrength England line-up, losing 43-29 at Twickenham.
And now a fledgling program to turn athletes from other sports into rugby players is underway in Glendale, Colorado — aka RugbyTown, USA.
Americans have long claimed to have the best athletes in the world, and given there is a surplus of those who fail to reach the heights of the NFL or NBA, the Colorado XOs rugby squad has been created to try and turn some of those very athletes into rugby players.
RugbyTown is also the name of a 10-part documentary series that charts the journey of the XOs.
“The idea was to create a brand new rugby team of superior athletes from a new stock of athletic talent that will fundamentally change the way that America can compete in rugby going forward,” RugbyTown documentary creator Patrick Guthrie tells ESPN. “To create the foundation of players, a pathway and a program, that can create 50 or 60 players by 2027 to win the World Cup.”
It is certainly a lofty ambition.
But the series, which airs on ESPN on Australia, New Zealand and across the Pacific Islands from this Sunday, certainly makes for compelling television as viewers are taken inside every facet of the athletes’ journey as they start their rugby careers from scratch.
Guthrie describes it as a bit like the NFL’s “Hard Knocks” style of storytelling, with viewers also taken inside the classroom, to players’ homes and inside their family circles; the show riding the ups and downs of injuries, disciplinary incidents, triumphs and defeats.
“From the second episode what we do is we reflect on the weekend’s game, ’23 turnovers, come on guys, how did we go through that’ and that’s Act 1 of a 28-minute show,” Guthrie explains.
“Act 2 is we might go home with Gelen Robinson to see his family, visit his brother who’s an NBA player, we go to his gym and then go to his house and have a big dinner. And that’s a seven-minute segment, so that’s Act 2.
“Act 3 for every episode is always the game and the game is told again by the players and their voices…what we wanted to do is not create a show about rugby, as we figured if we really want rugby to break through in America the show really can’t be about rugby at all. What it has to be about is interesting characters and that’s where I really think we’ve hit the goldmine of RugbyTown season 1.”
Having assembled a group of dedicated and experienced coaches, headed by Mark Bullock, who founded the Glendale Raptors Rugby Club in 2005, and former USA international Luke Gross, the education of the crossover athletes began with an introductory camp last November.
From there, a group was selected to return in January when the Colorado XOs were officially born and the RugbyTown story really began to unfold.
“Just like anybody else starting a new sport or anything new, those first few days were ugly,” XOs hooker and former XFL player Gelen Robinson tells ESPN.
“The first few weeks of me actually trying to get the hang of passing and just getting a handle on the rugby ball, the rules and decision-making that comes along with it, it took me a while. And even to this day, you want to convert back to the past 20 years; me playing [American] football in my head, sometimes I want to go back to it.
“But they are two completely different games in my mind, and although they each have their own strengths and weaknesses, it’s tough because it’s brand new for me and being able to make those decisions don’t come naturally to me yet. I’m working on that still to this day, just making those little decisions and executing them well on the pitch.”
Picking up an entirely new skill set, let alone sport, is always going to represent a huge challenge, particularly in adulthood when so many instincts are already ingrained. But the XOs’ education doesn’t just unfold on the field, with classroom sessions and one-on-one player interviews also brought to life in the RugbyTown series, viewers taken inside each individual’s learning experience, their review sessions and their key work-ons moving forward.
“Those instincts are changing for me, things as simple as running onto the ball hard or supporting your teammate after you’ve passed,” Robinson reflected on his journey. “These very small things that rugby players in other countries have been getting since six years old, those things started clicking for me very early and now they’re really starting to develop,” Robinson says.
— RugbyTown National Training Center (@RugbyTownNTC) June 4, 2021
“And that’s the growth within the year that I was hoping and expecting to have. So it’s been really cool to see that progress from not being able to read anything on the rugby field, to getting the ball in my hand and making a good decision with a defender in front of me.”
The crossover athlete concept is one that has long been thrown about in the U.S. and while the likes of Perry Baker and Carlin Isles have managed to do it on the sevens field, the transition to XVs is a significantly tougher challenge.
Given six Colorado XOs athletes were then signed to the MLR after their RugbyTown season had concluded, the team in Glendale might really be onto something this time around.
Robinson was among those six players to gain MLR exposure, the hooker signed by LA Giltinis where he got to mix it with Wallabies greats Matt Giteau and Adam Ashley-Cooper.
“I got the call about a week after XOs season had finished, I got that call to go out and finish up the season with the Giltinis,” Robinson said. “It was an opportunity that I’d been hoping for, I didn’t know if it would go through but obviously did, but it was another great experience in my athletic career that I will never forget.
“Playing with legends, the knowledge that you’re able to take away from a program like that, you can’t ask for a better year of introduction for a first year in rugby. It was great to be around those guys and staff; the four weeks that I was there it blew my mind in the world of rugby, just that education that I got.”
Perhaps then the USA can one day actually compete with the big boys of world rugby, so too that crossover athletes will play a key role in helping them do so.
Robinson, for one, is adamant the RugbyTown television series is going to have an impact on the American rugby scene.
“It’ll definitely take some and who knows how long that will be, but I know that we have the athletes to be able to do it,” Robinson tells ESPN. “But it’s just about getting exposure to those athletes and putting rugby in the eyes of guys who are like me, or guys that were like me a year ago, because it’s important for them to know that this is a beautiful sport that you can travel the world with and make a great living.
“So I think this documentary will open the eyes of many young athletes and let them know that this is an amazing sport that needs to be shown, and there’s a lot of potential for guys to be creative and show who they are in this sport. So it’ll definitely be the start of something to get the ball rolling for U.S. rugby.”
A key figure both in the documentary and the XOs concept is Glendale Mayor, Mike Dunafon.
A passionate rugby figure in America, Dunafon keeps a close key on the XOs at the Infinity Park field that he built to give rugby a home in Glendale. He is at the heart of RugbyTown and is all in on the ultimate goal of Rugby World Cup glory.
“Make no mistake, in RugbyTown, our goal is for the United States to win the Rugby World Cup in 2027,” Dunafon told ESPN. “We have the world’s best athletes, together with great American coaching, world class facilities, and a collective desire to achieve greatness by winning the Rugby World Cup in 2027.”
If American rugby talent can one day match American ambition, the Webb Ellis Cup might just be within the Eagles’ reach. And RugbyTown is well worth a look in the meantime.
RugbyTown Episode 1 airs at 8pm [AEST] Sunday August 29 on ESPN in Australia, New Zealand and through the Pacific. Check your electronic planner for details.
Allar missed the second half of last week’s win over Wisconsin after suffering a left knee injury, but he was not listed on the injury report for the No. 3 Nittany Lions on Saturday morning.
Penn State coach James Franklin said earlier this week that Allar could be a game-time decision and that backup Beau Pribula would take snaps with Allar in practice.
Allar ranks 10th nationally with a QBR of 83.6. He has completed 71.3% of his passes for 1,640 yards and totaled 15 touchdowns with four interceptions.
Penn State starting defensive lineman Dani Dennis-Sutton will be a game-time decision, a source told ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Dennis-Sutton, who is listed as questionable, is expected to warm up and try to play.
Information from ESPN’s Jake Trotter was used in this report.
WEST POINT, N.Y. — Army star quarterback Bryson Daily will miss Saturday’s game against Air Force with an undisclosed injury/illness, Army officials told ESPN.
Daily leads the country with 19 rushing touchdowns and leads all FBS quarterbacks with 909 rushing yards. He was unable to practice this week. The No. 21 Black Knights had a bye last weekend after beating East Carolina 45-28 on Oct. 19 to win their seventh straight game this season.
In the win over ECU, Daily carried the ball 31 times for a career-high 171 yards and accounted for six touchdowns, five rushing and one passing. The 6-foot, 221-pound senior has already set Army single-season records for touchdowns responsible for (26) and rushing touchdowns (19) in seven games.
With Daily sidelined, junior Dewayne Coleman will fill in at quarterback and make his first career start. Daily, one of four team captains, has been Army’s starting quarterback over the past two seasons and the main cog in a Black Knights offense that has eclipsed 400 yards of total offense in all seven games this season.
Army (7-0, 6-0) travels to North Texas next week for an AAC contest. They get a bye week on Nov. 16 and then face Notre Dame on Nov. 23 at Yankee Stadium.
There’s no timetable at this point on how long Daily might be out of the lineup, but Army officials don’t think it’s a season-ending setback.
Army, off to its best start in nearly 30 years, will be one of the top contenders for the Group of 5’s spot in the College Football Playoff if the Black Knights can win the American Athletic Conference championship.
The 2024 World Series ended with the Los Angeles Dodgers winning the championship in a stunning comeback in Game 5, with Walker Buehler the unlikely pitcher to close out the 7-6 win over the New York Yankees. First baseman Freddie Freeman was handed the World Series MVP award for his record-tying 12-RBI performance.
But that doesn’t tell the full story of everyone who played a starring role in October — a postseason that featured a record six grand slams, among other wildness. So, to honor the best of the entire postseason, we’ve created our first MLB All-October Team.
From wild-card-round sensations to World Series standouts, here are the players our ESPN MLB panel of experts voted as the best of the best at every position along with some award hardware for the brightest stars of October.
Why he’s here: To be honest, it wasn’t a great playoffs for catchers — they hit just .184/.254/.310. Higashioka is the one catcher who did hit, belting three home runs and driving in five runs in the seven games the Padres played.
Honorable mention: Will Smith, Los Angeles Dodgers
1B: Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers
Why he’s here: Freeman didn’t have an extra-base hit and drove in just one run in the first two rounds of the playoffs as he tried to play through the severely sprained ankle he suffered at the end of the regular season. He didn’t even play in two games of the NLCS and required hours of physical therapy before each game just to get on the field. But the five days off before the World Series clearly helped, and he homered in the first four games, including his dramatic walk-off grand slam in Game 1 that will go down as not only the signature World Series moment of 2024 — but a World Series moment for the ages.
Why he’s here: Torres had a solid October as he heads into free agency, although he had little competition here. Indeed, second basemen collectively hit just .219 with three home runs the entire playoffs — two of those from Torres — and drove in 24 runs, with Torres driving in eight himself. He had three multihit games and scored five runs in five games in the ALCS, while also taking walks to help set the table for Juan Soto.
Why he’s here: Max Muncy set a record when he reached base 17 times in the NLCS, including a single-postseason-record 12 times in a row, but he went hitless in the World Series. Vientos, meanwhile, had a stellar first trip to the postseason, hitting .327/.362/.636 with five home runs and 14 RBIs in 13 games. That followed a breakout regular season in which he posted an .837 OPS with 27 home runs in just 111 games. He looks like he’ll be a fixture in the middle of the Mets’ lineup for years to come.
Why he’s here: Edman was an under-the-radar pickup at the trade deadline, in part because he was still injured and hadn’t yet played for the St. Louis Cardinals. Most of Edman’s starts came at shortstop, especially after Miguel Rojas was injured in the NLDS, but his bat got him here. Edman was the NLCS MVP after hitting .407 with a record-tying 11 RBIs in the series. He had started at cleanup just twice in his career but was slotted there twice against the Mets, driving in seven runs in those two games. Then he went 2-for-4 in each of the first two games of the World Series, including a home run in Game 2, and finished the Fall Classic hitting .294/.400/.588 with six runs.
Why they’re here: Betts entered this postseason in a 3-for-38 postseason slump going back to the end of the 2021 NLCS — and it initially looked like it would be more of the same when he went 0-for-6 the first two games of the NLDS, including being robbed of a home run courtesy of Jurickson Profar. Everything turned in Game 3 when Profar almost robbed him of another home run — but didn’t. After that, Betts was in the middle of most of the Dodgers’ big rallies, hitting .321/.394/.625 with four home runs and 16 RBIs over the Dodgers’ final 14 playoff games.
Soto’s at-bats spoke for themselves: He never seemed to have a bad one. His big at-bat was the three-run home run in the 10th inning of Game 5 of the ALCS to send the Yankees to the World Series. Getting intentionally walked twice while batting in front of Aaron Judge speaks to Judge’s struggles, yes — but also to how locked in Soto was all postseason. He finished the postseason slashing .327/.469/.633 with 4 home runs, 9 RBIs and 14 walks in 14 games.
Hernandez actually began October on the bench, but we’ve seen him perform big in the postseason before, and he stepped up when Rojas was injured in the NLDS. Hernandez homered in the Dodgers’ 2-0 victory to close out the Padres in the NLDS, had a big two-run home run against the Mets in Game 3 of the NLCS and got the series-turning five-run rally against the Yankees in Game 5 started with a leadoff single in the fifth as well as the series-winning rally in the eighth with another leadoff base hit. Overall, he hit .294/.357/.451 with 11 runs and six RBIs.
Why he’s here: The Yankees were often a two-man show in the postseason, just like they were in the regular season — except it was Soto and Stanton, not Soto and Judge. Stanton blasted seven home runs in the playoffs, including in the final three games of the ALCS (earning MVP honors) and in Games 1 and 5 of the World Series. He finished the playoffs hitting .273/.339/.709, and those seven homers are the most in a single postseason in Yankees history.
Why they’re here: Certainly, it seems as if the status of the starting pitcher in the postseason continues to decline — although, that doesn’t mean they’re not important. There were certainly some stellar individual outings along the way: Corbin Burnes allowed one run in eight innings (but lost 1-0) for the Baltimore Orioles; Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler allowed one hit in seven scoreless innings (but that would be his only start); and the Padres’ Michael King fanned 12 to beat the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS. Skubal had two scoreless starts against the Houston Astros in the wild-card series and Cleveland Guardians in the ALDS, confirming his status as one of the best in the game — or maybe the best, as his soon-to-be AL Cy Young Award will attest.
Cole was really the one consistent starter throughout the postseason, making five starts with a 2.17 ERA. Unfortunately, that ERA doesn’t register the five unearned runs from the final game of the World Series when the Yankees’ defense turned into a comedy of errors — including Cole himself opening up the floodgates by failing to cover first base to get what would have been the inning-ending out.
Why they’re here: It also wasn’t the best of postseasons for closers — not even great ones. The Guardians’ Emmanuel Clase allowed five earned runs all regular season — and then eight in the playoffs. Milwaukee Brewers closer Devin Williams blew that wild-card game against the Mets. All-Star Jeff Hoffman lost two games for the Phillies. Weaver, however, was the one consistent late-game performer and was great while often pitching more than one inning. He posted a 1.76 ERA across 15⅓ innings. Who knows how the World Series ends if Yankees manager Aaron Boone keeps Weaver in the game in the 10th inning of Game 1. (Weaver had thrown just 19 pitches.)
Treinen, meanwhile, capped his comeback season — he had missed almost all of 2022 and then all of 2023 — with a 2.19 ERA across 12⅓ innings, winning two games and saving three others. In the World Series clincher, he recorded seven outs and got out of a two-on, no-out jam in the eighth inning to preserve the Dodgers’ 7-6 lead before handing the ball to Buehler to close out the ninth.