Current USA prop and former Jesuit HS and Cal player Eric Fry has moved up a division in the pro leagues in England, switching from London Scottish in the Greene King IPA Championship's London Scottish to the Aviva Premiership's Newcastle. 

The addition of Fry puts the number of USA players on contract in the Premiership at seven, with Thretton Palamo on a trial with Saracens potentially making it eight if he stays on. 

New USA 7s team Head Coach Mike Friday said Scottish was sad to see Fry go, but added that this was how the process works - "we worked to develop him as a player and then he moves on, and we're happy for him."

Scottish have signed another Eagle, bringing in Tai Tuisamoa as a rib-squeezing defensive force at lock. Tuisamoa is somewhat old for a rookie pro at 34, but he has not played a lot of rugby, as he was a basketball player on college. He is in terrific shape and doesn't have a lot of rugby miles on him, and Friday said Tuisamoa is a Samu Manoa-esque presence for London Scottish.

Speaking of Samoa, we here at Goff Rugby Report want to give you a look at who is playing pro at the major levels overseas, and how they are doing. In addition, as we cover high school and college rugby, we will let you know what high school and college teams the players in question played for.

We score each player based on a number of factors - the level of competition of the league in question, how muh playing time the player gets, how good the team is, and the player's status on the team.

The maximum score is 40, and that would be if a player is an established starter on a championship team in Super Rugby. No one is in that poition at present, but just below that level is the Aviva Premiership, and there Samu Manoa is a huge star for the Northampton Saints, who are Premiership champions. Regular starters for major clubs follow. You might wonder why USA captain Todd Clever is ranked only 5th, but he is playing in the Japan Top League, which is not as strong as the Premiership, and because of how the team is put together, he hasn't received as much playing time as, for example, Manoa.

Lower down are players who are on major clubs but don't play much, or just joined. Fry's playing time at Newcastle is completely up in the air, and with Newcastle barely avoiding relegation last year, thats why his score is lower than, say, Nick Civetta in Italy. 


Ranking Status of USA players overseas

Not Ranked: Thretton Palamo, Saracens.

*Played rugby while at college but not necessarily for that college.
^We don't mention overseas colleges unless the player was already in the USA pipeline. Scott LaValla was bron and raised in the USA, but just chose to attend college in Ireland.
# Blaine Scully attended Jesuit of Sacramento but did not play rugby for them.