American Raptors to Kick Off Super Rugby Americas Season 2 Friday
American Raptors to Kick Off Super Rugby Americas Season 2 Friday
The American Raptors open up their Super Rugby Americas season this coming weekend, as they get set to face Los Dogos in Cordoba, Argentina.
This will be the first of three games on the road in South America before the Raptors take a bye week and return to Glendale, Colo. for a homestand. While most of the teams in SRA can play alternately on the road and at home (South America is pretty big, but not so big as to prevent such travel), it's virtually impossible for that to work for the Raptors. In 2023 the Raptors spent the first half of the season on the road and then the second half at home.
That was a tough run, and so now their travel is split, with three road games, a six-game homestand, and then three more road games. This puts slightly less strain on everyone.
Head Coach David Butcher is taking 25 players on the opening road trip:
Aidan Christians; Alexander “Mo” Vainikolo; Koby Baker; Clay Markoff; Devereaux Ferris; Diego Fortuny; Diego Magno; Facundo Pomponio; Feofaaki Pulu; Francisco Quinn; Zach Hall; Ignacio Mieres; Jackson Zabierek; Jacob Hidalgo; Javon Camp-Villalovos; John LeFevre; Isikeli Kava; Ma’ake Muti; Mikey Grandy; Patrick Madden; Rufus McLean; Shawn Clark; Thomas Morani; Tommy Clark; Watson Filikitonga; Will Crawford
We've been working #RaptorsRugby | #SRA2024 | #BeSuper pic.twitter.com/39VWVbMKdJ
— American Raptors (@AmericanRaptors) January 26, 2024
Of this group:
2 are foreign born/trained but USA qualified.
10 are US-born / developed rugby players.
6 are graduates of Glendale's XO crossover academy program.
7 are overseas players not known to be USA qualified.
The opening game will be on ESPN+, kickoff Friday, Feb 16 at 5PM ET.
Next up the Raptors play Pampas, which finished third in SRA in 2023, in Buenos Aires, and round out the road trip in Uruguay against Peñarol.
