Collegiate Shield Kicks Off Tonight
Collegiate Shield Kicks Off Tonight
The Collegiate Rugby Shield kicks off tonight at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah at 7PM ET.
This is a sort of scouting bowl for players who want to be seen before the Major League Rugby draft, although not every player has applied for the draft. Some just want to see where they stand.
We have a longer piece on that topic written in conjunction with The Rugby Network here>>
(TRN will show the game on replay. It will be live on Fox Sports Network FS 1).
But now we have the team lineups and some additional comments from the coaches:
Team Canyons
Head Coach Tui Osborne
1. Liam Smith, Lindenwood
2. Joseph Kryger, Fresno State
3. Brandon Karnes, Iowa State
4. Angelo Eklou, Louisville
5. James Rivers, Arizona
6. John Dupree, Central Washington
7. Sean Martin, Arizona State
8. Josh Kipp, Michigan State
9. Evan Conlon, Lindenwood
10. Chandler Owens, Kansas
11. Devin Rivet, Arizona State
12. Owen McGuffin, Iowa State
13. Joseph Johnson, Bowling Green
15. Sam Williams, Adrian College
17. Nolan Buckley, UMass Lowell
19. Sione Mahe Nau, Snow College
20. John Stewart, Lindenwood
21. Brad Jackson, Utah
22. Sebastian Scheffermann, Mary Washington
25. Garryth Hoal, Missouri
32. Luke Misleh, Ohio State
34. Conner Grande, Central Washington
42. Ty Carlson, Life University
55. Hudson Montgomery, Thomas More
98. Samuel Buckley, Lindenwood
These players have paid their way to participate in this game, Osborne told Goff Rugby Report, and so they deserve playing time. While the goal is to win, and to play winning rugby, it is also designed to be an enjoyable experience for the players and an exerience where they can learn.
"I also want to learn as a coach, too," Osborne said—to that end he has no St. Bonaventure players on his side and in fact no other Rugby East players. Osborne specifically wanted to coach players he didn't know.
"Learning how to communicate with players you don't know or who are from a different background is a key part of coaching," said Osborne.
Team Peaks
Head Coach: Ray Barkwill
0. Dominic Caccese, West Chester
1. Angus Kelly, Florida State
2. Kaleb Boleyn, Northern Iowa
3. Aiden Sully, Utah
4. William Whiteside, Lindenwood
5. Clement Quaicoe, Lindenwood
6. Ali Taha Brown, Georgetown
7. Damoreon Travis, Life University
8. Tomas Casares, Thomas More
9. Sebastiano Villani, St. Bonaventure
10. Matias Caramuti, Thomas More
11. Enrique Carmona, Davenport
12. Charles Wroten, III, Pitt County CC
13. Tayson Hammer, BYU
15. Connor Olvera, BYU
16. Mark Murphy, Iowa State
20. Lucas Black, Lindenwood
21. Hunter Simons, Ohio State
25. Carter Smith, Wilfrid Laurier University
27. Kekoa Kauwe, Kutztown
29. Josh Dowdeswell, UCLA
34. Nate Curtis, Central Michigan
48. Gabe Ketterting, Lindenwood
66. Blake Knight, Lindenwood
79. Kyle Sikora, Bowling Green
Barkwell, who suited up for Canada over 50 times at hooker, said he spent over a week on zoom calls with his players getting to know them.
"It's about pulling them all together," he said. "We did drip feed the info on attack and defense structure, set piece, kick and counter game, and the ethos of how we’re going to play. But most people run relatively same game plan and most of the players have a grasp of what a 3-2-2 or a 1-3-3-1 is. So what I have been looking for are people who want to be there, who are going to work, and are invested in making people around them better. They are looking for an MLR opportunity or an opportunity to see what it’s like and go back and improve. And I want these guys to have a 'who is this guy?' moment."
Of the 49 players listed, about half, 25, are from teams that historically play D1A rugby. A further 13 are from D1 (or D1AA), eight from D2, and three more from teams that aren't in those categories (one of those was in D1A rugby until very recently). The most-represented college program is Lindenwood, with eight players. No other team has more than three.
Who are we most interested in seeing?
What are likely the two starting flyhalves in Chandler Owens and Matias Caramuti are players who would be eager to show they can run an attack and work within a system against D1A-level players. The tighthead props for each team will also have much to prove. Brandon Karnes of Iowa State has been a USA U20 player but he has to make that jump from D1 to D1A propping—he should be just fine but you have to show it. On the other side, Aiden Sully is from a Utah team that struggled this past season, and this kind of game is very important for talented players on teams that had trouble finding wins. Same story for Utah scrumhalf Brad Jackson.
