Maccabi USA Rugby has announced its Men’s Open Roster for the upcoming Maccabiah Games in Israel this July.
The Maccabiah Games, often called the "Jewish Olympics" is a multi-sport games event held every four years for Jewish athletes, and is held in Israel. The 2021 games were delayed a year due to COVID. The Men's Rugby 7s event will be held July 12 and 13 and will include the USA, Israel, South Africa, and Great Britain. The Men's Rugby 15s will be held July 15-24, and will include the USA, Israel, South Africa, Great Britain, and Australia.
There will also be, for the first time, a women's 7s event.
The USA Men's Team will be led by Coach Taylor Howden, who just finished the MLR season as a coach with NOLA Gold. Howden is from Auckland NZ and has had a vast and impressive playing career that includes five years of professional rugby in the USA. He has coched MLR Academies during his playing time in NOLA and HTX and has also been a top 7s player and coach.
A park of the Maccabi USA Rugby family since the 2013 Games, where the USA won Gold in 7s and Bronze in 15s, Howden will be joined by coaches Mason Pedersen and Ben Wells. Pedersen just wrapped up his 5th season at Austin in MLR and was a key part of the Maccabi Gold medal squad in 2017. Wells was a coach with Maccabi USA at the 2013 games and the 2018 Youth games and is also known for his coaching at Middlebury College in Vermont. Manager Barry Seidel returns from the 2013 and 2017 squads once again joined by the medical team of Suzanne Seidel and Julie Tucker.
The Men’s Open squad is a mix of new players and seasoned Maccabi veterans selected from the program's September 2021 and January 2022 camps held in Houston at the Sabercats Facility. This includes several players who have come through Maccabi USA developmental or pathway events like the 2015 Pan Am Maccabiah and the 2018 Maccabi Youth Games.
“We are excited about this squad and finally getting to defend our Gold Medal in Israel at the 2022 World Maccabiah Games,” said Maccabi USA Rugby Chairman, Dave Rudzinsky. “And we’ve got a guy coaching who always played with grit and passion bringing his competitive spirit and deep knowledge of the game to this campaign.”
