Next Phase Rugby and National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) commenced a partnership to help NCR colleges expand their student athlete recruiting.

Next Phase Rugby is an online platform that connects college rugby programs with high school rugby players. The app launched in May, and has quickly become the largest online rugby recruiting platform in the country with hundreds of high school players from over ten countries.

Through the partnership, NCR will encourage its member colleges to establish free recruiting profiles to extend their recruiting reach. Next Phase Rugby will provide a discount to NCR colleges that choose premium membership and promote key NCR events to its customer base.

“Next Phase Rugby is a like-minded organization that is focused on growing college rugby. We believe that the service helps our teams build their profiles and extend player recruiting,” said Jeremy Treece, NCR CEO.  

The recruiting service includes both free and premium membership packages. All colleges—regardless of their membership status—will appear in college search results and can be approached by high school athletes. Through premium membership, colleges can unlock advanced search features, follow student athletes, request player contact information and see engagement activity.

“We hope all of our schools set up free profiles to support their recruiting efforts and provide high school athletes with a broad range of collegiate playing opportunities," Treece added. "And, if schools choose the premium account, their NCR membership will help them receive a significant discount.”

Since its launch, Next Phase Rugby has been adding over ten new college programs per week, including many NCR schools. The college database includes men’s and women’s teams across all collegiate divisions. Through college outreach and its partnerships, the company is seeking to build a comprehensive network of college rugby programs to best assist high school players.

“NCR is one of the premier collegiate rugby organizations in the United States," said Greg Stelluti, President of Next Phase Rugby. "Its objective is to foster the on and off-field growth and development of collegiate rugby teams, student athletes and coaches. That goal is perfectly aligned with the mission of Next Phase Rugby. We want to  provide more opportunities for high school athletes to further their education and to play collegiate rugby. Next Phase Rugby is excited to work closely with NCR to help grow the game