HOUSTON, TX. - The Men's Junior All-Americans will face Canada's U20sat Texas A&M's PenberthyPlaying Field on June 12th and Rice University's Rugby Field on June 16thin their two match World Rugby Trophy Qualification Series. Taking place at 7 PM and 3:30 PM, respectively, admission to both matches will be free of charge.

(Jordan Maat photos)

The U20s warmed up on Friday night with a 77-0 defeat of the Austin Elite Academy. U20s Head Coach Scott Bracken said "we wanted to get a good look at different personnel combinations and work our systems. We accomplished both. Happy with the way the team competed ... we identified some strengths and weaknesses to address going forward."

Tuesday the U20s face rival-Canada, coached by Jeff Williams. The Canadians also have a couple of warmup matches under their belts and used that to finalize the roster for this week.

"Fortunately, there has been strong competition for places," said Williams. "Furthermore, we decided to go with six forwards and two backs on the bench, in view of the high heat and humidity in Houston."

The last time both met in a World Rugby Trophy Qualification Series, they split the series with the Canadians earning the berth due to their cumulative points total.

With teams from all seven other regions already qualified, only one North American spot remains for the World Rugby tournament set to take place in Romania, August 24th.

Fans across Texas are encouraged to attend and show their support as the Men's Junior All-Americans represent their country on the greater journey to becoming Eagles. Likewise, philanthropic support is critical for athletes in age-grade programs to continue their journey to National Team selection.

 

MEN'S JUNIOR ALL-AMERICAN ROSTER | 2018 WORLD RUGBY TROPHY QUALIFIER

 

PLAYER	SCHOOL/CLUB
Ainuu, David	Toulouse Rugby
Bagley, Daryl	American International College
Bradfield, Jack	Cleveland Westside Rovers
Buckley, Connor	Iona College
Dacey, Max	Glendale Raptors
De Haas, Ruben	Free State Cheetahs
Farmer, Kieran	Houston SaberCats
James, Ryan	Glendale Raptors
Johnson, Justin	Life University
Johnstone, Campbell	Mount St. Mary's University
Leddy, Alec	Glendale Raptors
Lialio, Payton	St. Mary's College
Madden, Patrick	Cal Poly State University - San Louis Obispo
Mascolo, Santiago	Iona College
Mcleish, Stephen	Lindenwood University
McVeigh, Ethan	Old Mission Beach Athletic Club - Wallabies
Medina, Patrick	Austin Blacks
Murphy, Ronan	Saint Mary's College of California
Niumataiwalu, Noah	Saint Joseph's University
Perry, Quinn	Santa Monica Rugby
Short, Devin	San Diego Legion
Shotwell, Dillon	Sam Houston State University
Teles, Bronson	University of Arizona
Walsh, Sam	Scots College (NZ)
Waguespack, William	NOLA Gold Rugby
Wendling, John	Central Washington University
Wiles, Jack	St. Bonaventure University
Wilson, Bailey	Utah United

 

MEN'S JUNIOR ALL-AMERICAN STAFF | 2018 WORLD RUGBY TROPHY QUALIFIER

POSITION	STAFF
Head Coach	Scott Bracken
Assistant Coach	Michael Engelbrecht
Assistant Coach	Brendan O'Meara
Athletic Trainer	Catherine Donahue
Team Manager	Kevin McCorry
Director of Rugby	JD Stephenson

 

 

Canada Under-20 Roster to face USA on Tuesday:
 
1. Gavin Kratz – UVIC Vikes (Victoria, BC)
2. Jack McRogers – McMaster University (Toronto, ON)
3. Tyler Rowland – UBC Thunderbirds (Toronto, ON)
4. Quentin James – Perpignan (Vancouver, BC)
5. Reid Davis – Bayside RFC (Surrey, BC)
6. Owain Ruttan – UBC Thunderbirds (Toronto, ON)
7. James O’Neill – UVIC Vikes (Cochrane, AB)
8. Michael Smith – UBC Thunderbirds (Vancouver, BC)
9. Will Percillier – UBC Thunderbirds (Victoria, BC)
10. Steven Commerford – Brock University (Toronto, ON)
11. Jack McCarthy – Vandals RFC (St, John’s, NL)
12. Kevin Vertkas – UBC Thunderbirds (Toronto, ON)
13. Seth Purdey – UCal at Berkeley (Shawnigan Lake, BC)
14. Elias Ergas – UBC Thunderbirds (Vancouver, BC)
15. Brennig Prevost – UVIC Vikes (Victoria, BC)
16. Tyler Wong – UVIC Vikes (Vancouver, BC)
17. Emerson Prior – Trent University (Toronto, ON)
18. Stephen Mallard – Swiler’s RFC (St. John’s, NL)
19. Ben Newhook – Vandals RFC (St, John’s, NL)
20. Jackson Matthews – UVIC Vikes (Montreal, QC)
21. Peter Ingoldsby – Exmouth RFC (England)
22. Brock Gallagher – James Bay AA (Edmonton, AB)
23. Mostyn Findley – UVIC Vikes (Regina, SK)

 

MEN'S JUNIOR ALL-AMERICAN SCHEDULE | WORLD RUGBY TROPHY QUALIFIERS

v. Canada U20s

Tue, June 12 | 7 PM CT

Penberthy Playing Field (Texas A&M University)

Admission is free

 

v. Canada U20s

Tue, June 16 | 3:30 PM CT

Intramural Field (Rice University)

Admission is free