Alpharetta Phoenix Rugby Club and Roswell Rugby Club are pleased to jointly announce today that they will merge for the 2015/2016 rugby season and following seasons with immediate effect.

(Note - news of this merger produced immediate response from the Georgia HS Rugby Association, which opposes it. See details here.)

The merged entity will play and be known as Phoenix Rugby and will operate from North Park in Alpharetta, Ga. The club colors of green and black (Roswell) and red and black (Alpharetta) will be incorporated into a new club strip with both the Phoenix and Roswell names included. It is anticipated that the new club will field three U19 boys teams, a new girls team and several 7s teams. The club will operate year-round.

The Middle School feeder programs currently operated by both clubs will continue to function independently from the new club with a further school being added in 2016. It is planned that, in addition to competing in the Georgia HS league, the club will play a significant number of fixtures against elite teams regionally and nationally.

Niall Fenton will assume the position of President of the combined clubs with John Green becoming Vice President. The coaching and administrative functions of both clubs will be integrated into the new club structure to form an impressive resource.

“Roswell is delighted to join with our neighbors," said John Green, President of Roswell Rugby. "Alpharetta, to form a strengthened combined club that will compete for national prominence while providing an unrivalled rugby experience for players of all ages and skills. This will truly be a rugby club offering a tremendous player experience”.

“Combining these two great clubs makes us a far stronger unit than we could be separately," added Niall Fenton, President of Alpharetta Phoenix. "It means better coaching and a stronger club for our primary focus --- our players. North Fulton County will be well served by the combined club as we seek to aggressively grow the game of rugby in Georgia.”

With these two clubs combining into one, it's highly likely that we will see the new Phoenix Rugby play more out-of-state games, and potentially some international games, as well.