The difference between the Collegiate All Americans as announced July 7, and the touring side as announced July 15 is basically that the latter is an Eagle pathway team, and the former is a list of good college players.

It makes a difference. It means that overseas-born college rugby players who don’t intend to remain in the USA and try to be Eagle-eligible don’t get to go on tour. It also means that US-eligible college rugby players who are attending school overseas might get picked for the tour.

So, the choosing of the touring team takes some special work. Head Coach Gavin Hickie said while USA-born players are easy - they’re expected to remain USA-eligible - some other players are not. 

“It’s a pretty detailed conversation we have to have with some players,” said Hickie.

They don’t want to put resources behind a player who is going to return to his home country right after graduation (that has actually happened and it’s a source of frustration to USA Rugby’s HP people when it does occur). 

One of the players who was in those conversations was BYU hooker Alex Vorster. Hickie is quite high on the Cougar #2, who is from South Africa but just completed his sophomore year in Provo. 

“It’s a tough thing to navigate,” said Hickie. “But we do have to sit down with players and establish if they want to be Eagles, and if they do, then they have to be all-in.”

So that was the discussion Hickie had with the likes of Vorster and Wes Hartmann. But there was also some more work to do. The team is, as expected, made up of players mostly from of prominent programs (five are from Saint Mary’s, four from BYU, three from Lindenwood). But there are players who jumped out from other programs. 

First off there’s Conor Kearns, who played for the USA U20 team and is part of a growing group of American players at the Trinity program at Dublin University. (See some video highlights of this program here.) A talented fullback, Kearns plays with former Saint Mary’s All American Tim Maupin and former USA age-grade player Pierce Dargan on the Trinity team.

Wyoming produced Cody Jerabek, who was a DIA Player of the Week back in October, 2015. Jerabek is relatively new to the game, but is a power-running center of some quality.

Mo Katz out of James Madison is another from a school that doesn’t produce a lot of All Americans. The versatile and athletic prop is just a good all-around rugby player. (See more on Katz here.)

Bryce Campbell is the only Indiana player on the list. The Scholz Award nominee was a standout for the Royal Irish team as a high-schooler and a huge part of Indiana winning the Big Ten. Chad Gough out of Utah was another Scholz nominee and one of those players who forced you to notice him. Against BYU, said HIckie, Gough was a force.

There there are Roland Blackiston and Mike Ruther. Blackiston is the scrumhalf for Cal State Long Beach. He is an exciting player and one who was seen by several coaches Hickie trusts - all were impressed by his ability to work an attack. And Ruther plays for UMass. He’s an important part of UMass, but UMass isn’t DIA, or a conference-winner in DIAA. Not that it should matter, but it’s just plain tougher to get noticed, although it helps if you’re 6-8, and Ruther is.

“I don’t pick players on the basis of physical size,” said Hickie. “But when it comes to a lock, being 6-8 doesn’t hurt. Lock is the one position where we want someone with a big physique. And you can’t coach that height. He’s a good rugby player, and has a lot of potential.”

And that’s it for everyone. All of these players have potential. Some have been groomed for this for a while. Some are still very green. Some have been in the All American program for some time. Some are expected to slide right into the team, and others will have some adjustments to make.

But they all get the chance in August.