March 31, 2016
KC Blues Gannon Moore & Brodie Orth Sign With PRO Rugby Denver Team
Photo: Phil Peterson
Kansas City Blues Press Release: March 31, 2016
Blues Produce First PRO Rugby Players! Gannon Moore & Brodie Orth.
Blues stars Gannon Moore and Brodie Orth will have the chance this spring to realize the dreams of so many rugby players in the professional era, as both have signed on to represent the Denver franchise in the first professional rugby competition in the United States, PRO Rugby. The Professional Rugby Organization (PRO) is a professional sports league comprised of the five rugby union teams located in North America, and is the first competition to be sanctioned by USA Rugby and World Rugby. The league’s mission is to grow the game and provide opportunities for players to train and compete in a full-time, high-performance environment.
Gannon Moore came to the Blues from Sioux Falls SD in fall of 2013, following a record-breaking career as a running back at Southwest Minnesota State University. An experienced rugby player since high school, Gannon made an immediate impact on the wing for the Blues before moving to the Number 8 position, where he terrorized opposing defenses with his punishing attacking style. Also a standout on the Blues 7s teams that placed 3rd and 9th at Nationals in ’14 & ’15, Gannon was invited to a USA 7’s National Team trial in late 2015. He was voted the 2014’s Forward of the Year and 2015 7’s Player of the Year. Gannon and the and was a member of the extended Eagle 15’s player pool for the America’s Rugby Championship.
Brodie Orth, a Kansas City native who played high school rugby at Park Hill, first came to the Blues in the spring of 2011 after a successful career took him overseas to New Zealand, and to consecutive National Final Fours with the Pearl City RFC. A standout for the Club at 2nd Row and Number 8 since returning to full-time action in 2013, Brodie was selected as 2013’s Forward of the Year. Having spent time playing at the highest levels in the US in the Pacific and American Premierships, Brodie still represented the Blues as a player/coach in 2015 before earning his first USA Eagles cap in this spring’s America’s Rugby Championship where he played for the USA in 5 matches.
