Men's Collegiate All-Americans Tour to Queensland
By Grant FeeleyArticle is based on information from – USA Rugby Press Release
The USA Rugby AIG Men’s Collegiate All-Americans will leave Los Angeles on July 31 to tour Queensland, Australia. WellDog has been instrumental in funding the tour, as well as scheduling matches with Darling Downs Select Side, Brothers Rugby Football Club, and Queensland Premier Barbarians. Twenty nine athletes have been selected for this tour.
Head Coach Gavin Hickie indicated “Touring to a foreign country to play against high-quality opposition is an inherent part of rugby. We have been very fortunate to have WellDog sponsoring the AIG Men’s Collegiate All-Americans Tour to Queensland and we are very excited by the challenge ahead.
“It is important to test ourselves against international competition to get a measure of where our age-grade teams excel and/or need development. This tour to Queensland will provide us with a lot of data on our players, which we will share with the Eagles coaching staff.”
Several members toured Zimbabwe as part of the MJAA that participated in the World Rugby U20 Trophy competition. “Their progression through the ranks showcases the cohesiveness between the age-grade programs and the senior national teams, as well as the strength of the collegiate game.”
Hickie added “The Collegiate All-American staff have worked closely with our Junior All-American head coach, JD Stephenson, to get his input on players who performed at the U20 Trophy earlier this year. Together we have identified players who we feel can continue to perform at the next level.”
“The MCAA coaching staff is excited to work with these players. Along with our Eagle Eye Scout Network, we have identified this group as strong candidates for future Eagles honors. This tour will be a vital step in their development and preparation for that next step. We want to win every game we play, but individual and team performance is what the players will be assessed on.”
Hickie further added “We are under no illusion of the challenges that lie ahead on tour. “Our first goal as a group is to perform. We are currently working with the players through Bridge Athletic and are monitoring their workload. Within the next few days, the players will receive their playbooks and will be expected to understand our systems before we meet.
“Once we arrive in Australia, we will have a tough couple of days acclimatizing to the time difference, weather, and two-a-day training sessions before we ease off the workload and get into games.”
The match schedule has the MCAA facing Darling Downs Select Side at Toowoomba’s Gold Park Sporting Club on Aug. 6, then Brothers RFC at Crosby Park Aug. 10 and finally Queensland Premier Barbarians at Ballymore Stadium in Brisbane on Sunday, Aug. 14. Any live stream details around the MCAA Tour to Queensland will be confirmed at a later date.
AIG Men’s Collegiate All-Americans | Tour to Queensland sponsored by WellDog Malon Al-Jiboori – Lindenwood University Dylan Audsley – Saint Mary’s College of California Tanner Barnes – Central Washington University Niall Barry – University of California, Los Angeles Alec Barton – Saint Mary’s College of California Roland Blackiston – California State University, Long Beach Zach Bonte – University of California, Los Angeles Nick Boyer – University of California, Berkeley Bryce Campbell – Indiana University Chad Gough – University of Utah Viliami Helu – Saint Mary’s College of California Matt Jensen – Brigham Young University Cody Jerabek – University of Wyoming Wes Hartmann – Kutztown University Timothy Katz – James Madison University Conor Kearns – Trinity College Dublin Faaitua Laei – Brigham Young University Vetekina Malafu – Kutztown University Alex Maughan – Life University Cody Melphy – Life University Deion Mikesell – Lindenwood University Kevin O’Connor – Saint Mary’s College of California Mason Pedersen – San Diego Breakers (PRO) Mike Ruther – University of Massachusetts, Amherst Aladdin Schirmer – Central Washington University Alexander Vorster – Brigham Young University Dino Waldren – Saint Mary’s College of California Chance Wenglewski – Lindenwood University Calvin Whiting – Brigham Young University
AIG Men’s Collegiate All-Americans | Coaching Staff Gavin Hickie – Head Coach Justin Hickey – Manager Greg McWilliams – Assistant Coach James Willocks – Assistant Coach Ben Schuler – Athletic Trainer
AIG Men’s Collegiate All-Americans | Tour to Queensland sponsored by WellDog v. Darling Downs Select Side – Saturday, Aug. 6 @ 17:00 AET – Gold Park Sporting Club, Toowoomba, Australia v. Brothers Rugby Football Club – Wednesday, Aug. 10 @ 18:00 AET – Crosby Park, Brisbane, Australia v. Queensland Premier Barbarians – Sunday, Aug. 14 @ 16:00 AET – Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane, Australia