July 25, 2017
TEXAS A&M RUGBY ANNOUNCES THE RECRUITING CLASS OF 2017
Texas A&M Rugby Release: Grant Cole, July 25, 2017
Introducing incoming Freshmen committed to play Rugby at Texas A&M
College Station, TX, July 23, 2017– The Texas A&M University Men’s Rugby Club announces a recruiting class of 22 athletes for the 2017-2018 academic year. During a 2016-2017 season which saw the Aggies finish 4th in the Red River XVs competition, 2nd in the Red River 7s, and qualifying for a berth at College 7s, A&M Rugby’s recruiting officers and coaches attended several high school matches and tournaments discover which high school rugby players planned to attend Texas A&M in the Fall, as well as gauge their interest in playing rugby as a part of their Aggie experience.
Texas A&M Men’s Rugby enjoys a coaching staff headed by James Lowrey with Backs Coach Ryan Marshall, Forwards Coach Johnny Smith, and Assistant Forwards Coach Jeremy Stewart rounding out his coaching partners. The coaching staff issued a joint statement about the incoming recruiting class:
“We’ve been fortuitous with this class. We’ve a very good range of experience and body types coming through this year, from international players with years of experience to stellar athletes with no rugby experience. It’s a large class with tons of quality that will see many players challenge for positions in our 7s and 15s team this season. We’ve met most of the recruits through the course of the summer and most impressive is each athlete’s commitment to and understanding of why they are here…to be students, then athletes. We do not just look for the best athletes or players, but those that can handle the rigorous course load while succeeding on the field. The student athletes of the Fighting Texas Aggie Rugby Class of 2021 will set the tone for future recruiting classes at A&M.”
The Aggies welcome the likes of Will Green from the Sedbergh School in Kendal, England. Green is a 6’4”, 195lb Second Row and Loose Forward who featured on his School and County 1st XV, as well as the Scottish Exiles. At 6’, 182lbs, Center Ambroise Asselin from The Netherlands has nine (9) years of rugby experience already in France and in the Netherlands. Asselin captained/vice-captained every squad he’s played on, including the 2017 U18 Dutch National Championship winning RC The Bassets Colts. Ben Hoffman, a 6’1”, 195lb Hooker from Danville, CA, has seven years of rugby experience, including being a three-year Varsity starter for Danville Oaks Rugby (2016 and 2017 #1 HS Club Team per Goff Rugby Report) and a five-time representative of the San Francisco Bay Area Age-Grade Selects.
Texas A&M also draws plenty of recruits from in-state. Drew Duncan is a 6’1”, 225lb Forward who comes to Aggieland after a decade with Plano Rugby. Duncan captained Plano Varsity for the last two seasons and represented Rugby Texas on the High-Performance team three times. Jared Jowdy also captained his team at Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas and played on the 2014 and 2015 Championship Squads. The 5’11”, 170lb back also played football and volleyball at Jesuit. Josh Foster is a 6’1”, 170lb back out of the Timber Creek Rugby Club (north of Fort Worth) has only been playing rugby for two years, but that didn’t stop this former wrestler from becoming captain of his squad and leading them through a stellar first season in Rugby Texas Division 2.
Any High School Rugby Player interested in attending Texas A&M and playing rugby while enrolled may request information from the coaching staff by completing the Texas A&M Rugby Recruiting Contact Form (accessible at http://aggierugby.com/mens/recruits/).
Texas A&M Men’s Rugby Club
Texas A&M Men’s Rugby began in the Fall of 1968 when a few Aggies gathered on the Main Drill Field with a visiting professor from Argentina, Roger Boos ‘68, to pass around the oval ball. The following spring, these Aggies played the founding teams of Texas Rugby – Austin, Galveston, and Rice – giving birth to rugby in Aggieland. Aggie rugby has won one senior club national championship (1974), more than 10 Texas Collegiate championships, and too many tournaments to count. Texas A&M Men’s Rugby sets the standard for rugby excellence on and off the rugby pitch as they focus on “the next job” at every turn. Texas A&M Men’s Rugby is a D1A Rugby program competing in the Red River Rugby Collegiate Conference.
