Seattle Seawolves & George Barton

The Seattle Seawolves signed 20-year-old Canadian Eagle George Barton at inside center. Barton stands at 6’0”, 230 lbs. and has highlighted his career as a versatile player, exhibiting exceptional speed combined with physical play.

Barton is from Duncan, British Columbia, graduated from Shawnigan Lake School in 2015. He played rugby for his high school team and also for Cowichan Rugby Club, where both his father Bruce and his older brother played. Both were capped for Canada.

After graduation, he spent two years playing in France with ASM Clermont-Ferrand Rugby Club’s Academy side. This helped his development and he played with Canada’s 2016 and 2017 U20 team, captaining the 2017 team in the U20 World Rugby Trophy competition in Uruguay.

Matt Beukeboom, who was both his U20 teammate and former teammate at Shawnigan Lake said that “George is an unstoppable force. He’s built like a front-row, but he has the speed of a back. He’s a great leader and a lot of the guys look up to him.”

Barton was selected to represent Canada in the 2017 Americas Rugby Championship and he debuted against Chile at Lanford, British Columbia on Feb. 11 scoring his first international try. He then earned his second cap the following week against the United State in Vancouver on Feb. 18, also scoring a try.

In a release by the Seattle Seawolves, Head Coach Tony Healy said that “George has the hallmarks of a rugby player possessing the potential to become world-class. Even though he is young, he has already benefitted from playing alongside internationally recognized players in Canada and France. The level of the players around him, as well as the quality of competition in this exciting Major League Rugby season, will challenge him to take his game to the next level. We are looking forward to seeing George’s impact on the Seawolves’ success.”

Barton said that “I’m very excited to be joining the Seawolves and for the growth, it will bring to Rugby in North America.”