Seattle Seawolves & Nakai Penny

The Seattle Seawolves signed former University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbird, Nakai Penny.

Penny was born in Penticton, British Columbia and played rugby throughout high school at Penticton Secondary where he graduated in 2014. That year, the Pen High Lakers advanced to the AAA Okanagan Valley semifinal where they lost to the Salmon Arm Gold 17-12 in overtime.

Penny then enrolled at the University of British Columbia in 2014 and played with the Thunderbirds through 2017. He majored in Kinesiology.

In 2015 he played with future Seawolves teammate Brock Staller, as the Thunderbirds placed 3rd at the 2015 World University Rugby Cup. At the tournament, they had a significant win over the New Zealand Universities.

The team also won the B.C Premier League for 3 consecutive years from 2015 to 2017. He won the 2015 Canadian Rugby Championship with the B.C U19 men and was selected to Canada’s U20 squad in 2016.

In 2017 he played at flanker with the BC Bears and won the 2017 Canadian Rugby Championship alongside fellow Seawolves Phil Mack, George Barton, and Brock Staller.

Comments

Seawolves head coach Tony Healy commented on Penny’s style of play saying that “In Nakai, the Seawolves are fortunate to have added yet another warrior to our exciting team. Though many in the North American scene have yet to discover Nakai, I am confident that the narrative will change soon thanks to his aggressive tackling and enormous work rate.”

Penny said “It’s an honor to have signed with the Seattle Seawolves. I’m looking forward to meeting my fellow teammates, achieving greatness as a team, and as an individual.”