New Orleans Gold Rugby Club & Will Crawford
The New Orleans Gold Rugby Club signed Will Crawford, from Louisiana Tech University. He plays back row, is 24 years old, is 6’4” and weighs 245 pounds.
Crawford is from Indiana and attended high school at Culver Academy where he played football and rugby from 2008-2012. While there, he was honored as Associated Press Honorable Mention for Defensive Line 2010-2011, Indiana High School Football Journal noteworthy player 2009, 2010, 2011, and was President of the Culver Rugby Club in 2011. In 2012 he was selected by DownUnder Sports as the State of Indiana Impact Player and played in the DownUnder Bowl in Australia that summer.
After graduating from high school Crawford attended the Arkansas University from 2012-2014. His freshman year at the University of Arkansas he tried out for the football team, surviving at defensive end until the last cut and was invited back for Spring 2013. He turned to rugby and played with the University of Arkansas Hogs.
During Fall 2014 he transferred to Lousiana Tech University to pursue a Business Administration Degree, where he has continued through 2017. While at Louisiana Tech, in 2015 he was recognized by Gift-Time Rugby Network as the Spotlight Player of the Week. The team “has seen a major turn around in the past two years and this is partially due to the addition of 8-man Will Crawford.” In both 2014 and 2015, the team won the Deep South Conference Championship.
In the summer of 2015, he spent time playing rugby in New Zealand playing for the Hutt Old Boys Marist. In December 2015 he played for the USA Rugby South Panthers against the Capital Selects at Furman University in Greenville, SC.
He also played for the NOLA 7s team in both 2016 and 2017, with the 2016 team going to USA Rugby Club 7s Nationals. He also played for Negro y Azul 7s team at the RugbyTown 7s in 2016 and for the Stars 7s at the Paradise Smash in 2017.
Crawford has been training with both the New Orleans Gold Rugby Club and with the New Orleans RFC. He has seen match action as a No. 8 with New Orleans RFC, playing in matches against the Memphis Blues, Birmingham, Baton Rouge, and against Knoxville.
New Orleans Gold
- Tim Falcon – Owner
- Ryan Fitzgerald – General Manager
- Nate Osborne – Head Coach
- Todd Fitzgerald – Assistant Head Coach and Assistant General Manager
- Sebastián Kalm – Backrow
- Moni Tongauiha – Center
- Hubert Buydens – Loosehead prop
- Eric Howard – Hooker
- Ratu Peceli Rinakama – Flyhalf, Scrum-half, Wing, Fullback
- Bobby Johns – Center, Flyhalf, Scrumhalf
- Matt Hughston – Center, Flanker
- Jojo Tikoisuva – Wing
- JP Eloff – Flyhalf, Center, Fullback
- Holden Youngert – Scrum-half
- Michael Baska – Fullback
- Derrek Van Klein – Loosehead Prop
- Myles McQuone – Lock
- William Waguespack – Lock
- Zach Stryffeler – Center
- Vincent Jobo – Flanker
- Cam Falcon – Hooker
- Ben Tarr – Tighthead Prop
- John Sullivan – Back-row & Utility Back
- Nikola Bursic – Lock, Backrow
- Taylor Howden – Fly-half, Center
- Matt Wirken – Lock
- John Stapleton – Fullback
- Joey Sok – Wing
- Melvin Desouza – Wing
- Todd Dupre – Flanker
- Will Crawford – Backrow
- Alex Janotka – Hooker, Prop
- Tim Maupin – Wing
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