The New England Free Jacks captain is Tadhg Leader. The 27-year-old USA National team flyhalf is 6’3″ and 205 lbs.
He has two caps for the Eagles, debuting against Chile on February 2, 2019, at Maipu and scoring a try and a conversion. His other Americas Rugby Championship match was against Canada on March 8, where he added two conversions in the win.
Last year Leader played flyhalf and inside center with the San Diego Legion. He has played in two exhibition matches with the Free Jacks against the Ontario Arrows and against RugbyUnited New York.
Leader is from Castlegar in Galway, Ireland and attended Cistercian College Roscrea, a boarding school in Roscrea, Co. Tipperary, Ireland, from 2008-2010. According to Murray Kinsella, he was the oldest brother of three, with his brother Darragh, a wing for Connacht and his youngest brother Greg having played age grade rugby for the Province.
From 2012 to 2014 played for both the Connacht Academy, as well as for the Senior side, however, injuries curtailed his playing time.
In 2015 he was offered a scholarship at Lindenwood University, but after two matches, he was declared ineligible. Lindenwood honored his scholarship and he is on track to graduate in 2019 with a degree in sports management.
While at Lindenwood, he turned his attention to coaching and considered various playing options. During the Spring 2016 season, he coached and played for the Boston Irish Wolfhounds. He then played professionally in Italy for Badia in the Rovigo region. In 2017 he led the St. Louis Royals to the USA Rugby DIII National Championship as a player and coach.
The 2017 year was a busy year for him, as he founded Rugby Consulting USA, which provides coaching to players at all levels. This has taken him throughout the United States, including Alaska. He also became the Chief Operations Office of Digidust Sport, which provides professional playing opportunities for U.S. players in Europe.
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