NOLA Gold Rugby Club signed Dino Waldren through the 2022 Major League Rugby season. After playing with London Scottish in 2019, he joined the San Diego Legion, making his debut for the team on May 5 against the Toronto Arrows. He played in five games, including the MLR Championship. The 28-year-old prop is 6’0″ and 255 lbs.
Dino is from Crockett, California and attended De La Salle High School from 2006-2010 where he played football and rugby. From 2010-2011 he attended Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania and played football. He then transferred to Saint Mary’s College of California, attending from 2012 to his graduation in 2016, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Business.
While at St. Mary’s he was a three-time All-American in rugby in 2014-2016 and the team won the D1A National Championship in 2014 and in 2015. Following his graduation, he played for Blackrock College in 2016-17 in Dublin in the Division 2A All-Ireland League. He then played professionally with the London Irish from 2017-2019 in the English RFU Championship.
Dino Waldren and USA National Team
Dino is a three-time Collegiate All-American and toured with the AIG Men’s Collegiate All-Americans to Queensland in 2016. He has 19 caps for the USA Men’s Eagles XVs (Eagle 502), where he made his debut in 2016 against Romania. His last match was against Canada on March 8, 2019. Dino played in the Americas Rugby Championships in 2017, 2018, and 2019, with the team winning consecutive titles in 2017 and 2018.
NOLA Gold Rugby Comments
Ryan Fitzgerald, General Manager, indicated that Dino Waldren signed a 3-year contract with the Gold!
“We are happy to welcome Dino Waldren to our NOLA Gold family. As a 12-time capped USA Rugby Eagle and with his time overseas at London Scottish FC, Dino brings an elite level of experience.
He’s an anchor up front scrummaging at tighthead and carries hard in the open field. He defends his position very well and competes hard with a competitive edge about him that you need to have in this league.
We believe he’ll be a great fit for us for years to come and we’re really excited to have him in the fight.”
