NOLA Gold Extends Billy Stewart Contract

NOLA Gold Rugby Club signed Billy Stewart to a two-year contract extension through the 2021 Major League Rugby season. The 25-year-old, 6’5″, 245 lb lock played during the 2018 and 2019 seasons. During the latter, he played in 12 of the team’s 16 games.

Following the end of the season, he played for New Orleans RFC Sevens Team, which finished second in the Red River and just missed out on competing in the USA Club Sevens Nationals.

Billy is from Warwick, Rhode Island and attended Bishop Hendricken High School, a Catholic, all-male, college preparatory high school located in Warwick, Rhode Island. He played football, wrestled and played rugby for the four years of high school.

He then attended Tulane University where he played rugby in the Deep South Rugby Conference, a Collegiate Division II conference. He helped the Green Wave win the 2014 Battleship Championship. He graduated in 2016 with a Bachelors Degree in Neuroscience.

Billy began playing with New Orleans RFC his Sophomore year at Tulane and has played with the team since then. He was a member of NOLA’s USA Rugby Club 7s Nationals in 2016 at prop. In 2018 he split time playing for New Orleans RFC and for NOLA Gold Rugby Club.

Billy started the first three NOLA Gold 2019 preseason matches against the USA Rugby South Panthers on December 8, 2018, against Stars Rugby on Dec. 15, 2018, and against the Midwest Selects on January 5, 2019.

NOLA Gold Comments

Ryan Fitzgerald, General Manager, indicated that Billy Stewart signed a 2-year extension with the Gold!

“Voted by his teammates at the end of the year, Billy was our most improved player in 2019, rightfully so!

The progress and development he has made from year 1 to year 2 is a testament to abilities, work rate and just being coachable. At 6’5”/245 he brings good size in the set-piece but also an elusive, fluid runner in the midfield for a big man.

We are excited to have Billy wearing Gold for years to come.”