Old Glory DC Signs Travis Larsen

Old Glory DC signed Travis Larsen for the 2020 Major League Rugby season. The 28-year-old back row is 6’3″ and 242 lbs.

Travis played with Austin Elite Rugby along with his brother Josh during the 2019 MLR season. Josh is playing for the New England Free Jacks in 2020 and will likely play against each other twice during the Eastern Conference MLR season.

Travis grew up in Paihia, New Zealand and most recently lived in Vancouver, British Columbia. Both he and his brother Josh, a lock, were assets in the lineout and around the pitch for Austin Elite Rugby in 2019 and will be for their new teams in 2020.

Travis began playing rugby at age 5 in New Zealand. In 2011 he played with Marist North Harbour and with Massey University that same year. With Massey, he was the Albany Campus Blues Award recipient. The following year he was selected to the New Zealand Universities side, playing in 2 matches.

In 2014, he moved to Italy, playing in the Italian Eccellenza for Lyons Piacenza and then in year two for Petrarca Padova. While with Lyons Piacenza, the team advanced to the Championship and gained promotion to the Eccellenza for the following year. Travis was selected as Man of the Match with Lyons Piacenza for his performance in the Final.

Travis then moved to Canada and played with Meralomas and then with James Bay Athletic Association. He advanced to the Senior National team for Canada, playing for Canada A in a U.K tour in 2016 and then was selected for the Canada National team November 2016 tour, but did not gain a cap.

In 2017 Travis played in the Canadian Rugby Championship for the BC Bears winning the MacTier Cup and also for Canada A in the Americas Pacific Challenge. He also played for Canada A in the APC in 2018. He was part of Canada’s extended 2019 Rugby World Cup team, and was an alternate for the World Cup.

While Travis and Josh played in Austin, it was the first time that they played on the same team. Both played key roles with the team.

During 2019 with Austin Elite, Travis played in 15 of 16 matches, playing 1056 minutes. He led the team in ball carry metres with 914, and in ball carries with 154, as well as in tackle breaks. He was third on the team in lineout takes with 14 with only his brother Josh and Ben Mitchell having more. He also made 96% of his tackles.

Old Glory DC Comments

Coach Andrew Douglas said, “It’s great having Travis on board. He already has International and MLR experience and I’m sure having grown up in New Zealand he’ll bring a hard-nosed approach to the game. His work ethic and desire to constantly compete will be a real asset for us.”

Looking forward to 2020 and beyond, Larsen said, “I want to do everything I can to help build a strong culture both on and off the field with Old Glory. Through this, I hope we can bring some exciting and winning rugby to Washington this season.”