Austin Gilgronis re-signed Roderick Waters for the 2021 Major League Rugby season. The 26-year-old wing (27 by end of July) is 5’9″ and 200 lbs.
After missing the opening match of the 2020 season, Rodrick started the remaining four matches of the 2020 MLR season on the left-wing. During the 2018 and 2019 seasons, he spent time with the Houston SaberCats during the pre-season and played with the West Houston Lions Division 1 club.
Rodrick is from Richmond, Texas, and attended Foster High School until his graduation in 2011. He played football for 4 years and then went to Blinn College from 2011-2012 on a football scholarship. He then transferred to Western State Colorado University from 2013-2018 majoring in Exercise and Sports Science. He played football on scholarship and played rugby with Western State during the summer.
Western State is widely known for its outdoor activities and Rodrick had many options to enjoy hiking in his spare time. Roderick also played with the Aspen Gents in 2018.
Rodrick was a try-scorer at Western State and this has continued for the West Houston Lions in 2018-2019. His performance for the Lions earned him 2019 Player of the Year honors. He also played with the Houston SaberCats in three preseason matches but did not see any 2019 MLR regular-season action.
Roderick demonstrated that he can start for the Austin Gilgronis and in 2021 his performance should improve as the season progresses.
Austin Gilgronis Release
“Austin gave me this opportunity and now I want to show them what I can do, ” says Waters. “Last season being cut short really hurt me because I was, and we were, really just getting started.”
Waters is a Houston native and found rugby in college while playing out a four-year college football career. His fast-twitch abilities and powerful build made him an ideal wing, and the Houston Sabercats sought him out upon his return home from Western State University.
Waters had two standout seasons in the Sabercats development pathway with the West Houston Lions, earning himself minutes with the Sabercats pre-season squad and the West Houston Most Valuable Player award in 2018.
The Gilgronis jumped at the opportunity to bring in Waters and his unique athletic ability in the 2018 offseason. After going unselected for the home-opener, Waters made it impossible for the coaches to keep him off the field with several solid weeks of training and an endless effort to fine-tune his micro-skills. Waters earned his first start against RUNY in Las Vegas in an 80-minute performance.
Waters went on to start every match and only came off the field for the final 20 minutes of the Texas Cup versus the Sabercats, which resulted in the AG’s first win of the season. “To start four games in a row, it meant a lot, it showed all the work I’d been putting in,” says Waters.
That Texas Cup match against Houston was a special one for Waters. He had the opportunity to play in front of his entire extended family for the first time. His family branded their own AG’s T-shirts for the match and were the loudest fans in the arena that night. Waters is soft-spoken and a proud Texan, and he looks forward to playing in the Texas Cup at Bold Stadium this coming season.
“I’m so excited to see everyone back down at Bold Stadium, the fans, the boys, and the new coaching staff,” says Waters. “These AG’s are family, and I’m about family; so how could I go anywhere else?” says Waters.
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