Nick Boyer Article update

The LA Giltinis signed Nick Boyer for the 2021 Major League Rugby season. The 27-year-old scrumhalf is 6’3″ and 220 lbs. Before the Giltinis announcement today, Nick confirmed the move in conversation with Colton Strickler on the DNVR Rugby Podcast and then published by Americas Rugby News.

Nick recently played for the Miami Sun in the World Tens Series in Bermuda earlier this month.

He previously played for the Colorado Raptors in 2020, starting twice and as a reserve in the other three matches. He played with the San Diego Legion during 2018 and in 2019. In 2019 he played 1003 minutes in 17 matches, scoring 6 tries. He had 63 carries for 571 meters. During the season, he played scrumhalf and later, wing. In 2018 he played 502 minutes in 8 games, starting 6 times, and scoring one try.

Nick also played rugby sevens for Life West at the 2019 Rugbytown 7s.

Boyer went to high school at Jesuit of Carmichael, winning a National HS Championship and graduating in 2011. He also played football and was on the wrestling team.

He then went to the University of California, Berkeley from 2011-2016. While at Cal, he played rugby 15s and 7s, winning in the Varsity Cup and winning the Collegiate Rugby Championship. He was selected for the USA Rugby Men’s Junior All-Americans, winning the 2012 World U20 Trophy competition in Salt Lake City. In 2016, he was selected for the Collegiate All-Americans tour to Australia and in 2017 he played for the AEG Rugby Collegiate All-Americans against Oxford University.

Boyer has also played rugby with Bedford Athletic in 2015 and with the Glendale Raptors and the Denver Barbarians.

Nick is a talented player in both rugby 15s and 7s. He played for the USA Selects at the 2016 and 2018 Americas Pacific Challenge. He played rugby sevens for the USA Falcons 2018 South American tour to Punta del Este, Uruguay, and Viña del Mar, Chile. In 2018 he earned USA Rugby Men’s Eagles 7s caps in Hamilton, New Zealand, and the Canada Sevens. He also played in the Hong Kong 10s with Tiger Rugby.

When Shaun Davies was undergoing an HIA, Nick was called into the Eagles November tour and made his Eagles debut against Romania in Bucharest on November 17.

Nick has taken advantage of high-performance opportunities and has been improving as a player. He had a good professional rugby season in 2018 with the San Diego Legion and should have an even better one in 2019.

LA Giltinis Comments

Being able to play in front of my home state in front of my family and friends is a big motivation for me at the LA Giltinis.” Boyer said.

“The quality of players and coaches being assembled tells me this is going to be a place to excel with my rugby and work towards an MLR championship for Los Angeles.

“Such a high-performance environment with experienced rugby heads around is really going to improve our American players and elevate the game in the United States.”

“I think the improvements being driven by MLR will really have an impact on the Eagles and the push to break into the top 10 tier of rugby nations in the years to come,” Boyer said.

“How American professional rugby works, including the travel, is vastly different to how it runs in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and Europe so I look forward to passing on some know-how and the nuances to my new team.

“LA is a very sporty city already but rugby is a non-traditional sport which I really believe will attract and excite a different fan base.”

A solid outing at the recent World Tens in Bermuda in October-November sees the young half primed for a breakout season in the MLR.

“Nick is a well-traveled and experienced halfback in a big frame,” Giltinis head coach Darren Coleman said.

“He’s played for the Eagles in sevens, was in the San Diego team which made the MLR final (2019) and been in and around the national XVs set-up with the USA.

“He’s a strong player for us and one of our goals is to add subtleties so he can take his game to the next level.”