The LA Giltinis signed Luke Carty through the 2022 Major League Rugby season. The 23-year-old flyhalf/inside center is 6’0″ and 200 lbs.
Luke is from Athlone, Roscommon, Ireland, and is qualified to play for the U.S. through his grandmother, who was born in New York.
Luke was a multi-sport athlete playing soccer, garlic football, and rugby. He graduated from Marist College Athlone in 2016 after entering in 2010. At Marist, he helped the rugby team win the Connacht Senior Cup in 2012 and 2013 and then to semi-final finishes in other years. He played club rugby with the Buccaneers Rugby Football Club and with Connacht Academy. In 2015, he was named Connacht U18 Club Player of the Year and also played with the U19s in the Interpros.
Luke played for Ireland U18s and was an injury replacement for the U20s at the World Rugby Championship in Georgia in 2017.
Luke also has gained at least 18 caps for Connacht A. He started for the Connacht Eagles in 2019 in the Cara Cup in their 38-7 win over the New England Free Jacks and as a reserve in the 44-21 win over Ulster A.
Luke signed in 2020 to play rugby with the eventual Shute Shield Champions Gordon, however COVID-19 travel restrictions precluded his participation.
After graduating from Marist College, Athlone, Luke attended NUI Galway J.E. Cairnes School of Business and Economics from 2016-2018, earning a Bachelor of Commerce Degree. He’s currently attended UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School working towards a Master’s Degree In International Business.
Luke Carty Rugby Highlights Feb. 5, 2020
LA Giltinis Comments
The LA Giltinis have signed Irish five-eighth Luke Carty to develop a sharp young playmaker who could become a huge bonus for USA Rugby.
“My rugby had been in limbo for a few months because of lockdowns when I got this unexpected call…‘How about coming over to LA?” Carty said.
“It was Darren and I grabbed the chance with two hands.
“Starting from zero to build a new team, control the fate of the club, and win new fans is going to be crazy exciting.
“Los Angeles is one of the sports capitals of the world and it’s going to be cool connecting with the community of rugby fans there.”
His USA eligibility has the potential to put the younger brother of Ireland’s 2019 Rugby World Cup five-eighth Jack Carty on the radar of Eagles selectors.
An astute game manager and excellent goalkicker, Carty is looking forward to developing other traits with the help of the Giltinis’ experienced backs and assistant coach Orene Ai’i, a former five-eighth with the Auckland-based Blues.
“I’m really looking forward to playing a different style of heads-up rugby, having a crack and developing other areas of my game at the Giltinis,” Carty said.
“I toured to Massachusetts with the Connacht Academy last year and got my first look at American rugby when we played the New England Free Jacks.
“It was definitely physical, the skill level surprised me and I definitely see that Major League Rugby is on the way up.”
Athlone is home in Ireland where Carty most recently played for the Buccaneers Rugby Football Club.
“This is one of those real sliding doors moments in rugby for Luke. His Australian trip got canceled, I got announced as Giltinis coach and now he’s heading to Los Angeles,” Coleman said.
“Part of the mantra of the Giltinis is that we want to attract and develop players with USA or Canadian eligibility and get them to Test squads.
