LA Giltinis Signs Shawn Clark

LA Giltinis signed crossover athlete Shawn Clark. The 25-year-old lock is 6’8″ and 245 lbs.

Shawn just played nine matches of a ten-match season with Colorado XO at the RugbyTown Crossover Academy, his first participation in rugby.

Shawn is from Potsdam, New York. He attended Potsdam High School where he played wide receiver in football, basketball, and baseball at first and third bases, center field, and as an occasional pitcher. The latter earned him tryouts with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Baltimore Orioles.

He attended Cushing Academy in 2014-2015, and was the team’s captain in football, playing quarterback and tight end. From 2015-2019 he attended Monmouth University, graduating with a degree in Communications. After being a redshirt his Freshman year, he played the following four years at tight end, and in 2019 was a First Team All-Big South selection, as well as a First Team Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference selection.

In August 2020 he had a tryout with the Indiana Colts and then signed with Colorado XO at the RugbyTown National Training Center.

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Lock Clark, 25, had a week-long tryout at tight end with the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL last August before turning his 6’ 8” (2.03m) frame to rugby as a new challenge. He has natural aerial skills for the lineout.

Giltinis General Manager Adam Freier said he was delighted to sign two promising American talents and strengthen the club’s links with the Colorado XOs, a team formed through the progressive RugbyTown Crossover Academy and the City of Glendale.

“This is what the MLR provides, a clear and defined opportunity for talented athletes with an ambition to thrive and fall in love with the game of Rugby and its values.

“Gelen has a unique skill of multiple disciplines as an athlete, from wrestling and football, while Shawn is one of those athletes that has an incredible engine, who could play multiple positions,” said Freier.

“They are both great signings and young men, which is a real credit the Colorado XOs coaching staff and officials.”

Both Robinson and Clark took their first strides in the game over the past 19 weeks in this unique “crossover” experiment to coach talented football, basketball, and track athletes into potential professionals for the USA Rugby player pool.

Clark and Robinson are the second and third members of the XOs to make the leap over to the Giltinis for the 2021 MLR season after Ma’ake Muti was signed back in April.

Freier said, “They are both great signings and young men, which is a real credit to the Colorado XOs coaching staff and officials.”

Clark and Robinson are the second and third members of the XOs to make the leap over to the Giltinis for the 2021 MLR season after Ma’ake Muti was signed back in April.

“It’s the dream for a lot of guys to play in the NFL. Life has thrown me rugby out of last year’s difficult year with the public health situation and I’m enjoying every part of the process,” Clark said. “I’ll admit, the only time I saw a rugby ball growing up was once when it came out of my friend’s toy box.”

“Learning as much as I can from guys at the Giltinis who have played on national teams will be great. I’m already learning different set-ups in the lineout and adding to my feel for the flow of the game which is the hardest part.” “I was a quarterback growing up so getting my hands on the ball and carrying the football has a natural feel. The Giltinis play at the Coliseum…now that’s very cool after watching so much college football being played there on TV.”