The Utah Warriors re-signed Chad Gough for the 2022 Major League Rugby season. The 30-year-old hooker is 6’0″, and 230 lbs.
Chad played 223 minutes in 10 matches for the Utah Warriors in 2021 and scored two tries. On October 23, 2021, he made his USA National Team XVs debut against the New Zealand All Blacks at FedEx Field as a reserve.
Chad was signed by the Dallas jackals for the 2021 season, but following the postponement of the Jackals into the league until 2022, he was drafted in the Supplemental Draft, but not signed. The Utah Warriors then signed him as a free agent.
Chad Played 353 minutes in his five starts in 2020 for the Colorado Raptors and played 593 minutes in 16 matches in 2019, 6 as a starter. He had 4 tries, including a 100 meter one, a record for a hooker. He had 65 carries for 609 meters and made 64 tackles. He also had 5 linebreaks, 6 tackle breaks, and made 3 offloads.
Chad is from St. George, Utah, and attended Snow Canyon High School. He played rugby his Senior year and graduated in 2010. He also played football and wrestled.
After graduating, he went on a 2-year LDS church mission to Philadelphia and was married in 2013 to Aubrey Makanoa Gough.
Chad then balanced family and education, attending the University of Utah from 2014-2018, majoring in Sports and Exercise. He played rugby with the Utes playing both 15s and 7s rugby.
He was the D1A West Player of the Month in October 2015 and the PAC Player of the Month in March 2017. In 2015 he played in the Elite City 7s with the Rugby Utah ODA and won the Bowl. He was selected to the Rugby Today Dream Team in 7s in 2016 after winning the Las Vegas Invitational 7s and in playing in the Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship. In 2017 he was a Scholz Finalist for the top Collegiate Rugby player in the Nation.
Chad was a Collegiate All-American and toured with the team to Queensland, Australia in 2016, played in 2017 Rugbytown 7s, and against the University of Oxford in 2017.
In 2017 he played in the USA Club Rugby 7s National Championship and won the title with Rugby Utah. He then played with the Glendale Raptors during the Fall 2018 exhibition season and this led to continuing with the team in 2019. With team changes in 2020, the upcoming season promises to be one in which he will be a key contributor.
Chad has also been an Assistant Rugby Coach with Snow Canyon High School during 2018.
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