The Dallas Jackals signed Henry Trinder through the 2023 Major League Rugby season. The 32-year-old center (33 in April) is 6’0″ and 205 lbs.
Henry grew up in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England. He attended Cirencester Kingshill School and then Hartpury College from 2005-2007, where he earned a Level 3 Extended Diploma, studying Sport, Performance, and Excellence in Rugby.
He played rugby with Moseley RFC in the National League Divison One from 2007-2009 but also began playing with Gloucester Rugby in 2007, making his Premiership debut in March 2008 against the Sale Sharks.
He also represented England on the U20s in 2008-2009, making 8 appearances, competing in the Six Nations, as well as for the team at the Junior World U20s Championship in Japan where they finished in second place.
Trinder made his Premiership debut in March 2008 against the Sale Sharks, coming in for Leon Lloyd after injury. He also represented England on the U18s squad making eight appearances between 2008/09 and competing in the Six Nations U20 competition.
The following season with Gloucester, Trinder made four starts, and again earned a spot with England, this time on the U20 squad for the Six Nations and making it to the World Cup Championship Final in Japan.
During 2009/10, he sustained an injury but earned an extended contract with Gloucester for the following season. He had a breakout season, scoring 13 tries in 23 appearances. The 2010/11 season also marked his selection for England Saxons aiding in the side’s Churchill Cup win.
Trinder has made three England 1st appearances: two against the Barbarians (2011, 2014) and the other in New Zealand in 2014 against the Canterbury Crusaders. During the summer of 2014, he was also a part of the England Summer tour to New Zealand.
Trinder’s 2015-2015 season with Gloucester Rugby is one he may want to forget after he tore his ACL in 2016. After his rehabilitation, he made 12 appearances in 2016-2017, and in 2017/18 he was back in form, being awarded Man of the Match and two Try of the Weeks before the season’s end.
Trinder closed out his Gloucester time in April 2021 after making a total of 172 appearances for the club scoring 46 tries.
Trinder then made the move to France competing for RC Vannes, the Brittnay-based club in the Pro D2 competition, as a medical joker during the summer of 2021. He then returned to the UK, as Player-Coach of Greene King IPA Championship Ampthill RFC.
Dallas Jackals Comments
Joining long-time Worcester Warrior Chris Pennell as a senior international player, Trinder says, “I think it’s an exciting time to be joining the Jackals as they embark on their first season in the MLR. It’s an opportunity to help grow the club and franchise as well as rugby in general in the local area. On the field, it will be a great experience to play different teams in different stadiums and experience rugby union in the US.”
GM Elaine Vassie said, “Having got to know Henry over the last four months, his openness, energy, and desire to find different challenges, despite having over 13 years Premiership experience, made him a natural fit for the journey ahead of us at Dallas Jackals. His recent time in France, and then his transition to a player-coach role with Ampthill, only add to the experience we feel he’s going to bring to us on the field and in the community. We’re very much looking forward to welcoming him, his wife Ryann, and daughter Rylee to Dallas.”
Trinder continued, “What drew me towards the Jackals was hearing Elaine talk about her vision for the club and how they want to play as a brand. It’s something I want to be a part of and hopefully paves the way for the future of the club to come through and challenge for silverware.”
Married to American Ryann in Las Vegas in 2015, the two together have a one-year-old daughter, Rylee, and two French Bulldogs. Trinder looks forward to experiencing Dallas together as a family. “Dallas looks like an amazing place to live and I’m looking forward to diving into the different cultures both in and outside of rugby,” he said.
Welcome to the Pack Henry, Ryann, and Rylee.
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