The New England Free Jacks welcome back Harry Barlow for the second year of his 2 year contract for the 2022 Major League Rugby season. The 21-year-old wing is 5’10″ and 200lbs.
He played 1021 minutes in 16 matches, starting 12, in 2021. Barlow finished the season with a total of 8 tries, ranking him tied for 12th in the MLR. This would accumulate a total of 40 points for the high flying back, sitting him at 27th in the league in said category. He carried for 807 meters, had 35 tackle breaks, and an impressive 11 linebreaks, the 11th most in Major League Rugby. Following the season, he played with the USA Selects in Uruguay in October, as well as Mystic River in the American Rugby Premiership.
Harry, who is US-eligible, joined New England from the English Premiership side Harlequins. He qualifies for the United States through a grandfather born in San Francisco and currently has family members residing in the U.S.
Harry was born and raised in Guildford outside of London and attended the Cranleigh Prep School, a co-educational independent English boarding school in the village of Cranleigh, Surrey.
He began playing rugby with the Cranleigh Rugby Club at the age of 11. He played youth rugby in many positions in the backline, however, when he was 14, he predominately was at center and wing with an occasional time at no. 8.
Harry graduated from Cranleigh Prep School in 2018 and helped the sevens team win back-to-back Rosslyn Park National Sevens titles in 2016 and 2017, as well as being the runners-up in 2018. He was also vice-captain of Cranleigh’s 2018 unbeaten XVs season.
He attended the Harlequins Academy since age 13 and represented England at the U16, U17, U18, and U19 age levels was the vice-captain of the U16s, competed in the 2018 U18 Six Nations Championship, and was with the youth 7s squad at the 2017 Junior Commonwealth Games at the Bahamas.
Following his graduation, he signed a two-year contract with the Harlequins senior squad and featured for the team at the Premiership Sevens in 2018 and 2019. He also was part of the 2019 Quins Sevens side that won the London Floodlit Sevens.
New England Free jacks Comments
“Harry ‘The Wheelbarrow’ Barlow had a reinvigorating year having departed the Harlequins academy for the shores of MLR,” expressed Free Jacks Performance Manager, Tom Kindley. “Harry is a very amiable figure within the team and you could see the enjoyment he had playing the game this year. Harry quickly showed his prowess with the ball in hand with the offensive numbers he was able to produce.”
“Beyond his ability to break tackles and score tries the rest of his game has been developing, quickly putting him on the radar for the US national team. We are looking forward to seeing what’s in store for Harry’s second year in Boston, more tries and smiles I’m sure!”
Much of the success of New England’s hard-hitting backline can be attributed to the speed and finishing abilities of Harry Barlow. With the ball in his hand, Barlow’s nifty skillset pushed the Free Jacks farther and farther into opposing territories game after game. Look forward to seeing this undeniable talent take the pitch in the upcoming 2022 MLR season.
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