MACCABI USA RUGBY Release
PHILADELPHIA (June 15, 2022) – Maccabi USA Rugby is excited to announce the Men’s Open Roster for the upcoming Maccabiah Games in Israel this July. The team will be led by Coach, Taylor Howden, who just finished the MLR season as a coach with NOLA Gold. Taylor is from Auckland NZ and has had a vast and impressive playing career that includes 5 years of Professional Rugby in America from 2017-to 2021. His coaching credentials are equally as impressive, and Taylor has coached at many of the teams he played for along the way. He led MLR Academies during his playing time in NOLA and HTX and has also been a top 7’s player and coach. Taylor has been part of the Maccabi USA Rugby family since the 2013 Games winning Gold in 7’s and a Bronze in 15’s. He will be joined by coaches Mason Pedersen and Ben Wells. Mason aka “The Hitman” is an outstanding professional player who just wrapped up his 5th season at Austin in MLR and was a key part of the Maccabi Gold medal squad in 2017. Ben was a coach with Maccabi USA at the 2013 games and the 2018 Youth games and is also known for his coaching at Middlebury College in Vermont. Manager Barry Seidel returns from the 2013 and 2017 squads once again joined by the medical team of Suzanne Seidel and Julie Tucker.
The Men’s Open squad is a great mix of new players and seasoned Maccabi veterans selected from our September 2021 and January 2022 camps held in Houston at the Sabercats Facility. This includes several players who have come through Maccabi USA developmental or pathway events like the 2015 Pan Am Maccabiah and the 2018 Maccabi Youth Games.
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Alex Appel |
Falmouth, MA |
Mystic River Rugby Club |
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Ben Bikoff |
McLean, VA |
Washington Irish RFC |
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Jared Braun |
San Mateo, CA |
Peninsula Green Beavers |
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Ryan Chavkin |
Denver, CO |
Life West |
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Shawn Cox |
Austin, TX |
Austin Huns RFC |
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Will Crawford |
Monroe, LA |
Houston Sabercats |
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Ari Flink |
Oakland, California |
OMBAC |
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Jon Fonvielle |
Gloucester, MA |
Mystic River Rugby Club |
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Josh Galant |
San Francisco, CA |
Olympic Club |
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Zach Getson |
Coppell, TX |
Dallas Harlequins RFC |
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Joe Goldbloom |
Hastings-on-Hudson, NY |
Denver Barbarians |
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Philip Hanson |
Coppell, TX |
Austin Huns RFC |
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Sam Harrison |
Colorado Springs, CO |
Colorado Springs RFC |
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Simon Honig |
Buffalo, NY |
Buffalo Rugby Club |
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Devin Andres Ibañez |
Brookline, MA |
Mystic River Rugby Club |
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Jon Kastelan |
New York, NY |
Old Blue RFC |
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Cooper Laczkowski |
Buffalo, NY |
St. Bonaventure University |
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Adam Markun |
Arlington, VA |
Potomac Exiles Rugby Club |
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Dan Ponti |
West Berlin, NJ |
OMBAC |
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Mikey Rudzinsky |
Reading, MA |
Mystic River Rugby Club |
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Matt Sarna |
Fair Lawn, NJ |
Wilmington Rugby Football Union |
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Adam Satz |
Stamford, CT |
NYAC Rugby |
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Lucas Taub |
Ocala, FL |
NYAC Rugby |
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Evan Wellers |
San Salvador, El Salvador |
El Salvador Torogoces |
“We are excited about this squad and finally getting to defend our Gold Medal in Israel at the 2022 World Maccabiah Games” stated Maccabi USA Rugby Chairman, Dave Rudzinsky. “And we’ve got a guy coaching who always played with grit and passion bringing his competitive spirit and deep knowledge of the game to this campaign”
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About Maccabi USA Rugby and the Maccabiah
The World Maccabiah Games, first held in 1932, are an international Jewish multi-sport event held quadrennially in Israel. It is the third-largest sporting event in the world, with 10,000 athletes competing. Rugby was first introduced to the World Maccabiah Games in 1985. Team USA won gold in 1997 narrowly beating South Africa and won the first gold in Sevens Rugby in 2013. In July 2017, Team USA won another 15’s gold medal over South Africa.
