The New England Free Jacks acquired Canadian international Conor Keys from Rugby ATL in exchange for salary cap considerations in 2023 and 2024, as well as a third-round pick in the 2024 Collegiate Draft. The 26-year-old lock is 6’6″ and 265lbs.
Conor played 15 matches in 2022, bringing his total with Rugby ATL to 33 matches since 2021.
He played 520 minutes in 13 matches, starting 7, in 2021 for the Ratlers, and played 211 minutes in all 5 matches for Rugby ATL in their inaugural season, starting twice, had a 90% tackle completion rate, and was a force in the team’s 6 mauling tries.
Conor is from Stittsville, Ontario, and attended Sacred Heart Catholic High School. He began playing rugby at age 10 with the Barrhaven Scottish and later with the Ottawa Ospreys. He played representative rugby for the Eastern Ontario U18s and the Lower Canada Voyagers U19s.
Following his graduation in 2014 from Sacred Heart, he attended the University of Victoria from 2014-2019. While playing for the Vikes in the CDI Premier League, he was selected for the CanadaU20 side in 2016 and played for the Atlantic Rock in the Canadian Rugby Championship. He also spent a Summer in New Zealand playing with the Burnside Bombers in Christchurch.
He made his debut for the CanadaSenior Men’s National Team against Chile in the Americas Rugby Championship on February 11, 2017, and has earned 25 test caps, 15 as a starter. He started in two matches at the 2019 Rugby World Cup against Italy and New Zealand. His last test was against Portugal at Lisbon on November 6, 2021.
Conor joined Rugby ATL in 2020 after playing professionally in England for the Rotherham Titans in the National One English Third Division.
Other Articles
DJCoil Rugby articles by Doug Coil are also available on Facebook. Other Social Media sites to follow or subscribe to include Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube for interviews.
