San Diego Legion re-signed Irish-born and Canadian international Jason Higgins for the 2023 Major League Rugby season. The 27-year-old (28 in March) is 6’1″ and 200 lbs.
Jason played 713 minutes in 13 matches, starting 9, and scored 6 tries for the Legion in 2022. He then played with Canada in A matches in Uruguay and in the November internationals.
Jason played 391 minutes in 13 matches, starting 3, and scored 4 tries for the Toronto Arrows in 2021. He also played four matches for Canada in 2021. He was to have played with Rugby United New York in 2020, however, a visa was unable to be obtained. That was not a problem in playing with the Arrows, as he has a Canadian father, which made him eligible to play for Canada in 2021.
The Douglas, Cork, Ireland native began playing rugby at age six with the Cork Constitution Rugby Club Youth team. He attended Christian Brother College from 2008 to 2014. He then attended University at Cork College earning a Bachelor’s and recently, a Master’s Degree in Business Economics.
At Christian Brother College, his prowess on the rugby pitch led to playing for the Munster U20s and then Munster A.
He has played with Cork Constitution for the past five years, winning multiple All-Ireland League championships. The 26-year-old recently earned his Master’s Degree in Business Economics at the University of College Cork. In 2014, Jason was awarded the Player of the Year in his last season with the club.
At Cork Constitution, he played on their senior side. The team competed in the Munster Senior Cup, winning the competition in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2019. In 2017 and 2019, Higgins helped Cork Constitution win the All-Ireland League Championship.
Canada International Tests
Jason, who qualified to represent Canada through his Canadian father, made his debut for Canada’s Senior National Team against the United States at St John’s, Newfoundland on September 4, 2021, as part of the North American Qualifiers for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. He played a second match against the U.S. and one against Chile, before playing against the Netherlands and Namibia in November. Prior to the November tests, he played in Uruguay with Canada A. He now has 9 test caps for Canada.
For all four matches, he entered as a reserve. It was disappointing losing the two series to the United States and Chile, which resulted in Canada missing the Rugby World Cup for the first time in 2023.
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