LA Gilgiltinis signed Ruan Smith for the 2021 Major League Rugby season. The 30-year-old tighthead prop (31 in January) is 6’4″ and 265 lbs. Ruan was signed by the Giltinis along with his twin brother JP (Juan-Pierre). They were born in Vryburg, South Africa, and immigrated to Toowoomba, Australia in 2006 with their family as teenagers. They spent a year at Toowoomba Grammar School before returning to South Africa to complete their education at Paarl Gimnasium. Toowoomba provided a quality beginning for Darlington Downs rugby. Ruan achieved Australian Schoolboys honors in 2007 and then South African Schoolboys honors while at…

The LA Giltinis signed Jeffrey Peleseuma-Breiz through the 2022 Major League Rugby season. The 20-year-old scrumhalf/flyhalf is 5’8″ and 187 lbs. Jeff is from San Francisco, California, and lives in Antioch. He attended Archbishop Riordan High School where he played football from 2014-2017 and graduated in 2018. He played age-grade rugby for San Francisco Golden Gate Rugby Club and this led to his selection on the USA U20s for their World Rugby Trophy qualifier against Canada in 2019. In 2018 he played for the USA in the North American Regional Sevens qualifier in Las Vegas for the 2018 Youth Olympic…

The LA Giltinis signed Randwick Rugby Club captain Nathan den Hoedt or “Moose” as he sometimes is called, for the 2021 Major League Rugby season. The 23-year-old lock (24 in June) is 6’6″ and 251 lbs. Nathan is from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, and attended Brisbane State High School. He played rugby with Brisbane City and then with the NSW Country Eagles in the National Rugby Championship, and was part of the Emerging NSW Waratahs squad. He also played with Sunnybank, working his way up to the Premiers. In 2019-2020 he played with Randwich Rugby Club and was the team’s captain…

The LA Giltinis signed Australian Corey Thomas for the 2021 Major League Rugby season. The 26-year-old blindside flanker/lock is 6’4″ and 258 lbs. Corey is from Western Australia. He played rugby for the Perth Spirit in the inaugural National Rugby Championship in 2014-2015. He then moved to Brisbane and played with GPS Club before signing with the 2015 championship-winning Brisbane City. Corey moved to Japan to play in the Japan Top League with the Canon Eagles during the 2016-2017 season. The signing of emerging prospect Corey Thomas shows how strongly the LA Giltinis are invested in Major League Rugby’s mission…

The LA Giltinis signed Harrison Goddard for the 2021 Major League Rugby season. The 22-year-old scrumhalf (23 in April) is 6’0″ and 185 lbs. Harrison was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and attended Oakhill College. Since rugby performance led to his selection in 2014-2015 for the Australian Schoolboys. In 2015 he also played in the Australian Youth Commonwealth 7s. Harrison attended Western Sydney University in 2016, pursuing a Bachelor of Business Degree in Sports Management. He’s played for Randwick Rugby Club since 2016, and in 2016 played for the Greater Sydney Rams in the National Rugby Championship. In…