The Glendale Raptors have played an undefeated season thus far in 2017 and apparently, others are noticing. USA Rugby announced the USA Eagles national team lineup on Friday which features six of the thirty-man roster coming from the Raptors.
Ben Tarr (prop), John Quill (back-row), Ben Landry (lock), Shaun Davies (scrumhalf), Will Magie (fly-half) and Bryce Campbell (center) of the Glendale Raptors won’t get much of a break between their season closing match on June 2nd and their first match on June 10th against Ireland, followed by a June 17th matchup against Georgia. June 24th and July 1st close out the tour with a two-match series against Canada for World Cup qualification.
Raptors head coach David Williams, himself a former USA Eagles player and conditioning coach, praised his players stating “It is a great honor for the players to be selected to the national team and we have two more on standby. It is a testament to those players for the effort they put forth each day in training. These players bring up the intensity and accuracy during trainings and games that make the rest of the team and themselves better rugby players. We wish them all the best in the upcoming four test matches.”
In a press release from USA Rugby, USA Eagles head coach John Mitchell shared his thoughts on the selection process, “Put it this way: it’s probably been the most challenging squad mix to select. It’s not nice to have to leave very good players out but at the same time it also warms your heart to realize there’s healthy competition starting to be generated in this group for now and the future of USA Rugby Eagles 15s. With our intermittent model of player availability throughout recent assemblies, it’s nice now to be able to have choices but at the same time bring a stable and consistent program for the players that have been selected.”
Glendale Raptors Director of Rugby Mark Bullock concluded “The Glendale Raptors are excited for the opportunity our players have to represent their families, the Raptors and the State of Colorado in the upcoming June tests against Ireland, the Republic of Georgia and Canada.”
The Glendale Raptors will play in the recently announced Major League Rugby professional rugby competition starting in 2018.
Featured Image Credit: Glendale Raptors