Old Glory DC RFC is a professional

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

team that is a member of

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...

(MLR), founded in 2018. The organization is led by two local business leaders, former USA Eagles'

Paul Sheehy Paul Sheehy (born August 14, 1963) is an American former Rugby union footballer for the United States. He started four matches for the U.S. in 1991–1992, including two starts at the 1991 Rugby World Cup. His position was fullback. Sheehy was ...

and local club rugby player Chris Dunlavey. The

Scottish Rugby Union The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU; gd, Aonadh Rugbaidh na h-Alba) is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Styled as Scottish Rugby, it is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league s ...

has a part ownership of the team. The team is coached by Nate Osborne in an interim capacity after former head coach Andrew Douglas departed the club halfway through the 2022 season. Old Glory played an abbreviated schedule of exhibition games in

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

and began regular-season MLR play in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

. In October 2022, Josh Syms was announced as the new head coach.

History

(MLR) announced on May 15, 2018, that an MLR expansion team would begin play in Washington, D.C., by no later than the 2020 season and confirmed the team in November 2018. On February 6, 2019, the team name was announced as Old Glory DC. On March 28, 2019, the

announced that it had purchased a minority interest in the team. Old Glory DC moved to

Segra Field Segra Field is a soccer-specific stadium in Leesburg, Virginia, and the home of Loudoun United FC of the USL Championship and Old Glory DC of Major League Rugby. The stadium is located within Phillip A. Bolen Park, and adjacent to Loudoun S ...

Loudoun County, Virginia Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. In 2020, the census returned a population of 420,959, making it Virginia's third-most populous county. Loudoun County's seat is Leesburg. Loudoun ...

for the 2021 season. The team will return to Segra Field for the 2022 season. After losing seven matches in a row to start the 2022 season, Old Glory DC announced the immediate departure of head coach Andrew Douglas on March 29, 2022. At the time of his departure, he was the longest-tenured head coach in MLR, having joined for the 2019 exhibition season before the first MLR season in 2020. He left with a 10-17-1 overall MLR record and a 37.5% winning percentage. Three days later, on April 1, Old Glory DC announced that former NOLA Gold head coach Nate Osborne would serve as an interim head coach for the remainder of the season while the team conducts a search for a permanent replacement. On October 31, 2022, Josh Syms was announced as the new head coach.

Sponsorship

Roster

The Old Glory DC squad for the

2022 Major League Rugby season The 2022 Major League Rugby season is the fifth season of Major League Rugby, the professional rugby union competition sanctioned by USA Rugby. The regular season began on February 5, 2022. The Dallas Jackals made their debut this season, h ...

is: * Senior 15s internationally capped players are listed in bold. * * denotes players qualified to play for the on dual nationality or residency grounds. * MLR teams are allowed to field up to ten overseas players per match.

Head coaches

* Andrew Douglas (2019–March 2022) * Nate Osborne (April 2022-October 2022) ''interim'' * Josh Syms (October 2022-present)

Captains

* Josh Brown (2019) (Captain) * Mungo Mason (2020–2021) (Co-captain) *

Thretton Palamo Thretton Palamo (born September 22, 1988) is an American rugby union player who plays centre for Old Glory DC of Major League Rugby (MLR). When he appeared in the 2007 Rugby World Cup, he became the youngest ever player to have played in the Rug ...

(2020–2021) (Co-captain) * Danny Tusitala (2022–present) (Captain)

Records

2019 season

All games in the 2019 season were exhibition games and did not count in the MLR standings.

2020 season

On March 12, 2020, MLR announced the season would go on hiatus immediately for 30 days due to fears surrounding the 2019–2020 coronavirus pandemic. It was cancelled the following week.

2021 season

2022 season

Exhibition

Old Glory played two preseason matches in January 2022. Both matches were held at the St. James Sports Complex, a series of indoor fields in

Springfield, Virginia Springfield is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The Springfield CDP is recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 30,484 as of the 2010 census. Homes and businesses in bordering CDPs includ ...

Regular season

Old Glory will play eighteen matches in the regular season with two bye weeks. Their home matches will be played at

Leesburg, Virginia Leesburg is a town in the state of Virginia, and the county seat of Loudoun County. Settlement in the area began around 1740, which is named for the Lee family, early leaders of the town and ancestors of Robert E. Lee. Located in the far northeas ...

. Because the MLR's Eastern Conference has one team fewer than the Western Conference, Old Glory will play the Toronto Arrows three times in the regular season, once at home and twice in Toronto.

2023 season

Old Glory will play 16 games in the 2023 season. All 8 home games will be played at Segra Field.

Notes

References

Major League Rugby teams Rugby clubs established in 2018 Rugby union teams in Washington, D.C. 2018 establishments in Washington, D.C. 2019 in sports in Washington, D.C. 2020 in sports in Washington, D.C. {{US-rugbyunion-team-stub