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PRO Rugby
The Professional Rugby Organization, known as PRO Rugby, was an American professional rugby union competition. PRO began play in April 2016 with five teams and ceased operations by January 2017. The competition was sanctioned by USA Rugby and by World Rugby. This was the first professional rugby competition in North America. History Previous attempts For several years prior to PRO Rugby's launch in 2016, a number of entities had explored a professional competition for fifteen-a-side rugby. The Rugby Super League, a national competition that began play in 1997, was discussed as potentially becoming a professional competition,, but the RSL struggled financially, with several teams exiting the competition from 2009 to 2012 before the league folded after the 2012 season. In 2012, the American Professional Rugby Competition was reported to be exploring a launch of a ten-team league for 2015, but nothing came of it. The National Rugby Football League also announced its intention t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2016 PRO Rugby Season
The 2016 PRO Rugby season was the inaugural and only season of the PRO Rugby, contested by teams from the United States. The season ran from April to July 2016. This was the first season of professional rugby union in North America. PRO Rugby contracted 102 players for its five teams. Of these 102 players, 54 have played international rugby, including 36 for the United States national rugby union team. About 30 players were picked from Pacific Rugby Premiership teams and 15 from Midwest Rugby Premiership teams. Competition format Each team played a twelve match schedule with six matches at home and six away. Most matches took place on Sunday to give clubs and schools the chance to play on Saturday and Friday. The league had a lighter schedule on June 5 and 12 (the 12th being during the three-week June international window). Those days had just one match. There was however a full slate on June 19 and 26 (both during the international window) and teams lost players to the Unite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sacramento Express
The Sacramento Express were a professional American rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ... team that played in the short lived PRO Rugby competition. They were based in Sacramento, California, and played their home games at Bonney Field. History In early November 2015, PRO Rugby launched its Facebook page and scheduled an announcement for November 9, 2015. On November 9, 2015, PRO Rugby made an official announcement outlining its plans and a framework for the competition. USA Rugby affirmed that it sanctioned and supported the PRO Rugby competition. PRO Rugby announced its first team, Sacramento, on November 18, 2015. In February 2016, Luke Gross was announced as the head coach of the new Sacramento PRO Rugby team. The league reportedly had begun extending ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in the United States. San Diego is the county seat, seat of San Diego County. It is known for its mild Mediterranean climate, extensive List of beaches in San Diego County, beaches and List of parks in San Diego, parks, long association with the United States Navy, and recent emergence as a wireless, electronics, List of hospitals in San Diego, healthcare, and biotechnology development center. Historically home to the Kumeyaay people, San Diego has been referred to as the ''Birthplace of California'', as it was the first site visited and settled by Europeans on what is now the West Coast of the United States. In 1542, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo claimed the area for Spain, forming the basis for the settlement of Alta California, 200 years later. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luke Gross
Luke Gross (born November 21, 1959) is an American former rugby union player and current rugby coach and administrator. A lock who played for various club sides, he earned 62 caps for the United States between 1996 and 2003. Gross was the all-time caps leader for the United States, until Mike MacDonald broke his record in 2011. Since retiring as a player, Gross has served as a rugby administrator and coach. He was the head coach of PRO Rugby team Sacramento Express in 2016. In August 2022, Gross accepted the position as head coach of the Indiana University Men's Rugby team. Playing career Gross was born in Decatur, Indiana. Gross played basketball for Indiana State University and for Marshall University for two seasons (1991–92 and 1992–93). Gross started his rugby career far later than most international players, even those from countries like the United States where rugby is not a major sport, not taking up the sport seriously until age 24, after he had attended university ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bonney Field
Heart Health Park is a sports venue located on the grounds of Cal Expo in Sacramento, California, United States. The soccer-specific stadium has a capacity of 11,569 and includes a full-sized (120 x 80 yard) soccer field. Heart Health Park is the current home of Sacramento Republic FC soccer team and former home of PRO Rugby team, Sacramento Express. The field is located on the former site of the Cal Expo Amphitheatre, and is bordered on the west and south by the Cal Expo monorail, and on the east by Raging Waters water park. History Construction of the stadium began in March 2014, following approval by the Cal Expo Board of Directors. Funding for the stadium came from an agreement between Ovations Food Services, Cal Expo, and the Republic FC. Original schedules put the grand opening for the Republic FC's June 7 match against Arizona United, but that date was postponed two weeks, with the grand opening falling instead on June 20, when the Republic FC played the reserve te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an international border with the Mexico, Mexican state of Baja California to the south. With almost 40million residents across an area of , it is the List of states and territories of the United States by population, largest state by population and List of U.S. states and territories by area, third-largest by area. Prior to European colonization of the Americas, European colonization, California was one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse areas in pre-Columbian North America. European exploration in the 16th and 17th centuries led to the colonization by the Spanish Empire. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821, following Mexican War of Independence, its successful war for independence, but Mexican Cession, was ceded to the U ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sacramento, California
Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento River, Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 population of 524,943 makes it the fourth-most populous city in Northern California, List of largest California cities by population, the sixth-most populous in the state, the List of United States cities by population, ninth-most populous state capital, and the List of United States cities by population, 35th most populous city in the United States. Sacramento is the seat of the California Legislature and the governor of California. Sacramento is also the cultural and economic core of the Sacramento metropolitan area, Greater Sacramento area, which at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census had a population of 2,680,831, the fourth-largest S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paule Barford
Paule Barford is a rugby union coach. He has been the head coach of the PRO Rugby The Professional Rugby Organization, known as PRO Rugby, was an American professional rugby union competition. PRO began play in April 2016 with five teams and ceased operations by January 2017. The competition was sanctioned by USA Rugby and b ... team Ohio Aviators since February 2016. Barford is originally from England, where he played with the Leicester Tigers. Following his playing days, Barford has held a number of rugby coaching positions, and holds a World Rugby Level 3 coaching certification. Barford is also a longtime member of the USA youth levels coaching staffs, including the High School All Americans, U-17 and U-20 teams. He has also coached the USA Selects. Barford was hired as head coach of the Cornell rugby program in 2013. He took a Cornell team that had finished 0–6 in 2012 and led them to a 6–0 record in 2013; despite player graduations and injuries, he led the team to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Memorial Park, Columbus
Memorial Park is located in Obetz, Ohio and stretches between the Obetz Government Center and the Street department building, which is at the western end of Orchard Lane. The Obetz Athletic Club is located in Memorial Park. Memorial Park is also home to the village's annual Zucchinifest. With a total area of 80 acres, Memorial Park is the largest of Obetz' parks. Memorial has two basketball courts, three soccer fields, a baseball complex, two concession stands, a children's play area with playground equipment and benches, several paved parking areas, and a one-acre fishing pond stocked with Largemouth bass, Bluegill, and Channel catfish. Paved paths run through the park, and dirt nature trails are located in the wooded area around the EAS Training Center. EAS Training Center Long the training facility for the Columbus Crew soccer team, EAS Training Center was announced, in February 2016, as the home ground for PRO Rugby The Professional Rugby Organization, known as PRO Rugby, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the west, and Michigan to the northwest. Of the 50 List of states and territories of the United States, U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-largest by area. With a population of nearly 11.9 million, Ohio is the List of U.S. states and territories by population, seventh-most populous and List of U.S. states and territories by population density, tenth-most densely populated state. Its List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city is Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, with the two other major Metropolitan statistical area, metropolitan centers being Cleveland and Cincinnati, alongside Dayton, Ohio, Dayton, Akron, Ohio, Akron, and Toledo, Ohio, Toledo. Ohio is nicknamed th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Columbus, Ohio Metropolitan Area
The Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area is a metropolitan area in Central Ohio surrounding the state capital of Columbus. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, it includes the counties of Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Hocking, Licking, Madison, Morrow, Perry, Pickaway, and Union. At the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 2,138,926, making it 32nd-most populous in the United States and the second largest in Ohio, behind the Cincinnati metropolitan area. The metro area, also known as Central Ohio or Greater Columbus, is one of the largest and fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the Midwestern United States. The larger combined statistical area (the Columbus–Marion–Zanesville combined statistical area) adds the counties of Athens, Fayette, Guernsey, Knox, Logan, Marion, Muskingum, and Ross. It includes the Micropolitan Statistical Areas of Athens, Bellefontaine, Cambridge, Chillicothe, Marion, Mount Vernon, Washington Court House, and Zanesville, due to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sean O'Leary (rugby Union)
Sean O'Leary is a rugby union coach, and was the head coach of PRO Rugby team Denver Stampede in its only season in 2016. Previously, O'Leary served as head coach and director of rugby of the Notre Dame Rugby Football Club from 2007 to 2015. O"Leary held this full-time paid position, thanks to an alumni endowment fund. Under O'Leary's leadership, Notre Dame played in the Collegiate Rugby Championship — a tournament that is broadcast on NBC, gaining valuable exposure for the school's rugby program — as well as the Varsity Cup. O'Leary stepped down from the Notre Dame position in September 2015. Before Notre Dame, O'Leary was the head coach at Northeastern University and at Boston College High School. O'Leary has also been involved with the United States national youth teams. O'Leary served as an assistant coach for the United States under-19 team from 2002 to 2005, and then as head coach of the United States under-17 team from 2005 to 2008., American Rugby News, January 26, 200 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
