Mike MacDonald (born November 27, 1980, in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

, United States) is a retired

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 ...

footballer who previously played for

Leeds Carnegie Leeds Carnegie was a brand name used by several sports teams associated with the Carnegie School of Physical Education, now part of Leeds Beckett University Leeds Beckett University (LBU), formerly known as Leeds Metropolitan University (LM ...

in the

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men's English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when Eng ...

and English Premiership. He represented the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

national team and predominantly played at the

prop A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

position.

Youth and college

MacDonald started playing rugby during his sophomore year of high school in 1997. He graduated from

Miramonte High School Miramonte High School is a four-year public high school located in Orinda, California, United States. It is part of the Acalanes Union High School District. The school has a college-preparatory program, with 23 Advanced Placement courses offered ...

in 1999 and followed in the footsteps of his brother, who was also a rugby player. In addition to rugby, MacDonald showcased his talents in

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, achieving a remarkable 3rd place finish in state wrestling during his senior year of high school. MacDonald went on to win four rugby National Championships with the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. During his time there, he received the honor of being named an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

five times between 2000 and 2004. Following the 2004 national championship, he was recognized as the tournament MVP.

Professional career

MacDonald had a professional career in England from 2005 to 2012, initially playing for the Worcester Warriors from 2005 to 2006. He then joined Leeds Carnegie from 2007 to 2012. MacDonald played a pivotal role for Leeds during the 2006-07 season, contributing to their success in winning

National League 1 National One, up until 2023 known as National League 1 and previously known before September 2009 as National Division Two), is the third of three national leagues in the domestic rugby union competition of England. It was known as Courage Lea ...

and securing promotion to the Premiership. Remarkably, he scored 10 tries that season, which is quite impressive for a front row player. Following the 2007-08 Premiership season, MacDonald was honored with the title of Leeds' Player of the Season, and he was appointed captain for the 2008-09 season. In June 2011, MacDonald extended his contract with Leeds Carnegie for an additional two years. However, in April 2012, he was released from

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

International career

MacDonald's debut for the

was against

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

on June 30, 2000. MacDonald has represented the USA in three Rugby World Cups – 2003, 2007 and 2011. At the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup, was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The World Rugby, International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japa ...

, MacDonald broke two US records: he tallied his 63rd cap, surpassing

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-tim ...

as the United States' most-capped player, and made his 11th appearance in a Rugby World Cup match, breaking the record held by

Alec Parker Alec Parker (born April 10, 1974) is an American former rugby union lock. Parker was born in Aspen, Colorado. His height is . He was a member of the United States national rugby union team and participated in three World Cups 2007 Rugby World ...

. MacDonald was named Man of the Match in the United States' win over Russia at the 2011 Rugby World Cup; MacDonald was key as the US scrum made Russia wilt under pressure and MacDonald was outstanding at the breakdown.

Coaching career

MacDonald was signed on as an assistant coach of the

California Golden Bears rugby The California Golden Bears rugby team is the college rugby team of the University of California, Berkeley. The Golden Bears have won 33 championships since the national collegiate championships for rugby began in 1980. Current head coach and Cal ...

team in 2011. Since his joining of the team as the forwards coach in the 2011–12 season, Cal Rugby has made seven 15's national championship appearances, including two victories in 2016 and 2017.

References

External links