Robinson M. Bordley (born 1947) is an American former

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 ...

player who played as a

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16� ...

and fullback for the United States men's national team. He served as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

of the national team in its first two modern-era test matches in 1976.

Early life and club rugby career

Bordley was born circa 1947, the eldest son of Robert Austin Joseph Bordley and Martha Ann Bordley (born Robinson). Bordley attended

Landon School Landon School is a private, college preparatory school for boys in grades 3–12, with an enrollment of approximately 710 students, in Bethesda, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. Background Paul Landon Banfield and his wife, Mary Lee, ...

, graduating in 1966. During his time as a student at Landon, Bordley was a multi-sport athlete and earned 17

varsity letter A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. A person who ...

s. Bordley then attended

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, where he was a member of the university's

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 ...

and

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

teams, earning all-

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

honors in each sport. Bordley played at

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the football team and also returned punts and kicks. Bordley graduated from Princeton in 1970 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. After graduating from Princeton, Bordley joined the

Washington Rugby Football Club Washington Rugby Football Club (WRFC) is a USA Rugby club men's Division I rugby union team based in Washington, DC. Washington RFC formed in February, 1963. The team founded the annual Cherry Blossom tournament in 1966. WRFC plays in the Mid-At ...

(RFC) in 1970 and played with the team for more than a decade. During his time with Washington RFC, Bordley served as team captain, and was also selected for and captained representative teams with the Potomac Rugby Union and Eastern Rugby Union (ERU). In 1976, Bordley joined the ERU

All Stars An all-star is an individual with a high level of performance in their field. All-star or All Star may also refer to: Awards * GAA GPA All Stars Awards, annual awards given to practitioners of Gaelic games ** Camogie All Stars Awards ** Ladies' ...

on a tour of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. The following year, he returned to South Africa to play for an invitational international all star team at the then-newly renovated

Loftus Versfeld Stadium Loftus Versfeld Stadium is a rugby stadium situated in the suburb of Arcadia, city of Pretoria in the Gauteng province of South Africa, owned by the Blue Bulls Rugby Union. The stadium can accommodate 51,762 spectators. The stadium is the ...

. During his tenure with Washington RFC and the United States men's national team, Bordley studied at

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

and earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

International rugby career

Bordley made his debut for the United States men's national team (Eagles) on January 31, 1976, starting at fly-half and serving as captain, in the Eagles' 24–12 defeat to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Bordley served as the Eagles' captain during this match and in a June 1976 match (in which he started at fullback) against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

—the Eagles' first two test matches of the modern-era. Bordley made three additional test match appearances representing the United States through 1978, but he did not score during his five match career with the team.

Professional career

In 1970, Bordley joined the faculty at

. In 1975, Bordley became the head

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

of the school's boys'

team. Over the course of 42 seasons, Bordley led the team to a total of 655 victories, making him the fifth winningest coach in United States high school boys' lacrosse history, After the conclusion of the 2017–18 school year, Bordley retired from his head coaching and full-time teaching positions. While at the school, Bordley also coached junior-varsity

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

and worked as

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

of the varsity football team.

Personal life and honors

Bordley married his wife, Donna, in 1977. Together they have three children: John Robinson "J.R.", Austin, and Claire, all of whom have played lacrosse at the collegiate level. Over the course of his life, Bordley has received numerous awards and honors. He was inducted into the U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame in 2013 and the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame (Potomac Chapter) in 2004. He has also been nominated for membership in the U.S. Lacrosse National Hall of Fame. On September 13, 2003, Landon School dedicated and named Robinson M. Bordley Stadium in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bordley, Robbie Living people American rugby union players United States international rugby union players Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union fullbacks American lacrosse players High school lacrosse coaches in the United States Schoolteachers from Maryland Players of American football from Maryland Year of birth missing (living people)