The Sacramento Express were a professional
American rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...
team that played in the short lived
PRO Rugby
Pro is an abbreviation meaning "professional".
Pro, PRO or variants thereof may also refer to:
People
* Miguel Pro (1891–1927), Mexican priest
* Pro Hart (1928–2006), Australian painter
* Mlungisi Mdluli (born 1980), South African retired f ...
competition. They were based in
Sacramento, California
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...
, and played their home games at
Bonney Field
Heart Health Park is a sports venue located on the grounds of Cal Expo in Sacramento, California. 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 hom ...
.
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
Pro is an abbreviation meaning "professional".
Pro, PRO or variants thereof may also refer to:
People
* Miguel Pro (1891–1927), Mexican priest
* Pro Hart (1928–2006), Australian painter
* Mlungisi Mdluli (born 1980), South African retired f ...
team.
The league reportedly had begun extending contract offers to select players by mid-February. In early March, the league made its first official announcement regarding player signings when it announced that Italian international
Mirco Bergamasco would be joining the Sacramento team. Sacramento and other teams started convening their players in mid-March 2016 to begin training.
On December 20, 2016, all PRO Rugby players received notice their contracts will be terminated in 30 days if progress is not made towards resolving disputes between the league and USA Rugby.
Venue
Current players and staff
Roster
The squad for the
2016 PRO Rugby season:
Coaching staff
Season summaries
Leading players
Coaches
References
{{PRO Rugby
Rugby clubs established in 2016
Express
Express or EXPRESS may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* '' Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn
* '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid
Music
* ''Express'' ...
2016 establishments in California
2017 disestablishments in California
Rugby union clubs disestablished in 2017
PRO Rugby teams