Sam Golla (born May 7, 1999) is an American international
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 ...
player.
A forward, Golla was born in
Arlington, Texas
Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. ...
and grew up in
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...
, where he attended
East High School, where he won two Colorado state championships, including as a captain his senior year. He played varsity rugby at
UC 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. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...
.
Golla was signed by the
Dallas Jackals
The Dallas Jackals are a Major League Rugby team that began play in the 2022 season as an expansion franchise. They were originally going to join the MLR for the 2021 season, but on January 19, 2021, the Jackals delayed their inaugural season to ...
in 2022 as the No. 1 overall pick in the
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. Of ...
college draft.
In 2023, Golla was named Major League Rugby "Rookie of the Year" and made his international debut for the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
in a Test against Romania in Bucharest, which they won by 14 points.
See also
*
List of United States national rugby union players
List of United States national rugby union players is a list of people who have played for the United States national rugby union team. The list only includes players who have played in a match recognized by USA Rugby as a test match, whether it ...
References
External links
Sam Gollaat
USA Rugby
USA Rugby (officially the United States of America Rugby Football Union, Ltd.) is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. Its role is to achieve and maintain “high levels of quality in all aspects of rugb ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Golla, Sam
1999 births
Living people
United States international rugby union players
Dallas Jackals players
Rugby union locks
California Golden Bears rugby players
Rugby union players from Colorado
Sportspeople from Denver
East High School (Denver, Colorado) alumni
Rugby union flankers