GRR: Player Spotlight
As summer is the time for pathway teams it’s worth remembering that elite rugby prospects can come from all over.
And what elite prospects have that make them elite is a combination is athleticism, physical characteristics that make success easier, a desire to learn, and a desire to compete.
Two years running, now, the University of Michigan has won the NCR Women’s D1 championship, both times beating a school-supported team in Notre Dame College in the final.
American collegiate rugby has split up into very specific tiers and because of that it’s easy to get caught up in the idea that all the potential high performance players are in the highest divisions.
But that’s certainly not the case; witness our latest example, Ray Santiago.
The foundation of Brown University's strong showing in the fall is heavily dependent on youth rugby.
While Head Coach David LaFlamme has some a superlative job guiding his team to an Ivy League title, the influx of talent that understood the game and know how to make the most of their talents certainly helped.
After a meteoric rise which saw her capped by the Eagles 7s team before she'd graduated high school, Lilly Durbin's rugby life was ripped away from her.
A star as a freshman in high school ...