Rugby New York – Wikipedia
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Professional rugby union team from New York City
Rugby team
Rugby New York, formerly known as Rugby United New York and now officially nicknamed the Ironworkers, are a professional rugby union team based in New York City that is a member of Major League Rugby (MLR). The team played an exhibition season in spring 2018 and joined MLR for its second full season in 2019.[1][2] The team was founded by James Kennedy.[3]
In 2022, its first season under the Rugby New York name, the team made its first MLR Final appearance, winning a title in front of 1,979 attendees at Red Bull Arena in nearby Harrison, New Jersey.[4]
History[edit]
Rugby United New York was founded on April 2018 by James Kennedy, owner of Murphy Kennedy Group a New York construction management company and active rugby player at the time.In its 2018 exhibition season, RUNY was led by former USA men’s national team coach Mike Tolkin, and assistant coaches Bruce McLane (former coach of New York Athletic Club RFC), Andrew Britt, and Vili Vakasisikakala.[1] The team’s 2018 spring season consisted of matches against the Ontario Arrows and the Mystic River Rugby Club of Boston.[1] The team played its home matches at Gaelic Park in The Bronx.[5] The team played its first match on March 17, 2018, at Mazzella Field in New Rochelle, New York.[6] New York defeated the Ontario Arrows by a score of 36–19.[6] RUNY played its first match in New York City against Mystic River on March 24 before a sold-out crowd at Gaelic Park.[7] New York defeated Mystic River by a score of 50–0.[7]
Ahead of the 2019 season, RUNY announced that they had retained Mike Tolkin as the team’s head coach,[8] signed Kees Lensing as the team’s forwards coach,[9] and named James English as general manager.[10]
On November 7, 2018, RUNY announced that MCU Park in Brooklyn would be their home field for their first full season.[11]
Broadcasts[edit]
2019 and 2020 home games were shown on SportsNet New York (SNY). Matt McCarthy, John Broker and Steve Lewis were the on air talent.
The 2021 season matches was broadcast on MSG Networks, ending their contract with SNY.
During the inaugural season, RUNY signed a partnership deal with Magners Irish Cider,[12] the official drink partner and Bawnmore Irish Beef Jerky[13] as the official snack partner for the 2019 season. They also partnered up with EVF Performance,[14] the team’s official gym and Motion PT Group, named the official physical therapy partner for the team.[15]
For the 2021 season, RUNY partnered with Sword Performance, a sports drink hydration company.[16] They also partnered with Mainfreight as their shirt sponsor for the next two seasons.[17]
The Rugby New York squad for the 2023 Major League Rugby season is:[18]
Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.
- Senior 15s internationally capped players are listed in bold.
- * denotes players qualified to play for the United States on dual nationality or residency grounds.
- MLR teams are allowed to field up to ten overseas players per match.
Head coaches[edit]
Captains[edit]
Records[edit]
Season standings[edit]
Honors[edit]
Head to Head[edit]
The following table details the past performance of Rugby United New York against different opponents in Major League Rugby, between their inaugural season of 2019 up until the current 2022 season (Updated after MLR Final(MLR 2022 season) 25 June). Table includes all regular season and play-off matches (semi-finals and finals).
2018 season[edit]
All games in the 2018 season were exhibition games and did not count in the league standings.
2019 season[edit]
Exhibitions[edit]
Regular season[edit]
| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Location | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 27 | San Diego Legion | Away | Torero Stadium | Won, 25-23 |
| February 16 | New Orleans Gold | Away | Archbishop Shaw | Won, 27–24 |
| February 24 | Seattle Seawolves | Away | Starfire Stadium | Lost, 21-33 |
| March 2 | Houston SaberCats | Away | Constellation Field | Won, 35-8 |
| March 9 | Utah Warriors | Away | Zions Bank Stadium | Won, 47-21 |
| March 15 | Toronto Arrows | Home | MCU Park | Won, 24–21 |
| March 24 | Glendale Raptors | Home | MCU Park | Won, 31-19 |
| March 30 | Austin Elite | Away | Toyota Field | Won, 19-11 |
| April 14 | San Diego Legion | Home | MCU Park | Lost, 19–29 |
| April 20 | Utah Warriors | Home | MCU Park | Won, 24–22 |
| April 26 | Glendale Raptors | Away | Infinity Park | Lost, 16–20 |
| May 5 | Houston SaberCats | Home | MCU Park | Won, 21–0 |
| May 12 | Seattle Seawolves | Home | MCU Park | Lost, 31–38 |
| May 19 | Austin Elite | Home | MCU Park | Won, 27-7 |
| May 26 | New Orleans Gold | Home | MCU Park | Won, 24–22 |
| June 2 | Toronto Arrows | Away | Lamport Stadium | Lost, 20-22 |
Post season[edit]
2020 season[edit]
Exhibition[edit]
| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Location | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 25 | Toronto Arrows | Neutral | Orchard Park | scrimmage no score recorded |
| February 1 | New York Barbarians | Home | Wagner College Football Stadium | Won 77-5 |
Regular season[edit]
On March 12, 2020, MLR announced the season would go on hiatus immediately for 30 days due to fears surrounding the 2019–2020 coronavirus pandemic.[22] It was cancelled the following week[23]
2021 season[edit]
Regular season[edit]
| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 20 | San Diego Legion | Away | Won, 36–29 |
| March 27 | New Orleans Gold | Away | Lost, 28–51 |
| April 11 | Rugby ATL | Away | Won, 27–17 |
| April 18 | Old Glory DC | Home | Won, 38–34 |
| April 25 | Toronto Arrows | Home | Lost, 12–53 |
| May 2 | Seattle Seawolves | Away | Won, 23–21 |
| May 8 | LA Giltinis | Home | Won, 18–16 |
| May 15 | Austin Gilgronis | Away | Lost, 9–16 |
| May 23 | New England Free Jacks | Home | Won, 29–19 |
| May 30 | Old Glory DC | Away | Won, 46–10 |
| June 13 | Rugby ATL | Home | Won, 31–24 |
| June 19 | Utah Warriors | Home | Lost, 28–29 |
| June 27 | Toronto Arrows | Away | Won, 31–24 |
| July 3 | New England Free Jacks | Away | Lost, 6–22 |
| July 10 | Houston SaberCats | Home | Won, 54–19 |
| July 17 | New Orleans Gold | Home | Lost, 32–35 |
Post season[edit]
| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 24 | Rugby ATL | Away | Lost, 9-10 |
2022 season[edit]
Regular season[edit]
| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 12 | Houston SaberCats | Away | Won, 10-7 |
| February 19 | Rugby ATL | Away | Won, 36-31 |
| February 26 | Dallas Jackals | Away | Won, 41-5 |
| March 6 | New England Free Jacks | Home | Lost, 29-38 |
| March 13 | San Diego Legion | Home | Won, 26-23 |
| March 19 | New Orleans Gold | Away | Won, 30-19 |
| March 27 | Toronto Arrows | Home | Lost, 10-14 |
| April 3 | Old Glory DC | Home | Won, 35-31 |
| April 10 | LA Giltinis | Away | Lost, 43-0 |
| April 24 | New England Free Jacks | Home | Lost, 26-29 |
| May 1 | New Orleans Gold | Home | Won, 36-28 |
| May 8 | Toronto Arrows | Away | Won, 41-17 |
| May 15 | Seattle Seawolves | Home | Won, 30-22 |
| May 22 | Rugby ATL | Home | Lost, 3-38 |
| May 29 | Old Glory DC | Away | Won, 59-49 |
| June 3 | New England Free Jacks | Away | Won, 21-14 |
Post season[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c “MLR announces New York team for 2019”. www.usmlr.com. Major League Rugby. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
- ^ Pengelly, Martin (March 26, 2018). “Firefighters and cops face off as New York’s pro rugby team debuts”. The Guardian. New York, NY. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ^ Melanson, Jack (March 30, 2018). “Packed house welcomes pro rugby to Gaelic Park”. Riverdale Press. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
- ^ Americas Rugby News. “New York claims first MLR title with win over Seattle”. Americas Rugby News. Americas Rugby News. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
- ^ Mitchell, Alex (March 19, 2018). “New York’s first professional rugby team is coming to the Bronx”. Bronx Times-Reporter. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ^ a b “New York win historic first match over Ontario”. Americas Rugby News. March 17, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ^ a b “New York blank Boston on historic night in the Bronx”. Americas Rugby News. March 25, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
- ^ “Tolkin confirmed as New York MLR coach”. Americas Rugby News. August 7, 2018. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
- ^ “Rugby United New York Signs Forwards Coach Kees Lensing”. www.rugbyunitedny.com. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
- ^ “Rugby United New York Announces James English as GM”. www.rugbyunitedny.com. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
- ^ Rugby United NY (2018-11-07), Rugby United New York’s Stadium Announcement, retrieved 2018-11-08
- ^ “Magners Becomes Official Hard Cider of Rugby United New York”.
- ^ “Bawnmore Becomes Official Snack Partner of Rugby United New York”.
- ^ “Evf Performance Becomes Official Gym Partner of Rugby United New York”.
- ^ “MOTION PT Group Partners with Rugby United New York”.
- ^ “Sword Performance is a proud sponsor of Rugby United New York”.
- ^ “Our Partners”.
- ^ “Rugby New York”. Americas Rugby News. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ^ “Rugby United New York defeat Ontario Arrows 36-19 in first MLR match”. djcoilrugby. 2018-03-18. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
- ^ “Rugby United New York hosts Boston Mystic River March 24”. djcoilrugby. 2018-03-23. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
- ^ “Boston Mystic River hosts Rugby United New York in a rematch at Harvard”. djcoilrugby. 2018-03-31. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
- ^ Anonymous, “MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY SUSPENDS 2020 SEASON FOR 30 DAYS,” www.majorleague.rugby, March 12, 2020 Retrieved March 14, 2020
- ^ “Major League Rugby cancels remainder of 2020 campaign”. Yahoo! Sports. AFP. March 19, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
External links[edit]
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