Rugby Pickem

With the release of the 2022 Major League Rugby season, fans can now decide where to spend their hard earned money come early February. Last year, with the pandemic, and other unknowns throwing wrenches into just about every teams planning, the season started later, and some teams were not able to host fans for the first few months. But 2022 offers a fresh beginning to what will be another banger of an MLR season. A few takeaways from the schedule ... 1) Warm weather cities get first home advantage The AG's host 6 of their first 8 games (and thus travel for 6 of the remaining 8 to end the year). This can work wonders for teams that want to get a hot start and a foothold in the table. Texas weather in February tends to be quite nice (pending random cold fronts that have been known to tax the energy grid), so Rugby PickEm may be looking to catch the opener come Feb 5. 2) Three seeds for each conference (with a built in bye to the semis) Six out of the 13 teams will make the playoffs in 2022. The Eastern di

The USA Women's Eagles head to Europe to play Ireland and England on the back of two defeats to Canada. Monday's crowd was lively considering it was cold enough to freeze your fingertips. Multiple hot chocolates sold out on a brisk night in Denver. The Eagles struggled in the lineout , but excellent goal kicking allowed the Eagles to keep the game close. However, they could not produce the go ahead try. Final score, 15-9. The second game was played 5 days later, on a lovely Friday night at Infinity Park. The crowd was boisterous and both teams sought to play a more expansive version of their attack. In the end the Canadians repeated as the victors 23-16. Rugby PickEm & crew were in attendance for both games and unilaterally agree that the crowd got much louder that it had been all fall test season. Shoutout to the Denver based fans that made it out to witness some hard nosed rugby. Both teams now head across the Atlantic to close out their autumn tour. The Americans finish with the Irish and the English. T

It took a whole month for the Rugby PickEm triumvirate to return to the same studio, but the stars aligned this week and Uncle Johnny and Tommy NoPiks returned to the show. We had left our last episode on the eve of the second leg of USA vs. Uruguay. Obviously, the results went the way of the Southern Hemisphere challenger as Uruguay cleaned up at home, winning the second leg by a score of 34-15. The final score on the aggregate (50-34) solidified Uruguay's spot in Pool A as Americas 1. Congrats to a well deserved Uruguay team that earned their spot and have been THE exciting tier 2 team in the past RWCs. With Chile defeating Canada in their home/away series, Canada has now been eliminated in their RWC 2023 qualifying efforts. It will be the first time the Canadian Men's Rugby team has not qualified for a Rugby World Cup. The shockwaves reverberated through the Provinces, and Canadian Rugby twitter was big mad. The Eagles will now have to wait a full year before they resume their RWC qualification against

The Eagles are a home/away series vs. Uruguay away from qualifying for the Americas 1 spot in the Rugby World Cup 2023 in France. After a scintillating win at Glendale two weeks ago against Canada, the Eagles showed they can win with their backs against the wall overcoming a -15 point deficit against the men in red. Saturday night, they'll be without AJ MacGinty their first form five-eight. Oddly enough, the lineup involves 5 MLR forwards all from the Eastern Conference (... 3 from RUNY, 2 from NOLA) AND 5 MLR backs all from the Western Conference (3 Gilgronis, 1 Warriors, 1 Seawolves). Isn't that ODD? Can the Eagles win these next two games against Los Teros ??? We certainly hope so ... can you imagine how great it would be to watch USA play France IN France? Even a chance to upset the host team would be a great opportunity for the Eagles. Or even a chance to square off against the haka in a RWC? How good mate???? Premier Rugby Sevens in Memphis will be exciting. There's plenty of USA 7's capped Eagl

Carly Waters recently signed with Saracen's Women's in North London, and brings an exciting, tempo based skill set across the pond from her time playing in the states. She spent the last decade honing her skills here in the states, and has excelled through the ranks of Women's Rugby in the USA. Waters doesn't just do her job, she does it right and she raises the level of play around her. Both on and off the field, she continually coaches, mentors and most importantly backs her teammates. After grinding through a tough season commuting through America's most notorious turnpike (The New Jersey Turnpike), she got the call from Rob Cain and Kate Daley. and was invited to participate in a USA Eagle camp. She seized her opportunity, grinded through some brutal fitness and was eventually was selected for her first cap (above, against the Black Ferns, in Soldier Field).... in sheer shock she responded ..."Are You Sure?"

Introducing Rugby Rent Scholarships. This was a long-time in the making, an idea that's resonating for years before finally being turned into a reality. Our Mission: Provide affordable housing to rugby players who want to grow on and off the pitch. We also believe in 4 Core Pillars: 1) Play Rugby 2) Develop Career Skills 3) Volunteer in the Community 4) Mentorship If you'd like to learn more about what we offer, please head to our website --> www.rugbyrentscholarships.com I hope you enjoy my first attempt at a solo podcast ... more exciting rugby content to follow this fall season. 2021 has been a wild ride, and I can not wait for what lies ahead.

The MLR Final has arrived featuring the L.A. Giltinis hosting Rugby ATL at the Coliseum Sunday night on CBS (or "big" CBS, as the commissioner likes to refer to it as. When he's not chatting it up at the Hooch, he's volunteering in his community and spreading the game of rugby in Atlanta. We caught up with Rugby PickEm favorite Jeremy "Missile"

If you blink, the MLR season will pass you by. That's what the past month has felt like. Due to the pandemic, the league kicked off a bit later than usual this year, and the season has swelled well into the summer. With the final set for Sunday August 1st on big CBS, the teams will battle the heat in the final weeks of what has been a fantastic season. Some viral moments that happened since we last recorded... - LaRome White goes pick 6 (well, pick 7 under the posts...the old guard still hates the automatic conversions ... but we think it's a nice reward for a clean try) - Mikey Te'o and Ollie Thornton get cheeky for the camera - Broccoli Man takes the world by storm Will he make an appearance at Club 7's Nationals? What will his produce of choice be? All this and more in another Rugby PickEm! PICKEM!

Apparently in the podcasting world, it is a requirement to celebrate oneself for reaching 100 episodes. Well here's a nice digital pat on the back to the Rugby PickEm crew for creating the content that the rugby world wanted (but certainly didn't need) since 2018. We have a special recording for Rugby PickEm's century mark as we go back in time 3 years to spring of 2018 when RP started. Devin Martling was a pivotal part to the early days (after all ... he is our 'producer'). We were experimenting with more long-form rugby bios, and Devin was happy to be our test case. He told us about growing up around club rugby (son of the legendary Lenny Martling), playing for the first time, and how his passion for the game still burns today. When we started Rugby PickEm, we thought we'd have some fun, cover the MLR, support the players and (most importantly) keep the self-proclaimed "MLR Pundits" in check. Little did we know that it would be so much more. 100 episodes in and we're just warming up

Tommy No Piks, Colton Strickler & Bt sit down and talk about the state of college rugby. ENJOY!

Have you ever waited for something for FOUR whole years, just to have it pushed back a FIFTH additional year? The average person has trouble keeping their focus for a week or a month ... but the core 7's squad that have been living and training in Chula Vista are locked in and ready for a Global stage. For the Olympic athletes who have waited this long to represent their countries, I applaud your patience. Both USA 7's teams will compete in Tokyo later this summer for what is hands down the highest honor in 7's rugby ... a gold medal. So can the team outperform their finish in Rio? The men competed in pool A, losing to Argentina in a heartbreaker to open the tourney. They pummeled Brazil in their 2nd game, and battled with Fiji in their final game just to fall short. Their +18 point differential was one short to New Zealand in Group C. They won their consolation match, but never got a shot at the knockouts. They will be hungry in Tokyo for a better result. The women faired much better. They lost to Fiji b

The word "Bayou" derives its origins from Choctaw (bayuk) and Louisiana French. If there's one travel date that is set in stone each year for Rugby PickEm, it's our trip to the Bayou to complete the pilgrimage to one of the great US-based rugby-specific stadiums. This year had to be the Texas Cup. As the RP "Boots on the Ground" 2021 Tour continued in the nation's 4th largest city (population), Sabercat die hard fans Franky Ruggs and Holly Hoops could barely contain their excitement as the group waited for an Uber to Aveva. Frank lives and dies with the ups and downs of being a Houston sports fan, but he loves his teams dearly and one of those teams is his beloved Cats. Hats off to TJ Onyet and the Sabercats front office for making the gameday experience truly memorable. Houston strategically planned this weekend and aligned a USA rugby identification & scouting camp early on in the AM, followed by a multitude of games leading into the Texas Cup to round out the night. Special thanks to Paul Mabry, who in h

It's put up or shut up time as the MLR season quickly approaches the playoffs. The Giltinis lose for the 2nd time on the East coast, but don't worry ... the lads are enjoying a quick trip to Cabo for some R&R on the bye week. Rugby PickEm favorite Billy Meakes did the ol' backwards lunge and should be coming back from the trip firing on all cylinders. Big congrats ... this guy broke his orbital 6 weeks ago, but no worries mate .... back on the horse already. Sitting first in the East, RATLer nation is fired up after their big win at home, but NOLA is looking to get back on the top of the eastern table. This rivalry clash will be pivotal in a conference that is still tighter than most Aussies' skinny jeans. NOLA currently sits in 3rd, and this will be their final home game at the Gold Mine. Props to Tim Falcon for making his team's stadium available for the CRC 7's. Feeding the growth of the college game will only help develop the draft picks going straight into the MLR. Lastly, we finish with Tommy NoPiks r

LA Loyals Elite defeated the Colorado XO's 33-31 last Saturday. Got to the game at halftime, but was still able to absorb an electrifying half of the Loyals Elite (hand picked by Gilly himself) vs. the Colorado XO's. LA jumped out to a decent sized lead in the first half, but it was the spiciest scrummy of the week, Carmine Hernandez who helped lead the XO's back into contention in an electrifying second half. Tre Smalls dotted down for the XO's as they pushed hard in the final 15 minutes of the game. A Christian Rodriguez try in the corner was the difference. He's got an absolute motor. Played in Austin, TX on a Wednesday, and still had gas for a game at altitude in Denver four days later on Saturday. Shoutout to TJ Olsen (aka Teej) for putting in the work and growing the game of rugby. Coaching the Loyals Elite team will be a challenging and rewarding job. My guess is they're continue to play matches throughout the fall ... (or at least I hope so!). Props to Carmine and congrats on getting back to rugby

If there's any city in the world to spend just 12 hours in, Los Angeles is right up there. The urban sprawl can be intimidating, but with limited time we went straight to the beach ... Venice Beach to be precise. It was going to be a Gilly type of weekend, so naturally we had to find ourselves a pub or two that served this Legendary Lager. Our server Slater at the Whaler was kind enough to give us good tasting notes before we got our first pitcher, and man ... there's just something about this Legendary Lager that hits just right. Crisp, bold, legendary. Flash forward 4 hours later ...Tyler's shoulders are completely sunburned, and we are in the Uber to SoFi stadium. The fact that we were blessed to be the first fans to witness live sport in this stadium was truly remarkable. I'm not sure why, but I feel like I'll be an 80 year old man telling anyone who will listen about (cue the old man voice ...) "back in '21 .... my friend Tyler and I headed to LA to watch those Legendary Giltinis christen SoFi stadium .

Tyler Grant was born and raised in Arkansas. He has never been to Los Angeles, yet tomorrow night's red eye trip to LA to watch the top of the table Giltinis host the Warriors as they christen SoFi stadium's first live sporting event with fans seemed like a good idea to him when offered the chance. When the big announcement came that the Giltinis would be playing in Stan Kroenke's new mexa-pleg, I applauded their effort to go "next level" in this 2021 season. You really only get one chance to bounce back in a big way after a 100 year pandemic, and they have delivered with big performances on big stages. But Utah is hot, and they will back themselves to fight for a spot in the Western Conference Final. Could this game be a preview of the WCF? If so, it will be back at the Coliseum, but Rugby PickEm is excited to put boots on the ground in LA to (yet again) witness MLR history.

Colton Strickler joins the show to discuss everything Colorado XO's. They will be hosting the Hartford Harpooners on Saturday, May 8th in what could be argued as the most hyped (non-MLR) game of the 2021 spring season. A little background on Colton. He was the first (ever) writer for the MLR in its inaugural 2018 season (and 2019 too). Colton shaped the MLR as we know it today (online ..., via match reports). A passionate member of the rugby community, Colton first played in high school before transitioning to the reporting side of the emerging Rugby Media Industrial Complex (RMIC). Don't forget to stream the match! Harpooners +12 @ XO's -12 O/U: 60 PICKEM!

There's no shortage of Major League Rugby content these days. Not just on The Rugby Network (which we have sincerely and thoroughly enjoyed each week since the season started), but all over the Rugby Media Industrial Complex (RMIC). This week's media review has to be ... The Rugby Clubhouse. The rugby world could not have been blessed with better complimenting accents for this show set in a rugby pub (via the internet ... but it still looks like a sweet set and after a while it just feels like you're having out with Fodes and Mikey). Commish was a guest for The Rugby Clubhouse. He has been making the rounds and I love it. A couple things I learned ...., he's definitely on the same page with Rugby PickEm's #operation2031 and he knows that a confirmed hosting of the 2031 RWC would shoot this league into the stratosphere. He also acknowledged that the league has to generate more revenue in order to increase the teams' salary caps. That's done by maximizing your traditional gameday revenue (asses in seats, merc

Heading into week 6 and the season is steaming ... as a meaningless way too early prediction foretold, the current table in the West features a Gilbowl Western final. In the East, RUNY sits in the drivers seat, as NOLA looks to hold off the other 4 eastern teams (all still at play). Toronto may get some home games on the backend, but it's wishful thinking to bank on that. They need to win a massive game in New York (well, Jersey) this week to stay in the mix. Expert Media Pundit Pick Squares are back thanks to u/oddballgentlman and thank god! We weren't sure what to do with all the pundits piks scattered all over the interwebs ... but now they are in a nice neat excel spreadsheet thanks to our man Alastair "Tackle The Numbers" Poole, the vet by day, numbers guru by night. Big props on supporting the league. Here was his comeback week back in week 4. Six pundits. And in the blink of an eye ... The Punditry is literally off the charts! From 6 to 10 rugby pundits in just one week. Who knows ..., maybe this

Paddy parked in the back lot (right by The Hangout which is an old airplane hangar). The whole athletic complex is just north of Historical Naval Air Station South Field which was originally established in WW2 as a Navy blimp base. It was operational from 1942 to 1997 and has housed and serviced planes such as P-3 Orions and C-130 Hercules. But the history on this day was made between the lines ... although their was certainly an aerial aspect too (we'll get to that). Paddy was kind enough to stop at the store, so a few beverages in the parking lot were in order as the cars continued to pull up, park and this fired up fanbase walked the short walk (2 mins max) into the stadium. I personally like tailgating on the fringes, but the cars kept coming and parked even further behind us. Now I was keeping my eyes and ears open for SUPER FANS, and one thing I noticed was how decked out the fans were in NEFJ gear. This front office clearly knows what their doing (they were handing out gear packs to founding members n