The USA Collegiate All Americans have three more days of preparation before their first match, against Connacht Academy.

They know they have a lot of work to do.



“Our biggest challenge is to get on the same page in attack, defense, and in units in only a few days,” Head Coach Matt Sherman told RUGBYMag.com. While trying to keep it simple, it still ends up being a lot we are asking the guys to absorb in only a handful of days.”

Sherman said he was pleased with how his players stayed on focus despite the jet lag and additional fatigue from taking an overnight flight.

“So far, they are doing a good job of absorbing that information and staying focused and engaged, and this morning’s defensive session was positive and at a good standard.”

The players will do two-a-days for Wednesday and Thursday concentrating on defense on Wednesday morning and units in the afternoon. On Thursday, they will work on their attack pattern, and then split off into units for a while in the afternoon before bring everyone back to work it all as a team.

That group session on Thursday afternoon will be crucial, as it will be the culmination of all that work as they put all the pieces together.

Friday will be a captain’s run, which is time for the team to work on teamwork, but scale back the contact in anticipation of Saturday’s game against the Irish provincial academy Connacht.

The Collegiate All Americans arrived in Ireland Tuesday and didn’t waste a lot of time getting to work. After driving to their hotel near the Malahide Rugby Club grounds, the players got a late lunch (chicken and rice), and checked into their rooms (and got their assigned rommated).

“It was a long travel day and most of us got no sleep,” said scrumhalf Christopher Saint of Penn State. “After eating we were pretty tried, so it was good to get right into training.”

That woke the guys up quickly, and Head Coach Matt Sherman got the players into contact immediately, as the coaching staff tried to work on rucking and body position.

“I think it went really well,” said Saint.

The players got out of that relatively unscathed, although center Zac Mizell of Arkansas State had to get some stitches over his eye thanks to contact with the head of his brother, Arkansas State prop Jake.

That brotherly love aside, the players are healthy, and after dinner just tried to stay awak as long as possible so they could eliminate the jet lag quickly.

Collegiate All Americans Start their 2012 Tour

Photos from the USA's Collegiate All Americans rugby team arriving in Ireland and training at the Malahide Rugby Club.

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  The team's hotel at Malahide. Photo courtesy of Irish Rugby Tours.

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  Off the bus. Now what? Photo courtesy of Irish Rugby Tours.

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  Team Manager Craig Brown and, behind him, former Eagle Phil Eloff get off the bus. Photo courtesy of Irish Rugby Tours.

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  MIke Shepherd and Nate Brakely boot up. Photo courtesy of Irish Rugby Tours.

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  Tape time for Don Pati. Photo courtesy of Irish Rugby Tours.

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  The Collegiate All Americans rugby team begins training (Mike Shepherd poses for the camera) at Malahide Rugby Club. Photo courtesy of Irish Rugby Tours.

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  Training time for the All Americans. Photo courtesy of Irish Rugby Tours.

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  Cam Dolan shows how to get that kick high. Mikey Su'a considers his options. Photo courtesy of Irish Rugby Tours.

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  Nate Brakely. Photo courtesy of Irish Rugby Tours.

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  Collegiate All Americans team manager Craig Brown checks the rooming list. Photo courtesy of Irish Rugby Tours.

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  Head Coach Matt Sherman, left, and assistant coach Matt Huckaby, center, who toured Ireland with the All Americans in 2001. Assistant coach Luke Gross, right, had been a pro for five seasons by then. Photo courtesy of Irish Rugby Tours.

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  Mikey Su'a and JP Eloff. Photo courtesy of Irish Rugby Tours.

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BOULDER, Colo. – The 2012 USA Men’s Collegiate All-America touring teams have been announced.

The 15s  squad will travel to Ireland this month to play Provincial Academy teams, facing Connacht Academy on Aug. 11 and Leinster Academy on Aug. 14. The 7s team will assemble in Glendale, Colo., for the Serevi Rugbytown Sevens tournament Aug. 8-12, and in Chula Vista, Calif., for the National All-Star Championship (NASC) 7s tournament Aug. 14-19.

The All American touring teams were selected by scouting over 20,000 collegiate rugby players. A regional network of selected coaches from across the country established a player pool of 125 athletes. The athletes were then evaluated by scouts in their own regions, as well as at national championship playoff games. The player pool was ranked and All-America and Honorable Mention teams were named.

The 2012 15s touring team consists of 15 All-Americans, seven Honorable Mentions, and four athletes who were selected based on their performances at the combine held in Houston, Texas, June 21-24.

Two squads of 12 were chosen to represent the Sevens All-Americans in Glendale and Chula Vista. Six athletes will play in both tournaments. The athletes were evaluated predominantly during their performances at the National Championship, USA Sevens Las Vegas Invitational and the USA Sevens Collegiate Rugby Championship.

Sevens head coach Tony Pacheco said he looks for creative players who make their teammates better. “My hope for the players is this is just a step in the process of becoming an Eagle. I want them to enjoy their time in the All-American jersey because it is special and is a great honor,” Pacheco said.

Matt Sherman, head coach of the fifteens squad, hopes the players will be challenged by the experience of having to cross an ocean and come together quickly to represent their country. “Through that experience we hope the players will further develop as players, have a better understanding and familiarity with the challenge and demands of internationals rugby, and hopefully take a step closer toward becoming full international players that continue to drive and improve the standard of the Eagles,” Sherman said.

In addition to the final roster for the All American 15s team, the following players were considered, but unavailable for the tour: Danny Barrett (Cal), Matt Crawford (St. Mary’s), Brendan Daly (Cal), Shaun Davies (BYU), Paul Lasike (BYU), Kingsley McGowan (St. Mary’s) and Will Holder (Army).

The following athletes were considered, but unavailable for the 7s tour tournaments: Jake Anderson (Cal), JP Eloff (Davenport), Shaun Davies (BYU), Will Holder (Army), Kingsley McGowan (St. Mary’s) and Darrian Woodson (Life). The full rosters for the Sevens tournaments are below.

The All Americans 15s squad is traveling to Ireland with the help of sponsorships from Training Day and Irish Rugby Tours.

Training Day Sports Nutrition, a wholly owned subsidiary of Corr-Jensen, Inc ("Training Day") is proud to partner with USA Rugby for the sponsorship of the 2012 Collegiate All-American Team. Training Day, based in Denver, CO, provides clinically tested NSF certified safe nutritional supplements designed to enhance athletic performance. Training Day is committed to providing athletes with education related to safe supplementation, nutrition, and training enhancement to maximize potential and provide athletes a platform to perform at their highest level. Training Day is proud to partner with USA Rugby in their shared mission of building elite athletes throughout the USA Rugby organization to compete at the highest levels of competition and ultimately take their rightful place among the best in the world.

USA Rugby is proud to partner with Irish Rugby Tours Ltd. for the upcoming MCAA tour to Ireland. Irish Rugby Tours Ltd. is Ireland’s largest sports tour operator and the largest U.S. rugby tour operator. Irish Rugby Tours has always been a dedicated supporter of USA Rugby. Click here to get info on a tour for your team. 

2012 Collegiate All-America Fifteens Touring Team

Fifteens Tour Staff

2012 Collegiate All-America Sevens Glendale Team

2012 Collegiate All-America Sevens Chula Vista Team

Sevens Tour Staff

BOULDER, Colo. – The USA Rugby 2012 Men’s Collegiate All-America Sevens teams have been announced. Thirty-six players were selected as First Team, Second Team and Honorable Mention All-Americans by the Sevens staff, led by Tony Pacheco, head coach of the Men’s Collegiate All-American Sevens.

The All-Americans are recognized for their excellent on field performance, a result of their tireless efforts balancing the responsibilities of being an elite college athlete and the academic demands of being a student.

The athletes were evaluated predominantly during their performances at the National Championship, USA Sevens Las Vegas Invitational and the USA Sevens Collegiate Rugby Championship. Pacheco said he enjoys creative players who make their teammates better.

USA Rugby would like to congratulate the following All-Americans for their dedication to the sport and for an excellent collegiate season that earned them recognition in college rugby.