Boston Banshees
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Founded | January 2025 |
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Location | Boston, Massachusetts |
Ground(s) | Veterans Memorial Stadium Centreville Bank Stadium (Capacity: 5,000 10,500-11,000) |
Coach(es) | Kittery Wagner-Ruiz |
Captain(s) | TBA |
League(s) | Women's Elite Rugby |
The Boston Banshees are an American semi-professional women's rugby union team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The team was founded in 2025 and is scheduled to play in the inaugural Women's Elite Rugby season.[1][2]
History
[edit]The Boston Banshees team crest features a Banshee from Irish folklore whose "shriek signals impending doom."[3] Because of New England's links to witches/folklore and also due to a strong Irish presence in the region, the Banshee was seen as a "seamless fit for the city."[3] The team also chose to use the colors of Moonlight White,Ghostly Gray, Blood-Moon Red and Midnight for their crest.[3]
Kittery Wagner-Ruiz who represented the United States at the 2010 and 2014 Rugby World Cup's was named as the team's first Head Coach.[4] Cassidy Bargell, Yejadai Dunn, Emily Henrich, Akweley Okine, and Paige Stathopoulos were named as the teams foundational five members.[5]

The Banshees will start the season at the Veterans Memorial Stadium in Quincy, Massachusetts and then play their final three matches at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.[6]
Players
[edit]Current squad
[edit]The Boston Banshees squad for the 2025 Women's Elite Rugby season is:[7]
Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
- Senior 15s internationally capped players are listed in bold.
References
[edit]- ^ "Boston Banshees". Women's Elite Rugby. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
- ^ Pengelly, Martin (January 29, 2025). "'High-energy, risk-taking, intense' US women's league shows its rugby colors". The Guardian. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
- ^ a b c Smith, Allison (January 29, 2025). "Women's Elite Rugby (WER) Announces Their Highly Anticipated Team Names, Colors, and Crests Spearheaded by Partnership with MATTA". Women's Elite Rugby. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
- ^ "Women's Elite Rugby (WER) Announces 2025 Head Coaches for Inaugural Season". Women's Elite Rugby. October 24, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
- ^ Smith, Allison (February 5, 2025). "Boston Banshees Announces Their Foundational Five Players Ahead of the League's Inaugural Season". Women's Elite Rugby. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
- ^ Smith, Allison (February 19, 2025). "Women's Elite Rugby (WER) Releases Venues, Schedule, and Tickets ahead of Inaugural Kickoff in March". Women's Elite Rugby. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
- ^ Lane, Ro (February 18, 2025). "Boston Banshees Announce 2025 Athlete Roster". Women's Elite Rugby. Retrieved February 26, 2025.
External links
[edit]- Boston Banshees at Women's Elite Rugby