Old Glory DC

Old Glory DC

Full name	Old Glory DC Rugby Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Flags
Founded	2018; 6 years ago (2018)
Location	Washington, D.C.
Ground(s)	Maryland SoccerPlex (Capacity: 5,000)
Chairman	Paul Sheehy Chris Dunlavey Scottish Rugby Union
Coach(es)	Simon Cross
Captain(s)	Jamason Faʻanana-Schultz
Most caps	Jack Iscaro (60)
Top scorer	Jason Robertson (313)
Most tries	William Talataina (23)
League(s)	Major League Rugby
2023	Conference finalist 3rd (Eastern Conference)
Team kit
Official website
oldglorydc.com

Old Glory DC RFC is an American professional rugby union team based in Washington, D.C. that competes in Major League Rugby (MLR). Old Glory was founded in 2018, played some exhibition games in 2019, and began regular-season MLR play in 2020.

The organization is led by two local business leaders, former USA Eagles' Paul Sheehy, and local club rugby player Chris Dunlavey.^[1] The Scottish Rugby Union has a part ownership of the team. The team has been coached by Simon Cross since July 2023.

Major League Rugby announced on May 15, 2018, that an expansion team would begin play in Washington, D.C., by the 2020 season^[2] and confirmed the team in November 2018.^[3] On February 6, 2019, the team name was announced as Old Glory DC. On March 28, 2019, the Scottish Rugby Union announced that it had purchased a minority interest in the team.^[4]

After losing seven matches in a row to start the 2022 season, Old Glory DC announced the immediate departure of head coach Andrew Douglas on March 29, 2022. At the time of his departure, Douglas was the longest-tenured head coach in MLR, having joined for the 2019 exhibition season before the first MLR season in 2020. He left with a 10-17-1 overall MLR record and a 37.5% winning percentage.^[5][6] Three days later, on April 1, Old Glory DC announced that former NOLA Gold head coach Nate Osborne would serve as an interim head coach for the remainder of the season while the team conducted a search for a permanent replacement.^[7]

On October 31, 2022, Josh Syms was announced as the new head coach.^[8] On May 15, 2023, it was announced that Syms would leave at the end of the season to coach forwards for the Italian team Zebre Parma.^[9] Several weeks later, Old Glory made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.^[10] On July 7, 2023, the team announced the hiring of Simon Cross as head coach to replace Syms.^[11]

In June 2023, the team announced Earth, Wind & Fire bassist Verdine White and businessman Paxton Baker had become minority owners.^[12]

In the 2024 season, Old Glory began play at the Maryland SoccerPlex, a sports complex in Germantown, Maryland. That season, Old Glory made the playoffs for the second time in franchise history.

The team played their exhibition and inaugural campaigns at Cardinal Stadium on the campus of Catholic University of America.^[13] In 2021 they moved to Segra Field in Leesburg, Virginia.^[14] The team played three seasons at Segra Field and on September 6, 2023, it was announced that the team would move to the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown, Maryland the following season.^[15]

The Old Glory DC squad for the 2024 Major League Rugby season is:^[16]

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union Tristan Cole Hooker United States Facundo Gattas Hooker Uruguay KoiKoi Nelligan Hooker United States Martin Vaca Hooker Argentina Kevin Brou Prop Ivory Coast Jack Iscaro Prop United States Steven Longwell Prop Scotland Cali Martinez Prop Canada Quentin Newcomer Prop United States Tyler Rowland Prop Canada Joe Wrafter* Prop England Ignacio Dotti Lock Uruguay Rob Harley Lock Scotland Tevita Naqali Lock Fiji Charlie Overton Lock United States Bill Whiteside Lock United States Lautaro Bavaro Back row Argentina Brady Daniel Back row United States Cory Daniel Back row United States Jamason Faʻanana-Schultz (c) Back row United States Collin Grosse Back row United States Niko Jones* Back row New Zealand Dacoda Worth Back row United States

Player Position Union Conor Buckley Scrum-half United States Ethan McVeigh Scrum-half United States Danny Tusitala Scrum-half Samoa Gradyn Bowd Fly-half Canada Jason Robertson Fly-half New Zealand Mike Weir Fly-half United States Tommaso Boni Centre United States Palema Roberts Centre United States Ishmail Shabazz Centre United States William Talataina Centre Samoa Perry Humphreys Wing England Axel Müller Wing Argentina John Powers Wing United States John Rizzo Wing United States Mike Dabulas Fullback United States Damien Hoyland Fullback Scotland

• 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.

• Andrew Douglas (2019–March 2022)
• Nate Osborne (April 2022–October 2022) interim
• Josh Syms (October 2022–May 2023)
• Simon Cross (July 2023–present)

• Josh Brown (2019) (Captain)
• Mungo Mason (2020–2021) (Co-captain)
• Thretton Palamo (2020–2021) (Co-captain)
• Danny Tusitala (2022) (Captain)
• Jamason Faʻanana-Schultz (2023–present) (Captain)
• Stan South (2023) (Vice Captain)

All games in the 2019 season were exhibition games and did not count in the MLR standings.

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.^[17] It was cancelled the following week.^[18]

Old Glory played two preseason matches in January 2022. Both matches were held at the St. James Sports Complex, a series of indoor fields in Springfield, Virginia.^[19]

Old Glory played eighteen matches in the regular season with two bye weeks. Their home matches were played at Segra Field in Leesburg, Virginia.^[20] Because the MLR's Eastern Conference had one team fewer than the Western Conference, Old Glory played the Toronto Arrows three times in the regular season, once at home and twice in Toronto.

Old Glory played 16 games in the 2023 regular season. All eight home games were played at Segra Field. They advanced to the playoffs, defeating the Rugby New York Ironworkers to advance to the conference final, which they lost to the New England Free Jacks.

Old Glory played 16 games in the 2024 regular season. All eight home games were played at the Maryland SoccerPlex. The team made it to the playoffs for the second time in its history, securing a place by taking a losing bonus point in their loss to the Miami Sharks on June 22. They made the playoffs for the second time in team history and were defeated by the New England Free Jacks in the Eastern Conference Semi-Final.

• Official website