Austin Huns
| Full name | Austin Huns Rugby Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Union | USA Rugby | |
| Founded | 1972 | |
| Location | Austin, Texas | |
| Ground(s) | Huns Field at Nixon Lane | |
| President |  Matt Mitchell | |
| Director of Rugby | Luis Sanchez | |
| Coach(es) | Adam Scheidler | |
| Captain(s) | Andrew Heller | |
| League(s) | Texas Rugby Union | |
| 2017 | 1st (U.S. Division 1) | |
| ||
| Official website | ||
| www | ||
The Austin Huns Rugby Football Club is a Men's Rugby Club American rugby union team based in Austin, Texas. In June 2017 they became U.S. Division 1 National Champions beating New York Athletic Club 27-23 in the final match.[1]
History
The Austin Huns were formed in 1972 by Patton "Pat" Lochridge as he didn't believe he and some of his teammates were getting a fair shake as to playing time from the Austin Rugby Club that they had been playing for previously.[2] The Austin Huns Rugby Club has competed in all 3 National USA Rugby 15s divisions and the National 7s division.
In 1993, the Huns competed in the Division II National Championships hosted in Mobile, Alabama. They lost in the semi-final to Santa Rosa Rugby Club 18-15 with Santa Rosa subsequently winning the final. In 1994, the Huns hosted the Division II National Championships in Austin, Texas (won again by Santa Rosa RFC) and in 1995 hosted both the Division I & II National Championships in Austin, Texas. The Huns have historically been a playoff caliber team in whatever division they competed, both before and after this 1993 appearance at D II Nationals.
In 2016, the Huns announced that they would start moving towards professionalism, a relatively new concept in the US. The Austin Huns were one of the teams of the Major Rugby Championship, a one-off friendly series of games that took place in the spring of 2017. The friendly games included the Austin Huns, the Glendale Raptors, Rugby Utah, the Dallas Griffins, and New Orleans RFC.[3]
In June 2017, the Huns Rugby Football Club beat New York Athletic Club in the U.S. Division 1 final to become National Champions. The Huns were the first Austin team to win the DI National Championship, and were the second Texas team to do so after the Dallas Harlequins.
In August 2017, the Austin Huns Rugby Club announced they would not be joining the inaugural season of Major League Rugby (MLR).[4] The Huns parted ways with the organization managing the bid for an MLR team in Austin which was subsequently re-branded as Elite Rugby Management and formed the Austin Elite Rugby team.[4]
The Austin Huns 1st, 2nd, and 3rd teams play in Division I, Division II, and Division III, respectively, within USA Rugby's club system in the Red River Conference.[5]
Current Squad
| Player | Position |
|---|---|
| Sean Leahy |
Prop |
| Sean LeMasters |
Hooker |
 Michael Hollister |
Prop |
| Zach Steinbach |
Lock |
| Biff Little |
Lock |
| JP Novak |
Flanker |
| Phillip Hanson |
Flanker |
| Jarrad Stewart |
8 |
| Grant Beadle |
Scrumhalf |
| Alex Rees |
Flyhalf |
| ShawnCox |
Wing |
 Pita "Junior" Naruma |
Center |
| Suli Naruma |
Center |
| Andrew Heller |
Wing |
 CJ DeWitt |
Fullback |
Past Notable players
PFT Commenter - Podcaster- Todd Clever - Former captain and record holder of most caps for USA Eagles. Todd Clever played his first game with the team during the play-offs in 2017.
- Hanco Germishuys - Capped Eagle, former captain of Junior All-Americans.
Rui D'orey Branco - Over 25 international caps for Portugal.- Peter Malcolm - Collegiate All-American from Wheeling Jesuit University. Capped USA Eagle.[6]
Dallen Stanford - Current USA Rugby commentator, Capped 7s Eagle.- Pat Lochridge - Founder of Huns RFC. Inaugural inductee to the Huns Hall of Fame in 2017.
- Whitney Jones - Appeared with Steve McQueen in the 1972 Sam Peckinpah movie, The Getaway.
Huns Hall of Fame Members
2017 Class - Pat Lochridge
2019 Class - Luke Ashley, John Burns, Bill Overton, Gerry Acuña, Jay Rudd, Jack Bloom, Kirk Tate, Chris Bugge, Carl Dahlberg, Dave Zack, Graham Watson, Shawn Rutledge, Luis Sanchez,
Sponsors
- Austin Beerworks
- Avatar Nutrition
- 512 Solar
- Physician's Premier
- The Mayre Company
- Welborn Woodworks
- Green Light Social
References
- ^ "Austin Huns grab club's 1st U.S. rugby championship". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
- ^ "History". Austin Huns Rugby. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
- ^ "Glendale, Huns, Utah In New Major Rugby Championship". This Is American Rugby. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
- ^ a b "Austin Huns Opt Out of Inaugural MLR Season". Austin Huns. 2017-08-15. Archived from the original on 2017-11-09. Retrieved 2017-11-10.
- ^ "RED RIVER MEN'S DIVISION I". USA Rugby. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
- ^ "Peter Malcolm". USA Rugby. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
