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All-American touring squad named

Posted in: College
By
Jun 24, 2008 - 5:13:43 PM
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AA_KevinSwirynMVP_3.jpg
Kevin Swiryn (Capt)
USA Rugby has announced the squad selections for the All-Americans’ upcoming three-match tour to New Zealand in July.

The team will be in the land of the long white cloud for a little over two weeks.

They are scheduled to depart for New Zealand on July 14, and meet their first competition on July 20, versus Massey University, with a game against the Wellington Old Boys on July 23, all building up to the tour-culminating match versus New Zealand Universities on July 30.

The All-Americans will be led by USA Rugby CEO and President of Rugby Operations Nigel Melville, with assistant coaches Tom Billups (UC-Berkeley), Craig Coates (Texas A&M) and Alex Magleby (Dartmouth). John McNamara will fill the role of team manager and Gary Derscheid will be acting as physio.

US Eagles head coach Scott Johnson will also join the team during its final week on tour, in preparation for its big match against New Zealand Universities.

Based primarily out of Wellington for the tour, the All-American squad is also set to work with coaches from the New Zealand Rugby Union, as outlined by the developmental partnership agreement between the NZRU and USA, which took effect earlier this year.

“This will be a tough tour, but our special relationship with New Zealand Rugby will be greatly beneficial for the team by allowing them to work alongside specialist coaches and exposing them to the New Zealand style of rugby,” Melville said.

“This will be a fantastic experience for the All-Americans, especially with the next Rugby World Cup on the horizon. Some members of this team may actually be playing in the 2011 World Cup and it’s important to increase their exposure to this level of play.”

Kevin Swiryn, member of the 2008 National Guard College Club Championship semifinalist St Mary’s squad, has been named the All-American team captain for the New Zealand tour.

Swiryn, who impressed selectors with his performance and leadership skills throughout the college season, recently took part in a three-week High Performance course at the International Rugby Academy of New Zealand as the 2008 recipient of the US Rugby Football Foundation’s High Performance Grant.

The USA Rugby All-Americans:
Forwards:
Conor Coyne (St Mary’s)
Patrick Danahy (Stanford)
Eric Fry (California)
Paul Jesseman (California)
Hayden Smith (Metropolitan State College of Denver)
Ryan Duklas (Wisconsin-Whitewater)
Joe Welch (California)
Roland Evans (Arkansas State)
Jacob Grubbs (Arkansas State)
Tommy Pasque (Colorado)
Joe Fontana (San Diego State)
Steve St Pierre(BYU)
Seth Strauss (Life University)
Christopher Frederick (Army)
Tony Lewis (Nebraska)

Backs:
Marco Barnard (Kutztown)
Kevin Swiryn [Capt] (St Mary’s)
Matt Byrd (Utah)
Jordan Kohn (Arizona)
Keegan Engelbrecht (California)
Maximo DeAchaval (Colorado)
Luke Roberts (Penn State)
Colin Hawley (California)
Zach Triplett (California)
Chad Clark (St Mary’s)
Blaine Scully (UCLA)
Dustin Muhn (California)
Ryan Taylor (California)