Link Wilfley
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Barbos Mike (Whitey) Nelson, Link Wilfley, and Doug Brown have been selected to play on the US team.
The USA World Classic team forms each year for this event and is comprised of former USA national team members or Eagle camp invitees.
Joining defending champion South Africa and the US in this year’s pool are Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, and Canada. The US plays New Zealand in its opening match. USA defeated the kiwis in this event in 2003.
Nelson, a hooker, joined the Barbarians Super League side in 2001 and remains an active player with the club. He played rugby for Arizona State University, Tempe Old Devils, Box Hill RFC (Melbourne, Australia), Pretoria Harlequins (Pretoria, South Africa), Back Bay RFC (Newport Beach, CA), and Belmont Shore (Long Beach, CA), prior to joining the Barbarians. Mike was also a Division I football player at Arizona State prior to beginning his rugby career.
Wilfley is a product of Denver East High School rugby program and first played for the Barbarians in 1999. After a smashing match at flyhalf with the Eagles against South Africa in 2001, Wilfley was signed by English professional club Rotherham and spent two years there. He returned to the Barbos in 2005 and continues to play on Denver’s Super League side. Wilfley played 22 matches for the USA.
Brown played the bulk of his career for the Kansas City Blues at wing and fullback, but finished his Super League career in Denver after moving for business reasons in 2002. He played 7’s for the US in 25 matches and focuses his rugby commitment on coaching the Barbarians’ highly successful 7-a-side program which lost in the national semi-finals in 2008.