USC Trojans men's rugby
The USC Trojans Rugby Football Club is the official rugby team of the University of Southern California. The club competes in the PAC Rugby Conference, the Southern California Rugby Football Union, and the Gold Coast Conference of Intercollegiate Rugby.[1] Laloa Milford is the current head coach of the program after a long international career with most recently the Santa Monica Rugby Club and previously with Castres Olympique in the French Top-14 League. Milford took over the program in 2015 after USC alumnus Dave Lytle retired after coaching the team since 1980. Lytle had achieved good success, leading the Trojans to a Division Championship in 2005 and an undefeated season in 2009. Dominic Riebli is the current Director of Rugby. Austin Reed and Bryan Randles were both standout players during their undergraduate educations and returned as alumni coaches.
Full name | USC Rugby Football Club | ||
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Union | USA Rugby | ||
Nickname(s) | Trojans | ||
Founded | 1886 | ||
Location | Los Angeles, California | ||
Ground(s) | McAlister Field (Capacity: 1,000) | ||
Coach(es) | Loa Milford, Austin Reed, Bryan Randles, Dominic Riebli | ||
Captain(s) | Corbin Bennett | ||
League(s) | PAC Rugby Conference | ||
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Official website | |||
www |
USC's home is at the McAllister Field, located near the Fraternity Row at USC in downtown Los Angeles, California.
History
Rugby is USC’s oldest and most prestigious club sport. The team was founded in 1886. It was briefly replaced by American Football at USC before a British professor on tenure brought the game back to the university in 1910.
In the first issue of the student newspaper The Daily Trojan, then called The Daily Southern Californian, was published Sept. 16, 1912 and in the first edition of the paper included announcements of tryouts for the USC rugby team.[2]
Notable players
- Corbin Bennett, Class of 2017
- Joseph Krassenstein, Class of 2015
- Zach Timm, Class of 2013
- John Akiba, Class of 2014
- Todd Lorell, Class of 2010
- Austin Reed, Class of 2010
- Gareth Williams, Class of 2009
- Sean Sullivan, class of 1993
- Jonathan Freeman, Class of 1992 (Post-Grad)
- Dave Lytle, Class of 1986
- Tom Barrack, Class of 1969
- Harry "Blackjack" Smith, Class of 1939
- Payton Jordan, Class of 1939