Two Players Signed By MLR Teams And New Docuseries Slated For Worldwide Distribution
by Laura Lieff
Athletic Prowess: Former XFL defensive tackle Gelen Robinson plays hooker for the Colorado XOs and has been signed to the LA Giltinis for the summer.(Photo by Seth McConnell)
In January 2021, Glendale formed the biggest, fastest, and most athletic rugby team in the world called the Colorado XOs. But instead of populating the team with athletes who have been playing rugby their whole lives, this team was comprised of elite American players from other sports. What these players lacked in rugby experience they made up for in size, strength, and speed as some played in the NFL, XFL, or CFL. The athletic prowess was definitely there but the question was whether or not these men could learn to play and excel at rugby.
“The US rugby player pool is pretty limited, so we believe the only way to add depth to that pool quickly is to recruit players from other sports,” explains Glendale City Manager Linda Cassaday. “That was the idea behind our Crossover Academy — find the best athletes from other sports and teach them the game of rugby.”
With the goal of finding American athletes whose talent outweighed their lack of experience, Glendale signed 30 players who showed enough potential to ultimately help the United States win the World Cup. When Glendale made the controversial decision to leave Major League Rugby (MLR) — due to the organization’s choice to use foreign players rather than American players — many naysayers scoffed at the strategy.
Introducing New Faces To Rugby
Standout Player: At 6’ 8’’, Shawn Clark shows off his natural aerial skills in the lineout. Clark will also play for the Giltinis this summer. (Photo by Seth McConnell)
Now, just a few months later, two of the crossover players — Gelen Robinson and Shawn Clark — have signed with the LA Giltinis, an MLR team based in Los Angeles, California. Giltinis General Manager Adam Freier says he was delighted to sign two promising American talents and strengthen the club’s links with the Colorado XOs.
“Gelen has a unique skill of multiple disciplines as an athlete, from wrestling, football and basketball, while Shawn is one of those athletes that has an incredible engine, who could play multiple positions,” Freier explains. “They are both great signings and young men, which is a real credit to the Colorado XOs coaching staff and officials.”
Both Robinson and Clark took their first strides in the game over the past 19 weeks in this unique crossover experiment to coach talented football, basketball, and track athletes into potential professionals for the USA Rugby player pool.
“We at the Colorado XOs and the City of Glendale are extremely proud of both Shawn and Gelen,” Colorado XO Director of Recruitment Peter Pasque says. “They’ve done everything we’ve asked of them and more. We also would like to thank the LA Giltinis for taking an early interest in our program.”
Although Robinson and Clark will be playing for the Giltinis this summer, Pasque makes it clear that the players are only on loan. “The reason we are releasing these athletes to play for other teams for two months is because it will be a positive experience for them which will work out in the long run for our team.” After spending two months in Los Angeles, both players will return to Glendale in August to train, practice, and play for the Colorado XOs.
Successful But Challenging Experiment
While a 5-5 record may not sound impressive on paper, the XOs spring season record is admirable considering this group of men had never played together before nor had they ever picked up a rugby ball.
“We’re trying to bring in the best athletes and teach them the fundamentals,” Pasque explains. “The fact that we have only been working with these guys for 19 weeks and already have interest from the United States National Team speaks for itself.”
But there are still a few issues to address. While many individual players are thriving, others have succumbed to various injuries that Glendale did not anticipate.
“Overall this recruiting experiment has gone well, but there have been some unexpected challenges,” says Cassaday. “The injury rate was astounding and definitely took a toll on the team but we’ve learned from that, analyzed the injuries, and are understanding how to avoid them in the future.”
One of the most significant adjustments some XO athletes, especially those who are former football players, had to make was learning how to play without a helmet or pads. Cassaday says that aspect has been a major part of the learning curve when it comes to tackling and overall movement.
“Initially, all we could evaluate was their physical stats,” she explains. “Some players were not invited back because they weren’t able to make the change to rugby so there are definitely recruiting changes that will be implemented for the fall season.”
Pasque adds that individually the majority of the athletes are doing well but there is significant work to be done in terms of the team as a whole. Of the 30 players recruited, he says that approximately one third were cut, one third are serviceable, and the rest have the potential to develop into elite rugby players that can make a difference in the World Cup.
“At the moment we’re seeing more individual successes than team successes but we’re going in the right direction and learning quickly,” he explains. “This whole thing, which was sponsored by the City of Glendale, has a great mission and purpose and we are taking steps to make it even better.”
Worldwide Docuseries Release
Film Crew: A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the docuseries that will be released to a global audience in the coming months.
Further exemplifying the significance of Glendale’s crossover experiment is the attention it has garnered from Spring Media, an international full-service sports media agency, along with Rugby Factory TV. The two entities have partnered in the worldwide distribution of a new documentary series about Glendale’s crossover program. Slated for global distribution this fall, the first season of the docuseries (appropriately called RugbyTown) will show how the Crossover Academy has been recruiting NFL-quality American athletes and training them full-time in a residential high-performance environment.
“RugbyTown USA’s mission is to help the United States win the Rugby World Cup within the next decade,” says Glendale Mayor Mike Dunafon. “The rugby world has long seen America’s greatest athletes on the football field or the basketball court, but now the RugbyTown Crossover Academy is training those athletes to play rugby at the highest levels internationally.”
He continues, “We are delighted to be working with Spring Media to offer the RugbyTown series to the world so that viewers can get to know the players and coaches who have set out on this incredible life-changing and historic journey.”
According to Spring Media Commercial Manager Craig Neilson, the docuseries is “tailored to both the global sports audience and those looking for high-quality entertainment in general.” The premiere season will feature 10 episodes ready for distribution on August 1, with season two dropping at the end of 2021.
Documenting The Action: Slated for release this fall, RugbyTown will showcase how Glendale broke new ground by training elite American athletes how to play rugby.
“With our embedded production team, we’ve captured the players’ transformation from individual athletes into a cohesive rugby squad,” says Patrick Guthrie, Co-Founder & Chief Content Officer at Rugby Factory TV. “RugbyTown is the story of these extraordinary young men, their coaches, their families, and their mission to win the World Cup, all told by the players and coaches themselves.”
Upcoming Season
Looking ahead to the fall, the focus of the XOs will be competing against teams in South Africa — a country where rugby is extremely popular and the competition is intense. The plan is to do a three-week tour, play as many games as possible, and train with high level clubs — especially the Sharks and Blue Bulls which are two of the top South African rugby teams.
Stateside, Glendale is working on compiling a fall schedule for rugby enthusiasts to look forward to at Infinity Park. Cassaday says they are hoping to play against D1 programs, MLR academies, and teams like the Blue Bulls who are willing to travel to compete.
Frontline Footage: Rugby Factory’s film crew has been documenting the Crossover Academy’s progress over the last few months.
Although rugby is clearly a significant part of the Glendale culture, Cassaday says that ultimately the program is part of the City’s economic plan to put Glendale on the map. By attracting visitors to enjoy all the bars, retail, restaurants, and hotels Glendale has to offer, she hopes that other rugby teams will want to visit and train here as well. Additionally, Cassaday says that the idea is that if Glendale invests in travel to play and train with foreign teams, the foreign teams will reciprocate.
Fans can look forward to watching the XOs play in the RugbyTown 7s tournament August 20-22 at Infinity Park. For more information and updates, visit www.infinityparkatglendale.com/colorado-xos.