Maryland Exiles

The Maryland Exiles is an American rugby union team in Bethesda, Maryland that competes as a member of Division I, Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union (MARFU) under the USA Rugby governing body. The team fields both a standard 15-man squad and seven-a-side squad. The team has competed abroad in England, Sri Lanka, and the Cayman Islands.^[1] The Maryland Exiles have been featured in the Washington Post,^[2] The Virginian-Pilot,^[3] International Rugby News,^[4] and on the cover of Rugby Magazine.^[5][6]

The Exiles were formed in 1993 by the amalgamation of three local area clubs: the Maryland Old Boys, Montgomery County Rugby Club, and the Old Red Rugby Club. The fifteens squad placed third in the Aspen Ruggerfest, the United States' premier fifteen-man tournament, in 1996. In 1996, 1997, and 2007, the Exiles advanced to the Sweet Sixteen round of the National Club Championship.^[1] In United States' National Club Sevens Championship, the Exiles have placed second (1994 and 2002) and third (2003, 2005, and 2006). The Maryland Old Boys, from which the Exiles were partially formed, won the National Club Sevens in 1989, placed third in 1991 and 1992, and placed third in 1988 and 1990.^[7][8]

Notable players

• Inaki Basauri, Eagles 2007
• Will Brewington, Eagles Sevens 1987–1993
• Joe Fradella, Eagles Sevens 2004
• Brian Gallagher, Eagles Sevens 1997
• Eddie Galpin, Eagles Sevens 2001
• James Gillenwater, Eagles Sevens 2007, All-American at Vanderbilt
• Kevin Gittings, Eagles Sevens 1998
• Vince Granger, Eagles Sevens 1989
• Bill Hayward, Eagles 1991
• Steve Laake, All-American at Loyola College
• Owen Lentz, Eagles 2006–2007
• Justin Lucas, All-American at Cal Poly
• Mark Miller, Eagles Sevens 1994
• Chris Petrakes, Eagles Sevens 1987
• Dave Ries, Eagles Sevens 1998
• Tom Sanders, Eagles Sevens 2004, All-American at Virginia
• Jeff Soeken, All-American at Maryland
• Don Younger, Eagles Sevens 1997–2002, All-American at Indiana

References

1. ^ ^{a b} History, Maryland Exiles Rugby Club, retrieved 19 December 2008.
2. ^ Andrew C. Battaile, Navy, Md. Exiles Win Rugby Festival (PDF), The Washington Post, April 1997, retrieved 19 December 2008.
3. ^ Md. team wins Beach rugby event (PDF), The Virginian-Pilot, 1993, retrieved 19 December 2008.
4. ^ Major league passion in Exiles (PDF), The Clubhouse, International Rugby News, 2002, retrieved 19 December 2008.
5. ^ Rites of Spring: Maryland Exiles (PDF), Rugby Magazine, 9 May 1993, retrieved 19 December 2008.
6. ^ MOB Wins National Sevens Championship Crown (PDF), Rugby Magazine, 1989, retrieved 19 December 2008.
7. ^ Exiles second in nation (PDF), Bethesda Gazette, 21 August 2002, retrieved 19 December 2008.
8. ^ Men's National Club 7s Champions, eRugbyNews.com, 2008, retrieved 19 December 2008.