Alex Goff sits down with USA Rugby CEO Ross Young and USA Rugby COO Johnathan Atkeison to talk about High Performance—plans, developments, and thoughts on USA Rugby HP jobs, including HP GM, Eagles 15s Head Coaches, and hosting the World Cup.
Is USA Rugby headed in the right direction? Will they settle on full-time coaches and will those be the right decisions. Will they abandon a new-found commitment to age-grade national teams?
What if World Rugby wants to take away the 2031 World Cup? We talk about it all.
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Photo: Alex Goff
Wise words and great insight from the all-time American rugby legend Gary Lambert. One of the greatest Eagles ever talks about staring mortality in the face, the shamateur years and what we lost when the game went professional, USA vs South Africa 1981, and the future for the national team.
It is a wide-ranging, emotional ride with Bruce McLane and Gary Lambert.
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Photo: Alex Goff
The great former Eagle captain and scrumhalf Mike Saunders is a soft-spoken leader who became a brilliant coach after he retired.
Smart, analytical, and a man who loves the game of rugby, Saunders talks about leadership, self-evaluation, loss, OMBAC, and the USA.
All-Time American List: Mike Saunders
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Photo: Alex Goff
Dave Hodges was generally considered the most indomitable rugby player in the USA, perhaps the world, when he played. Coming late to international rugby he worked hard, hit harder, and prepared harder than anyone.
All-Time American: Dave Hodges
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Photo: Alex Goff
USA captain and Bristol Bear AJ MacGinty sits down with Bruce McLane to talk about how he came to America, what he does to prepare to play as a professional, and a whole bunch of other stuff about the Eagles—the potential and the disappointments.
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And when AJ gives us a visual, here is how he looked.
Example 1.
Example 2.
Alex Goff sits down with former Cal, Oxford University, and USA prop Ray Lehner.
He talked about his rugby origins, his influences, and what it was that turned him from a guy just checking out the game into someone who has embraced it as his life.
GRR All-Time American List: Ray Lehner
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Bruce sits down with Mike "Chicken" Dabulas and talks about his push to the pros and international rugby, as well as how players can be great in the locker room.
Mike talks about the evolution (or not so much) of coaching as well.
RuggaMatrix America is brought to you by Irish Rugby Tours, the US Rugby Foundation, and Next Phase Rugby.
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Alex Goff sits down with former Cal captain, All American, USA, Oxford, Randwick, and SFGG rugby player Matt Sherman.
Having seen both sides of the top-level collegiate playoffs, and later becoming the Head Coach of a national champion, Sherman brings a unique perspective to the game and the players.
He talks about what it means to be an Eagle, the players he played with and the special moments, and also what it means to be a Golden Bear and a Black Knight.
Music by Bensounds
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Episode photo by Adam Smith.
Scott Lawrence is Interim USA Head Coach and Interim head of High Performance. And that means he's free to make decisions based solely on the long-term health of the program.
It's freeing, and he tells Bruce McLane why.
Music by Bensounds
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Accomplished rugby player and medical doctor Anthony Chaffee sits down with Bruce McLane in a three-parter that hits hard at assumptions about healthy diet, the role meat plays in performance and weight loss, hormones, and what are the right foods for humans.
In Part 3 Dr. Chaffee talks about not only athletic performance, but physical performance for anyone. He also talks about being educated about what you put into your body, and not just listening by rote.
This is Part 3 of 3 Parts.
Music by Bensounds
Support RMA and what we do by becoming a Patron here: https://www.goffrugbyreport.com/support-grr
See Dr. Anthony Chaffee's own Podcast, the Plant Free MD, here>>
Accomplished rugby player and medical doctor Anthony Chaffee sits down with Bruce McLane in a three-parter that hits hard at assumptions about healthy diet, the role meat plays in performance and weight loss, and what are the right foods for humans. He also talks about what fuels some types of cancer and how that relates to diet.
This is Part 2 of 3 Parts.
Music by Bensounds
Support RMA and what we do by becoming a Patron here: https://www.goffrugbyreport.com/support-grr
See Dr. Anthony Chaffee's own Podcast, the Plant Free MD, here>>
Accomplished rugby player and medical doctor Anthony Chaffee sits down with Bruce McLane in a three-parter that hits hard at assumptions about healthy diet, the role meat plays in performance and weight loss, and what are the right foods for humans.
This is Part 1 of 3 Parts.
Music by Bensounds
Support RMA and what we do by becoming a Patron here: https://www.goffrugbyreport.com/support-grr
See Dr. Anthony Chaffee's own Podcast, the Plant Free MD, here>>
Alex Goff sits down in Dan Arbeznik's classroom not to talk about the St. Ignatius HS team (which he coaches), but the massive turnout for Rookie Rugby Cleveland.
When we talk about Youth Rugby and growing the game, are we making progress? Some are, and here's how Rookie Rugby Cleveland has 800 kids playing rugby every Sunday in the spring.
Want to know more? email rookierugbycleveland@gmail.com about how it's done. (But like Dan says in the podcast, you might not get a reply until August!)
See their Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/RookieRugbyCleveland/
Former TransAmerica Life CEO Tom Cusack sat down with Alex Goff to talk about USA Rugby finances, the high performance review, the national teams, the split with NCR, the need for a bigger staff, Rugby World Cup money, and above all ... trust.
USA Rugby's Board also released a letter to the membership about what they have been working on so far. Click on the link to read it.
Alex Goff sits down with USA legend Luke Gross, who parlayed his 6-9 frame and a ton of grit to a long professional and record-setting USA career before becoming a coach.
Alex Goff sits down with former USA 7s star Ben Pinkelman who, after being forced to retire due to injury, has taken up the coaching reins.
Pink talks about his start and how he worked through the ranks, whether playing high-level 15s and 7s at the same time is feasible, or even advisable, he talks about his Olympics pain, the thrill of being on the World Sevens Series Dream Team, and what the future holds for the USA 7s program.