The Austin Herd is a professional rugby union team based in Austin, Texas, United States. The team was founded in 2017 and competes in Major League Rugby.[1]
| File:Austin Herd logo 2019.svg | |||
| Full name | Austin Herd | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | Austin Elite (2017–2019) Austin Herd (2019–present) | ||
| Location | Austin, Texas | ||
| Ground(s) | Round Rock Multipurpose Complex | ||
| Coach(es) | Vacant | ||
| Top scorer | Timothee Guillimin (113) | ||
| Most tries | Hanco Germishuys (6) | ||
| League(s) | Major League Rugby | ||
| 2019 | 9th place (regular season) | ||
| |||
| Official website | |||
| austinherd | |||
History
On 19th September 2019 after extensive polling at the end of the 2019 campaign, the team opted to re-name itself the Herd. The logo remained the same although the orange colour action was removed indicating a shift away from using orange for the upcoming season. [2]
Home field
The team plays at Round Rock Multipurpose Complex in Round Rock, Texas.[3]
Broadcasts
2019 home games were shown on Facebook Watch which is Facebook’s video-on-demand service. Lincoln Rose and Kit McConnico were the on air talent.
Sponsorship
| Season | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 2018–2019 | XBlades | None |
| 2020-present | Paladin Sports |
Colors and logo
The Austin jersey is sky blue, black and white. The team logo features the stylized head of a Texas Longhorn bull with a Lone Star on its forehead. The mascot is a bull-like character named Dozer.[4]
Players and personnel
Current squad
The following players have been reported for Austin for the 2020 season:[5][6]
Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
- Senior 15s and senior 7s internationally capped players in bold
- Players qualified to play for United States on dual nationality or residency grounds*
- MLR teams are allowed to field up to ten overseas players per match
Coaching staff
| Name | Nationality | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Todd Clever |  |
Director of Rugby |
| Andrew Suniula | |
Team Manager |
| Vacant | Head Coach | |
| Johannes de Wet |  |
Backs Coach and Technical Analyst |
| Pedrie Wannenburg | |
Forwards Coach |
| Michael Macri |  |
Strength and Conditioning Coach |
Head coaches
- Alain Hyardet (2018–2019) [7]
Captains
- Andrew Suniula (2018)
- Ben Mitchell (2019)
Records
Season standings
| Year | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | +/− | BP | Pts | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Elite | |||||||||||
| 2018 | 5th | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 224 | 238 | −14 | 6 | 18 | Did not qualify |
| 2019 | 9th | 16 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 263 | 482 | −219 | 5 | 5 | Did not qualify |
| Austin Herd | |||||||||||
| 2020 | |||||||||||
2018 season
| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 25 | San Diego Legion° | Home | Lost, 24–32 |
| March 31 | New Orleans Gold° | Away | Lost, 17–48 |
| April 7 | New Orleans Gold° | Home | Lost, 10–38 |
| April 21 | Glendale Raptors | Away | Lost, 26–41 |
| April 28 | Houston SaberCats | Away | Lost, 38–50 |
| May 3 | New Orleans Gold | Home | Won, 30–17 |
| May 11 | Utah Warriors | Away | Lost, 22–41 |
| May 25 | San Diego Legion | Home | Won, 31–5 |
| June 1 | Utah Warriors | Home | Won, 41–33 |
| June 8 | Seattle Seawolves | Home | Lost, 19–20 |
| June 17 | San Diego Legion | Away | Lost, 10–24 |
° = Exhibition games
2019 season
Exhibition
| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 11 | Houston SaberCats | Away | Won, 14–10 |
| January 19 | Dallas Reds | Away | Postponed |
Regular season
| Date | Opponent | Home/Away | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| January 26 | Houston SaberCats | Home | Lost, 20–21 |
| February 1 | Utah Warriors | Home | Lost, 9–17 |
| February 8 | Toronto Arrows | Home | Lost, 19–23 |
| February 17 | Glendale Raptors | Home | Lost, 13–24 |
| February 23 | San Diego Legion | Home | Lost, 17–45 |
| March 9 | Glendale Raptors | Away | Lost, 19–38 |
| March 16 | Seattle Seawolves | Home | Lost, 17–29 |
| March 23 | New Orleans Gold | Away | Lost, 31–35 |
| March 30 | Rugby United New York | Home | Lost, 11–19 |
| April 7 | San Diego Legion | Away | Lost, 15–45 |
| April 27 | Utah Warriors | Away | Lost, 19–35 |
| May 4 | New Orleans Gold | Home | Lost, 14–26 |
| May 9 | Toronto Arrows | Away | Lost, 13–24 |
| May 19 | Rugby United New York | Away | Lost, 7–27 |
| May 25 | Houston SaberCats | Away | Lost, 15–36 |
| June 2 | Seattle Seawolves | Away | Lost, 26–38 |
References
- ^ "Austin Elite, new U.S. pro rugby league lure major TV contract". Austin American-Statesman. 2017-11-07. Archived from the original on 2017-11-09. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
- ^ [1] “Austin changes name to Herd” 19/9/2019
- ^ "Austin Elite rugby franchise plans to play home games in Round Rock". Austin Statesman. 2018-04-13. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
- ^ Lyttle, Kevin (2018-05-04). "Austin Elite home opener both a success and a work in progress". Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original on 2018-05-05. Retrieved 2018-05-04.
- ^ "2018 Major League Rugby – Austin Elite". Americas Rugby News. 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-22.
- ^ "MLR Off-Season Update – December 13, 2018". Americas Rugby News. 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-22.
- ^ "Alain Hyardet appointed as Head Coach". Austin Elite Rugby. 2017-09-12. Archived from the original on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
External links
- Former Austin Elite official website at the Wayback Machine (archived 2019-05-18)
 | This rugby union team article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |