USA Eagles select three Utah Warriors for the 2018 Americas Rugby Championship

Salt Lake City, January 4th, 2018: The USA Eagles have selected Utah Warriors Matt Jensen, Paul Lasike and Joshua Whippy ahead of the 2018 America’s Rugby Championship.

Starting February 3rd, the USA Eagles will be in California to take on Argentina, Canada and Chile, then travel to Brazil and Uruguay to play their final two games of the tournament.

Eagles Head Coach Gary Gold said, “I think we have an exciting group of players who are keen to perform at the ARC and put themselves forward as strong options for the program moving forward.”

“I’ve been working out a lot with former teammates and I’m excited to be back on a rugby pitch. The Eagles is obviously a big step up, but I’m confident in the progress I’ve made so far.” – Paul Lasike

Of the three Utah Warriors selected, Matt Jensen is the only player who has received an Eagles cap to date. Josh Whippy played with the USA Selects last fall but has yet to be capped with the Eagles. Lasike returns to rugby after a 3-year stint in the NFL and will have his first opportunity at International honors during the Eagles’ ARC campaign.

“It’s an honor to be considered,” said Lasike. “I’ve got some work to do, but it’s been fun getting back in the mix of things. I’ve been working out a lot with former teammates and I’m excited to be back on a rugby pitch. The Eagles is obviously a big step up, but I’m confident in the progress I’ve made so far.”

Warriors Head Coach Alf Daniels said “We expect Lasike, Whippy and Jensen to be a key to our success this year. It’s going to be tough without them for part of our pre-season build-up, but we know they’ll come back stronger and lead the rest of the team as examples of professionalism.”

The Eagles will begin training for the upcoming tournament January 24th in Chula Vista, California and the final ARC game will be played on March 3rd in Uruguay just four weeks before the Warriors open their season.

Discounted season ticket options have been extended for the Warriors seven home games. Buy your seats today before they are sold out at www.warriorsrugby.com.

View the Eagles full squad and more ARC details on USA Rugby‘s website.