The Austin Gilgronis were a professional rugby union team based in Austin, Texas, United States. The team was founded in 2017 as the Austin Elite, and competed in Major League Rugby.[1]

Austin Gilgronis
Full nameAustin Gilgronis
Nickname(s)AG's
FoundedAustin Elite (2017–2019)
Austin Herd (2019–2020)
Austin Gilgronis (2020–2022)
Disbanded2022
LocationAustin, Texas
Ground(s)Bold Stadium (Capacity: 5,036)
Coach(es)Sam Harris
Captain(s)Bryce Campbell
Top scorerMack Mason (118)
Most triesHugh Roach (8)
League(s)Major League Rugby
20221st (Western Conference)
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
www.gilgronis.com
Current season

History

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Historical Austin Elite logo 2017–2019.

On September 19, 2019, after extensive polling at the end of the 2019 campaign, the team opted to rename itself the Herd. The logo remained the same although the orange color action was removed indicating a shift away from using orange for the upcoming season.[2] Prior to the 2020 season, Adam Gilchrist and Loyals LLC purchased the team and renamed it the Gilgronis, a reference to a yet-to-be-produced cocktail based on the Negroni, although the eponymous cocktail appears to just be a negroni with a different name. The name was met with significant backlash from fans.[3] Under Gilchrist's ownership, the team's record improved and the team clinched a playoff berth in its 2022 season before being disqualified from the postseason by MLR for "violating league rules".[4] In October 2022, MLR announced that the Gilgronis and the LA Giltinis (both owned by Adam Gilchrist) had been expelled from the league for unspecified reasons.[5] It appears Gilchrist could no longer financially sustain ownership and that the teams have since folded.

Home field

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The team most recently played at the Circuit of the Americas in Bold Stadium, having previously played at Dell Diamond and the Round Rock Multipurpose Complex in Round Rock, Texas.[6]

Broadcasts

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2021 home games were shown on KBVO. Lincoln Rose and Kit McConnico were the on-air talent.

Sponsorship

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Season Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2018–2019 XBlades None
2020–2021 Paladin Sports
2022 Ascension Seton
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The Austin Gilgronis jersey was black, orange, and white. The mascot was a gray fox character named Austin Gray. Gray foxes inhabit central Texas, and Austin Gray's initials were AG; matching that of the team.

The Austin Herd jersey was sky blue, black and white. The initial team logo features the stylized head of a Texas Longhorn bull with a Lone Star on its forehead. The mascot was a bull-like character named Dozer.[7]

The team's final name, Gilgronis, was supposedly the name of a cocktail created by the owners, but that cocktail doesn't seem to exist and the name was more likely an amalgamation of the owners name (Gilchrist) and the popular pre-existing cocktail called the negroni.[8] The home kit was orange, and the away kit was white. The last logo was just the club's initials.

Players and personnel

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Final squad

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The Austin Gilgronis squad for the 2022 Major League Rugby season was:[9]

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union
Robbie Coetzee Hooker   South Africa
Mason Koch Hooker   United States
Hugh Roach Hooker   Australia
Mason Pedersen Prop   United States
Fakaʻosi Pifeleti Prop   United States
Payton Telea-Ilalio Prop   United States
Jake Turnbull Prop   United States
Namatahi Waa Prop   New Zealand
LaRome White Prop   United States
Jeff Steele Prop   United States
Mika Felix Prop   New Zealand
Sebastian de Chaves Lock   South Africa
Cam Dodson* Lock   England
Christian Ostberg Lock   United States
Isaac Ross Lock   New Zealand
Khalid Cannon Lock   United States
Luke Beauchamp Back row   Australia
Kyle Breytenbach Back row   United States
Michael de Waal* Back row   South Africa
Maclean Jones Back row   Australia
Lachlan McCaffrey Back row   Australia
Casey McDermott Vai Back row   New Zealand
Ronan Murphy Back row   United States
Player Position Union
Pele Cowley Scrum-half   Samoa
Ryan Louwrens Scrum-half   South Africa
Sidney Shoop Scrum-half   United States
Will Magie Fly-half   United States
Mack Mason Fly-half   Australia
Dominic Akina Centre   United States
Bryce Campbell (c) Centre   United States
Chris Mattina Centre   United States
Mark O'Keeffe* Centre   Ireland
Julián Domínguez Wing   Argentina
Conner Mooneyham Wing   United States
Caleb Strum Wing   United States
Mende Carlton Wing   United States
Nick Taylor Wing   Canada
Marcel Brache Fullback   United States
Zinzan Elan-Puttick* Fullback   South Africa
  • Senior 15s internationally capped players are listed in bold.
  • * denotes players qualified to play for the United States on dual nationality or residency grounds.
  • MLR teams are allowed to field up to ten overseas players per match.

Head coaches

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Assistant coaches

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Captains

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Records

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Season standings

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Season Conference Regular season Postseason
Pos Pld W D L F A +/− BP Pts Pld W L F A +/− Result
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
2020[a] Western 5th 5 1 1 3 104 155 -51 1 7 Cancelled
2021 Western 3rd 16 9 0 7 389 317 +72 11 47 Did not qualify
2022 Western 1st 16 12 0 4 475 229 +246 9 58 Disqualified [11]
Totals 57 25 1 35 1,455 1,421 +34 32 135 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 postseason appearances

Notes

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  1. ^ 2020 regular season shortened and playoffs cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

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  1. ^ "Austin Elite, new U.S. pro rugby league lure major TV contract". Austin American-Statesman. November 7, 2017. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  2. ^ [1] “Austin changes name to Herd” September 19, 2019
  3. ^ Vinicombe, Tom (January 29, 2020). "The Austin MLR team have rebranded and fans can't get over the absurd new name". RugbyPass. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  4. ^ Judd, Brandon (June 3, 2022). "This pro sports league just disqualified a team right before the playoffs". Deseret News. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  5. ^ Pengelly, Martin (October 26, 2022). "LA and Austin out of MLR as US rugby faces further uncertainty". The Guardian. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  6. ^ "Austin Elite rugby franchise plans to play home games in Round Rock". Austin Statesman. April 13, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  7. ^ Lyttle, Kevin (May 4, 2018). "Austin Elite home opener both a success and a work in progress". Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original on May 5, 2018. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
  8. ^ Dart, Tom (February 10, 2020). "Austin Gilgronis: why would a US rugby club name itself after a cocktail?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  9. ^ "Austin Gilgronis". Americas Rugby News. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  10. ^ "Alain Hyardet appointed as Head Coach". Austin Elite Rugby. September 12, 2017. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  11. ^ "Major League Rugby in crisis as LA and Austin disqualified from playoffs". The Guardian. June 7, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
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