Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
With PRO Rugby in the process of releasing locations for their franchises and beginning to compile a list of players to populate the teams, it was only a matter of time before the first Head Coach was named. This afternoon, Paul Keeler was named as the Head Coach of the San Francisco team. Keeler is well known in the Bay Area having served as Head Coach of San Francisco Golden Gate from 2007-2012 before taking the same position with the University of Santa Clara.
Keeler, who was born in New York, began his playing career in Buffalo and was a fixture on the East Coast rugby scene, including a stint as Head Coach of Old Blue. After moving to the West Coast, Keeler helped San Francisco Golden Gate to the Super League title in 2009. Since moving to Santa Clara, Keeler has led the Broncos to a 30-19 record in the tough California Conference.
At the representative level, Keeler was the Head Coach for USA Selects in the 2009 Americas Rugby Championship.
Keeler is the first of six Head Coaches that are expected to be named in the coming weeks.
PRO Rugby kicks off their inaugural season this coming April with six teams playing a ten match schedule. The aforementioned San Francisco along with Sacramento have been the only two franchise locations named. Competition organizers are soon to announce the remaining four teams with two teams located in the Northeast and two in the Rocky Mountain regions.
