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Old Glory DC have signed two props for their inaugural season in Major League Rugby. Max Lum joins the team from the Glendale (now Colorado) Raptors, and Will Vakalahi has extended his stay after playing with DC in their spring exhibition campaign.
A product of Wheeling Jesuit, 25-year-old Lum played for the USA u20 side in 2013 before spending time with Southbridge in Christchurch, New Zealand. He joined the Raptors ahead of the 2019 campaign and played 14 matches, all as a replacement. His primary position is loosehead prop but he also stepped in at hooker on three occasions.
Vakalahi is just 20 and played for the Junior All-Americans in both games against Canada this summer. He started at loosehead against Shannon RFC in May, his only appearance for DC before joining the u20s. Weighing in at nearly 275lbs (124kg), Vakalahi is a formidable ball carrier who has converted from the back row of the scrum to the front.
DC now have five front rowers confirmed for 2020, including returnee Jack Iscaro and newcomers Jake Turnbull and Gordon Fullerton. The expansion team’s disclosed roster numbers 19 with notable international acquisitions in Fijian lock Api Naikatini, Eagles eightman Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz, and Samoa scrumhalf Danny Tusitala.
