Scottish Rugby Union takes stake in Washington DC team

The Scottish Rugby Union has taken close to a 30% stake in Old Glory DC, a Washington-based team preparing to enter Major League Rugby next year.

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Old Glory will be one of three additions to the US professional league in its third season, alongside the New England Free Jacks and Rugby ATL, from Atlanta.

Rugby United New York and Toronto Arrows joined in season two and are performing strongly. New York have attracted French investment in the shape of a 20% stake held by Pierre Arnald, once director general of Stade Français. In New York, the franchise has also been linked to talks with Jacky Lorenzetti, owner of Racing 92, and Stephen Lansdown, billionaire owner of the Bristol Bears.

Seattle Seawolves were the first MLR champions. The other teams are Glendale Raptors (based near Denver), Utah Warriors, San Diego Legion, NOLA Gold, Austin Elite and Houston SaberCats.

By email, DC Old Glory co-founder Chris Dunlavey said he and Paul Sheehy “have sought additional partners who can bring not only capital but also some strategic value to our organization. Among those we reached out to were major rugby organizations worldwide – both in the northern and southern hemispheres”.

The SRU investment came about, he said, through relationships forged during recent explorations of America by the Pro14 competition, which is made up of teams from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, South Africa and Italy.

Regarding the percentage of DC Old Glory now owned by the SRU – according to the documents seen by the Guardian, 28.2% – Dunlavey did not confirm the figure but did say the Guardian had seen “a genuine and relevant document”.

He added: “Note however that our overall plan [which led to this SRU partnership] has always contemplated [and still does] a fourth and possibly fifth partner, which will change the ownership percentages. That said, Paul Sheehy and I are committed to retaining a controlling interest.”

The SRU investment may prove controversial. The unionfields two teams in the Pro14, Glasgow and Edinburgh, which now perform strongly but have not historically been powers in European competition. A professional team in the Borders, traditionally the heartland of Scottish rugby, was scrapped in 2007.

The DC investment is not large – reported by the US website RugbyWrapUp.com to be between $500,000 and $700,000 over several years. But it comes as the SRU is making its own attempt to produce more talent by setting up the Super Six, a semi-pro competition that will begin later this year.

The Scottish Rugby Chief Executive, Mark Dodson, said: “This is a strategic international partnership, which I am pleased we have secured to become the first tier one nation to take this step with a team in the MLR.

“We see this relationship as having a number of benefits for rugby in Scotland as well as developing our global rugby footprint.”

Dunlavey said “no specific plans have been made” regarding player sharing, “but obviously, there may be opportunities for Scottish players and even coaches to perform on developmental assignments in the US with Old Glory”.

The DC team must start up in what is not a hotbed of American rugby. Local players are being signed but each MLR team can field 10 foreigners – not counting Canadians.

“Old Glory DC is heavily committed to growing the sport of rugby in Greater DC and the Mid-Atlantic,” Dunlavey wrote, adding that “our goal is to grow participation in our region by 50% by 2023”.

To anyone wondering if the SRU is hoping to find the next Samu Manoa or Blaine Scully, Americans capable of shining at the top level in Europe, Dunlavey said the project “should also yield more American talent of a quality to play in the Pro14 or at other levels of European rugby. Scotland may benefit as another step up in the pathway for such American talent”.

Dunlavey said that from the SRU involvement, Old Glory “expect … opportunities to play in Scotland and for Scottish teams of various levels to visit the US to play us.”