Austin Gilgronis

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
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

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

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

Sponsorship
Season Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
2018–2019 XBlades None
2020–2021 Paladin Sports
2022 Ascension Seton

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

Current squad
For player movements before and during the 2022 season, see List of 2021–22 Major League Rugby transfers § Austin Gilgronis.

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 South Africa
Mason Koch Hooker United States United States
Hugh Roach Hooker Australia Australia
Mason Pedersen Prop United States United States
Fakaʻosi Pifeleti Prop United States United States
Payton Telea-Ilalio Prop United States United States
Jake Turnbull Prop United States United States
Namatahi Waa Prop New Zealand New Zealand
LaRome White Prop United States United States
Jeff Steele Prop United States United States
Mika Felix Prop New Zealand New Zealand
Sebastian de Chaves Lock South Africa South Africa
Cam Dodson* Lock England England
Christian Ostberg Lock United States United States
Isaac Ross Lock New Zealand New Zealand
Khalid Cannon Lock United States United States
Luke Beauchamp Back row Australia Australia
Kyle Breytenbach Back row United States United States
Michael de Waal* Back row South Africa South Africa
Maclean Jones Back row Australia Australia
Lachlan McCaffrey Back row Australia Australia
Casey McDermott Vai Back row New Zealand New Zealand
Ronan Murphy Back row United States United States
Player Position Union
Pele Cowley Scrum-half Samoa Samoa
Ryan Louwrens Scrum-half South Africa South Africa
Sidney Shoop Scrum-half United States United States
Will Magie Fly-half United States United States
Mack Mason Fly-half Australia Australia
Dominic Akina Centre United States United States
Bryce Campbell (c) Centre United States United States
Chris Mattina Centre United States United States
Mark O'Keeffe* Centre Ireland Ireland
Julián Domínguez Wing Argentina Argentina
Conner Mooneyham Wing United States United States
Caleb Strum Wing United States United States
Mende Carlton Wing United States United States
Nick Taylor Wing Canada Canada
Marcel Brache Fullback United States United States
Zinzan Elan-Puttick* Fullback South Africa 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

  • France Alain Hyardet (2018–2019) [10]
  • New Zealand Brent Semmons (2020)
  • Australia Sam Harris (2021–2022)

Assistant coaches

Captains

Records

Season standings
Season Conference Regular season Postseason
Pos Pld W D L F A +/− BP Pts Pld W L F A +/− Result
2018 - 5th8305224238−14618––––––Did not qualify
2019 - 9th160016263482−21955––––––Did not qualify
2020[lower-alpha 1] Western 5th 5113104155-5117––––––Cancelled
2021 Western 3rd 16907389317+721147––––––Did not qualify
2022 Western 1st 161204475229+246958––––––Disqualified [11]
Totals57251351,4551,421+34321350000000 postseason appearances

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

References
  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. “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 4, 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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