Austin Huns from 1972 to Present

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The Austin Huns is a men’s rugby football club team that is based in Austin, Texas. In 2017, the group became United States Division 1 National Champions. They beat the New York Athletic Club at a 27-23 during the final match. In this article, we are going to know more about Austin Hans, the most iconic rugby team in Austin, Texas.

History of the Austin Huns

The Austin Huns were created in 1972 by Patton Lochridge because he saw that some of his teammates were getting fair treatment from the Austin Rugby club. That is why the Austin Huns was a result of the second side of the Austin Rugby Club breaking away so that they could establish their own team. During that same year, the Austin Huns consistently established strong sides, and they competed regularly in the Texas Rugby Union Championships. In fact, they managed to win 2 National USA Rugby 15s division as well as the National 7s division.

In 1993, the Austin Huns joined in the Division II National Championships, which was held in Mobile, Alabama. The Huns lost in the semi-finals against the Santa Rosa Rugby Club. In 1994, the Huns were the host of the Division II National Championships that was held in Austin, Texas. The following year, they hosted both the Division I and II of the National Championships in Austin, Texas. The Austin Huns managed to be an iconic playoff-caliber team in every Division they compete.

In 2016, the Austin Huns said that they decided to start moving towards professionalism, which is a relatively new concept in the United States. The Huns were just one of the teams in the Major Rugby Championship, a one-off friendly series of games in the spring of 2017. These friendly games included the teams such as the Glendale Raptors, the Dallas Griffins, Austin Huns, Rugby Utah, and the New Orleans RFC.

In 2017, the Austin Huns managed to defeat the New York Athletic Club in the U.S Division I final and became the National Champions. The Huns were the first rugby team from Austin to ever win the DI National Championship, and they are the second rugby team in Texas to do so.

That same year, the Austin Huns announced that they decided to not join the inaugural season of Major League Rugby. Aside from that, they also decided to part ways with the organization managing the bid for an MLR team in Austin. The team had managed to compete in the first second, and third teams play in Division I, Division II, and Division III.

Throughout the years, the Austin Huns has maintained a tough and scrappy play but they never forget to show the solidarity and the friendship of a true great team. That is why the Austin Huns have also managed to play on several games abroad such as in Scotland, England, the Cayman Islands, Australia, and Wales.

Most members of the Austin Huns team came from different walks of life and from other parts of the world, too. Some of their players came from Canada, Australia, South Africa, Rwanda, New Zealand, Fiji, Uruguay, Ireland, Mexico, Zimbabwe, Wales, Scotland, South Africa, and Portugal.

The Austin Huns’ Notable Players

  • Todd Clever – Todd Clever used to be the captain and record holder of most caps for the USA Eagles. Clever played his first game with the Huns during the playoffs in 2017.
  • HancoGermishuys – He is the former captain of Junior All-Americans.
  • Peter Malcolm-  He is a collegiate All-American that came from Wheeling Jesuit University. He is also a Capped USA Eagle.
  • Pat Lochridge – Founder of the Austin Huns. He is an Inaugural Inductee to the Huns Hall of Fame.

Austin Huns’ Accomplishments 

  • TRU Division II-A Champions: 1993, 1995, 2004
  • TRU Division II-A Finalist: 2005
  • TRU Division II-A Semi-Finalist: 1983, 1991, 1992, 1996, 2003
  • TRU Division II-B Finalist: 2000, 2004, 2005
  • Western RFU Division II Champions: 1993
  • Western RFU Division II Finalist: 1995, 2004
  • National Division II Sweet 16: 2004
  • National Division II Championship Semi-Finalist: 1993
  • 2017 USA Rugby National Champions
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