{"id":3150,"date":"2026-07-11T09:34:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T09:34:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3150"},"modified":"2026-07-11T09:34:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T09:34:20","slug":"charlotte-area-natives-on-u-s-rugby-team-return-home-for-match-a-special-moment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3150","title":{"rendered":"Charlotte area natives on U.S. rugby team return home for match: \u2018A special moment\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rugby was never Jason Damm\u2019s first love.<\/p>\n

It was his childhood dream to one day play for the NFL\u2019s Pittsburgh Steelers. He didn\u2019t touch a rugby ball until he was 18.<\/p>\n

Read more 37-year-old woman electrocuted after Tuesday storms down power line in Charlotte<\/a><\/p>\n

Now 31, the Fort Mill native captains the U.S. national men\u2019s rugby team.<\/p>\n

He\u2019ll take the pitch just about 20 miles north of his hometown on Saturday when the U.S. takes on Zimbabwe at Charlotte\u2019s American Legion Memorial Stadium.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just excited,\u201d Damm told The Charlotte Observer and The Herald on Friday. \u201cAnytime I get to play here it\u2019s just awesome, because this is where it all started for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Damm was a standout left tackle at Nation\u2019s Ford High School, where his dad, David, was the principal.<\/p>\n

He always knew he wanted to don the orange and white at Clemson University. He just didn\u2019t think he was an ACC caliber starter. That\u2019s when he found the Tigers had a club rugby team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought, let\u2019s go try it out, and I fell in love with it straight away,\u201d Damm said.<\/p>\n

By the time he graduated in 2017, Damm led the Tigers to two Atlantic Coast Rugby Championships. He quickly caught Team USA\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n

Damm was invited to Team USA\u2019s camp in 2022. He made his national debut that July, and became captain just three years later.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the pinnacle of my career to be here,\u201d he said. \u201cTo play for the national team and to also captain the side is just like the cherry on top.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rugby teams<\/u><\/a> are composed of 15 players. The two sides engage in an 80-minute match in which they try to advance the ball to the opponent\u2019s side of the field.<\/p>\n

Players can pass the ball backward or sideways, and engage in a variety of defensive tactics to maintain possession. There are plenty of tackles, but unlike American football, rugby players don\u2019t wear heavy plastic padding.<\/p>\n

The sport is enormously popular across Europe and Oceania. It\u2019s the national sport in several countries, including New Zealand, Wales and Fiji.<\/p>\n

While American football will likely always be paramount, rugby is growing across the U.S.<\/p>\n

Major League Rugby viewership \u2014 America\u2019s top professional rugby league \u2013 increased by 55%<\/u><\/a> last season. Over 50,000 young athletes participate in USA Youth and High School rugby across the U.S.<\/p>\n

The U.S. men\u2019s rugby team competes in tournaments both stateside and internationally, including the Rugby World Cup.<\/p>\n

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The team is currently competing in the Nation\u2019s Cup, a tournament against Portugal, Spain, Zimbabwe and Tonga.<\/p>\n

Damm said rugby\u2019s growing popularity, and youth involvement, is exciting for the future of the sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s just so much more access to the game and people who love the game continuing to grow it,\u201d Damm said.<\/p>\n

Damm isn\u2019t the only player returning home. U.S. players Alex Maughan and Brandon Harvey are also Charlotte-area natives.<\/p>\n

Maughan, 31, who attended Arborbrook Christian Academy in Matthews, said he was introduced to the sport by his father, who grew up in England.<\/p>\n

He made his national team debut in 2017 after winning a pair of D1A National Championships with Life University in Georgia.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll be quite a special moment coming out for the anthem and seeing all the Charlotte fans singing along with me,\u201d Maughan said.<\/p>\n

Maughan\u2019s family is coming out in droves \u2014 his wife and two kids, older brother, sister in law and niece will all be in attendance to watch him play Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t say you love the game if you don\u2019t get nervous a little bit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Harvey, 24, has a bit of a different journey. He grew up in England before moving to the Queen City, where he played for the Charlotte Tigers, a team that is consistently ranked as one of the best travel clubs in the country.<\/p>\n

After graduating from Hough High School, Harvey returned to England to play at Cardiff Metropolitan University.<\/p>\n

He now plays for the MLR\u2019s Chicago Hounds after a year in San Diego. Saturday marks only his second time returning to play rugby in Charlotte.<\/p>\n

His mom and friends will be in attendance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing better than playing in your hometown with a bunch of friends and family,\u201d Harvey said. \u201cIt\u2019s more exciting than anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was originally published July 11, 2026 at 5:30 AM<\/span> with the headline “Charlotte area natives on U.S. rugby team return home for match: \u2018A special moment\u2019.” <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Woman injured after being hit by light rail train in South End<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three players on the U.S. men\u2019s rugby team, including captain Jason Damm, got their start in the Charlotte area<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nCharlotte area natives on U.S. rugby team return home for match: \u2018A special moment\u2019 - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=3150\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Charlotte area natives on U.S. rugby team return home for match: \u2018A special moment\u2019 - 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