NEWS

Bryce Campbell — Ahead Of Utah Warriors “Test”

Written by Joe Harvey | Photo by Matt Bradford

It was in Major League Rugby’s inaugural season that Bryce Campbell first got a taste of professional rugby. 

Representing the Denver Raptors, the center came to MLR as a two-time Collegiate All-American while playing for Indiana University, a Rudy Scholz Award winner, and as a fully-fledged USA Eagle.

Having made his debut for USA against Romania in 2016, Campbell was an integral part of the Raptors team that made the MLR Final in 2018. 

By the time of the final, it had already been announced that Campbell had signed for English club, London Irish, and Campbell capped off his final appearance for Denver with a try in the 19-23 loss at the hands of Seattle.

Helping London Irish back into the Premiership the following season, Campbell was called into Gary Gold’s Rugby World Cup squad for the tournament in Japan. 

Making four appearances in Japan, the center even scored one try ahead of his return to the English capital to help his club reinstate themselves in the English top-flight.

BACK IN MLR

Having played in England for two seasons, Campbell returned to North America in order to wear the burnt orange of the Austin Gilgronis. It was very much the offseason of change in the capital of Texas, with numerous high-quality players joining the side.

Linking back up with former Raptors teammate, Will Magie, and former London Irish teammate, Sebastian de Chaves, the recruitment of Campbell was a real coup for the club and the importance of the 26-year-old could not be seen more when he was named a team captain just prior to the start of the new season.

With the likes of Paddy Ryan, Christian Ostberg, Isaac Ross, Maclean Jones, Mack Mason, Cole Davis, Jeff Hassler and Conner Mooneyham, just to name a few. Added to this, numerous returning faces and a new coaching staff led by Australian, Sam Harris, the Gilgronis currently sit second in the West Conference.

“It has been awesome,” Campbell said. “We are just finding our feet, building connections, not many of us had actually played rugby together, so it is not going to happen at a flip of a switch, and we understand that. 

Photo by Matt Bradford

“But the efforts that the guys have put in have been tremendous and we are bonding really well. We have built a really good culture; everyone really gets on well and that has started to show on the field, and I think that it is only going to grow more and more as the season goes on.”

Having won five games this season, preparations for the 2021 season started long before the team’s initial encounter with this weekend’s opponent, the Utah Warriors, that kicked off their season in March.

With new coaches and new teammates spread across the globe, Campbell credits Harris with creating a culture and a bond between the players that has seen the Gilgronis establish themselves as playoff contenders. 

“Six months ago, we were on Zoom calls and with us being all over the world, at the end of each call he (Harris) would have a couple of people introduce themselves,” Campbell said, “to tell a little story so that you got to know each other a little deeper because he really cares about life off the field as well.

“We do a really great job of getting wives and girlfriends and kids involved as much as we can, it is a real family environment. That shows when we come into training, how much we care about each other’s significant others and really starting to create that family.”

10 DAYS OF REFLECTION

Having played their last game a week ago on Wednesday, when the Gilgronis take on Utah at the Zions Bank Stadium, it would have been 10 days since Campbell and his teammates lost 3-17 against the LA Giltinis. 

After being held to just the one score, Campbell believes that while there were positives for the Gilgronis, there is still much to work on for him and his teammates. 

“We are really proud of the efforts our guys put into the game,” Campbell said. “We just let ourselves down on little, minor details and against a team like LA, when you create opportunities, you have got to take them, and we didn’t do that as best we could. 

Photo by Hayden Sticksel

“I thought we defended really well, they had fewer line breaks and points than they typically have, but at the same time we felt like we could have won that game and felt like we should have won that game.

“There were a lot of positives to take out of the game, I think if you look at the statistics we were pretty even. We had a few missed tackles, but you look at the game on a whole, I am pretty proud of how we played, but next time we are coming for them.” 

AN OPENING DAY REPLAY

It was on the opening weekend of the season that Austin first came up against Utah. Hosting the team at Bold Stadium, it was the Warriors who went home happiest, Shawn Pittman’s side beating their hosts 28-30.

As things stand, the two sides are joint on points in the West Conference, the Gilgronis placing second thanks to having one more win than the Warriors. A win for either side this weekend could prove decisive in the race for second in the West as the second half of the season gets into full swing.

“It is going to be a great test to see how far we have come from the first game,” Campbell said. “We have come a long way, in the first game we felt that we really didn’t play near to our potential, and we were still right there in it at the end.

“This is a great opportunity to see not only how we can play on the road, but how we can play against a team that is physical and has given teams a lot of trouble and then for us to bounce back after LA and get it done.”

MILITARY APPRECIATION WEEKEND

For this Memorial Day Weekend, MLR is marking the holiday with a Military Appreciation weekend, with each of the teams wearing one-of-a-kind jerseys that will be auctioned off for various causes at the conclusion of the weekend. 

For Campbell, the 26-year-old will be playing with his grandfather, Bob, who served in Vietnam, firmly in his mind, the Eagle described the veteran as the rock of his family.

HOW TO WATCH

To watch the Gilgronis encounter with Utah Warriors this weekend, viewers inside the USA can watch on FOX Sports 2, and fans abroad can view for free on The Rugby Network.