NEWS

News Mar-25-2023

Zach Pangelinan Reaches 50 Caps

On Saturday, March 25h, Zach Pangelinan became the thirty-ninth player in Major League Rugby to appear in 50 matches.

Zach Pangelinan (SaberCat #15) is the Original SaberCat. He is the only remaining member of the founding 2018 squad. Zach first began playing Rugby while at Simon Sanchez High School in Guam. A standout Athlete, he represented Guam U-19s in Rugby and Guam U-18s in Soccer. He appeared for the Guam National Soccer Team, the Matao, six times between 2005-2008.

In 2007 he moved to the US mainland originally to play Soccer but joined OMBAC. While playing Rugby for OMBAC, he was noticed by the US Men’s Eagles 7s coach Al Caravelli. During Zach’s first season with OMBAC, the OMBAC 7s team finished in second place at the USA Rugby Club 7s Championship. In 2014 he was named MVP of the Pacific Rugby Premiership after OMBAC’s third-place finish.

In 2009, he made his debut in the HSBC Sevens Series and remained a team member through 2011. While playing for OMBAC, he would appear for the US Falcons 7s in 2015. He debuted with the US Eagles (Eagle #437) against Tonga on November 17th, 2012.

Following a season with Randwick in 2017, he was recruited to join the Houston SaberCats ahead of the 2018 Major League Rugby season.

Zach has played senior rugby for OMBAC and Randwick.

So far in his MLR career, he has scored 6 Tries, Made 178 Carries, run 1,944 meters, made 106 tackles, and put 62 kicks in play.

Major League Rugby is honoring the first 50 players to reach 50 caps and their role in building the legacy of MLR. The latest of the first thirty-nine players to accomplish 50 caps for MLR includes Cole Keith of the New England Free Jacks, Mike Sheppard of the Toronto Arrows, and Will Leonard of Rugby ATL.