Anthony Purpura (born November 11, 1986, in Lawrence, Massachusetts) is a professional American rugby union player who plays prop for the USA Eagles XV side. He currently plays for the New England Free Jacks in

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...

(MLR). Purpura had a successful club career for top level teams such as

Old Blue R.F.C. Old Blue Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club that competes in USA Rugby club leagues, most notably with their top side in the American Rugby Premiership. The team plays at Columbia Soccer Stadium within the Baker Athletic Complex in New ...

Boston Rugby Club Boston Rugby Football Club is a Rugby union club from Boston, Lincolnshire. Boston Rugby Club was founded in 1927 by Ernst Clark, a gentleman with an interest in giving his boys and their friends something to do, or rather something to keep them o ...

and

Mystic River Rugby Club The Mystic River Rugby Club, sometimes called Boston Mystic, is a New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU) club, founded in 1974, located in Malden, Massachusetts and Melrose, Massachusetts, who field teams in Division 1 American Rugby Premiersh ...

. Other Club affiliations include University of Maine and

Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union The Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union (MCRFU) is a rugby province in the South Island of New Zealand. History The Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union was formed in 1904 as Ashburton Country, first as a sub-union of the South Canterbury Rugby ...

and as assistant coach at Harvard University.

Club rugby career

Purpura was introduced to the sport of rugby by a roommate while in school at Avon Old Farms, where he was a member of the football team and standout All-Star wrestler. In 2005 he entered the University of Maine as a recruit for the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team, but give it up the sport to join the U. Maine rugby club. Between 2005 and 2009 Purpura served as co captain and president of the club and helped the Black Bears to perhaps one of their best seasons, finishing the fall ranked 7th in the country. Throughout his four-year career at Maine, Purpura led the team to a 17-2-1 record. While still in college, Purpura first transitioned to the next level of rugby with Division 1 Mystic River alongside former Eagle front rower Jake Sprague. In 2007 he made the jump to Boston RFC, then part of the Rugby Super League. After nearly a decade with Boston, Purpura had a short stint with Old Blue.

San Diego Legion

In March 2018, Purpura signed with the San Diego Legion of

New England Free Jacks

Purpura signed with the New England Free Jacks in 2019.

USA Rugby career

Purpura was selected to tour with the USA Eagles squad for the Autumn 2010 tour of Europe and made his international debut in June 2010 was against Russia. After a nearly seven-year hiatus, Purpura was again named to the Eagles roster as a starter against Uruguay on 4 February 2017. Two weeks later, he again earned a starting position in the front row and scored his first test match try in the USA's 51–34 victory y Canada on 18 February in Round 3 of the

2017 Americas Rugby Championship The 2017 Americas Rugby Championship was the second series of the Americas Rugby Championship (sometimes informally called the "Americas Six Nations", a reference to Europe's Six Nations Championship), which is the top elite tournament for the Am ...

References

External links

Player Profile eaglesxv.com

Player Profile USA Rugby
1986 births Living people American rugby union players United States international rugby union players San Diego Legion players New England Free Jacks players Mystic River Rugby players Boston RFC players Rugby union props Avon Old Farms alumni {{US-rugbyunion-bio-stub