Brian Gerard Vizard (born July 4, 1959) is an American former rugby union player who was captain of the U.S. national rugby team and made 22 appearances for the United States national team.

Playing career

Vizard got his first cap for the U.S. national team on May 31, 1986 in a match against Japan in Torrance, CA. Vizard played for the U.S. during the

1987 Rugby World Cup The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. It was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia – New Zealand hosted 21 matches (17 pool stage matches, two quarter-finals, the third-place play-off and the final) while Australia hosted 11 ...

. Vizard made 20 starts at Number 8 and two starts at flanker. In 1990, Vizard was named captain of the United States national team. He captained the national team in eight internationals and on tours to Australia, Japan and the

1991 Rugby World Cup The 1991 Rugby World Cup was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France: at the time, the five European countries who participated in the Five Nations Championship. This was ...

in England. He retired from full international play following the 1991 World Cup. In 1986 Vizard made his debut for the United States national sevens team of which he went on to appear in 21 international sevens matches. His last sevens international appearance was at the 1993 Sevens Rugby World Cup. Vizard began playing rugby in 1978 with the Grand Rapids Gazelles Rugby Club. During his 11 years playing with

OMBAC Old Mission Beach Athletic Club Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team based in San Diego, California. OMBAC RFC is directly affiliated with the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club. The rugby team plays at The Little Q Rugby Field, adjacent to Qual ...

the club won National Club Championship titles in 1988, '89, '91, '93 and '94, and National Sevens Championships in 1985 and 1995. Vizard retired from club rugby at OMBAC in 1995 at the age of 36.

Other rugby activities

Vizard served as Executive Director of the Rugby Super League from 1996-1999. He served on the USA Rugby's Board of Directors from 1996-1998. Vizard has also worked as a co-host and color commentator for The Rugby Club, a weekly two-hour broadcast airing on Fox Sports World. Vizard has been the Executive Director of the U.S. Rugby Foundation since July 2004.ESPN Scrum, US Rugby Foundation Gets New Chief, July 1, 2004, http://www.espnscrum.com/scrum/rugby/story/54129.html He handles the operations of the Foundation and works with the Foundation Committees.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vizard, Brian United States international rugby union players American rugby union players Rugby union flankers Sportspeople from California 1959 births Living people 1987 Rugby World Cup players 1991 Rugby World Cup players