Gannon Moore (born June 1, 1990) is an American
rugby union player who plays for the
United States men's national team and the
Utah Warriors 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).
Moore has previously played for
North Harbour in the
Mitre 10 Cup, the
Denver Stampede
The Denver Stampede were an American rugby union team that played in the short lived PRO Rugby competition. The Stampede was one of the five teams that began play in PRO Rugby's 2016 inaugural season. The team played its home matches at the Univ ...
of
PRO Rugby, and the
Kansas City Blues. While attending
Southwest Minnesota State University, Moore was a
running back for four-years on the
university football team.
Early life
Moore was born on June 1, 1990, in
Sioux Falls, South Dakota,
the son of Doug Moore and Celeste Moore.
Moore attended
Lincoln High School,
where he played
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 ...
and during that time, he first began playing rugby at the age of 15.
Moore played rugby in high school with Rugby Nebraska's Siouxland United and was named to the Nebraska Selects team.
Moore graduated from high school in 2009 and left Sioux Falls to attend Southwest Minnesota State University (SMSU), where he
majored in
exercise science.
During his four seasons with the SMSU Mustangs football team, he played in all 44 of the team's games,
matched the school record for single-season rushing
touchdowns (13 in 2009), led the team in total rushing touchdowns (in 2009, 2011, and 2012),
and led the team in total
receptions (in 2012).
Moore attended an
NFL Regional Scouting Combine, but was not
drafted and received no contract offers to play in the
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
.
Club rugby career
Kansas City Blues
In 2013, Moore began playing rugby with the
Kansas City Blues, playing in both
7s and XVs.
Denver Stampede
In March 2016, it was announced that Moore had signed with the Denver Stampede of PRO Rugby, to play in that league's
inaugural season.
Moore made his debut with the Stampede on April 17, 2016, appearing as a substitute, in the Stampede's 16–13 victory over
Ohio.
North Harbour and Silverdale
Since PRO Rugby was folded after only one season in 2016, Gannon Moore has played rugby in
New Zealand with North Harbour and
Silverdale RFC.
International rugby career
USA Eagles
Moore made his debut with the USA Eagles on November 3, 2018, starting at
center in an
un-capped match against the
Māori All Blacks—a 59–22 defeat during the
end of year tests. Moore earned his first cap for the Eagles on November 10, 2018, starting at
wing, in the Eagles' 30–29 victory over
Samoa.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Gannon
1990 births
Living people
American football running backs
Players of American football from South Dakota
American rugby union players
United States international rugby union players
Rugby union wings
Rugby union centres
Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs football players
Utah Warriors players