Luke Gross (born November 21, 1969) is an American former rugby union player and current rugby coach and administrator. A lock who played for various club sides, he earned 62 caps for the United States between 1996 and 2003. Gross was the all-time caps leader for the United States, until

Mike MacDonald Michael MacDonald (born June 26, 1987) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens from 2022 to 2 ...

broke his record in 2011. Since retiring as a player, Gross has served as a rugby administrator and coach. He was the head coach of

PRO Rugby Pro is an abbreviation meaning "professional". Pro, PRO or variants thereof may also refer to: People * Miguel Pro (1891–1927), Mexican priest * Pro Hart (1928–2006), Australian painter * Mlungisi Mdluli (born 1980), South African retired ...

team Sacramento Express in 2016.

Playing career

Gross was born in

Decatur, Indiana Decatur is a city in Root Township, Adams County, Indiana, Root and Washington Township, Adams County, Indiana, Washington townships, Adams County, Indiana, Adams County, Indiana, United States. It is the county seat (and the largest community ...

. Gross played basketball for Indiana State University and for Marshall University for two seasons (1991–92 and 1992–93). Gross started his rugby career far later than most international players, even those from countries like the United States where rugby is not a major sport, not taking up the sport seriously until age 24, after he had attended university. He began his rugby career with the Cincinnati Wolfhounds. Gross was spotted by Dick Best, coach of the Harlequins. Gross' 6"9' frame gave him a considerable presence in the line-out. Gross earned 62 caps in 61 starts for the United States from 1996 to 2003, including 7 starts at the 1999 and 2003 Rugby World Cups. Gross played his first test for the U.S. in 1996 against Ireland. His last four test matches came at the 2003 World Cup, which included a win over Japan. Although he was named to the USA squad for the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 2 ...

, and played in the 2007 squad's final warmup against Celtic League side

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

, he did not play in the World Cup itself. Gross moved to Italy to play for Rivigo in 1998, and then played for Roma where the team won the Italian Cup. Gross last played rugby for the

Doncaster Knights Doncaster Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club representing the town of Doncaster, England. The first XV are known as the "Doncaster Knights", and play in the RFU Championship. Being the most promoted side in English history has led to ...

, who play in National Division One, the second level of the game in England.

Clubs

Harlequins FC Harlequins (officially Harlequin Football Club) is a professional rugby union club that plays in Premiership Rugby, the top level of English rugby union. Their home ground is the Twickenham Stoop, located in Twickenham, south-west London. Foun ...

* Rugby Rovigo *

Rugby Roma The Rugby Roma Olimpic Club 1930 is an Italian rugby union team, based in Rome. The club won 5 Italian titles, in 1935, 1937, 1948, 1949 and 2000, the Coppa Italia in 1998 and competed in 58 editions of the Italian top tier championship (now, the ...

Llanelli Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...

Rotherham Titans Rotherham Rugby Union Football Club, or Rotherham Titans is a professional rugby union team from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, currently playing in the fourth tier of the English rugby union league system, following their relegation from the Nat ...

* Newcastle Falcons *

* Sheffield Tigers

Coaching and administration

Gross has worked for several years at the USA Rugby National Office in Boulder, Colorado as the High Performance Player Development Manager, helping and coaching at USA Eagles and All-Americans camps. During part of this time he was also a very successful head coach for the University of Colorado-Boulder. In February 2016, Gross was announced as the head coach of the new Sacramento

team. In August 2022, Gross accepted the position as head coach of the Indiana University Men's Rugby team.

References

External links

USA Rugby profile
* http://statistics.scrum.com/rugby_stats_05.asp?ID=UGR4 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gross, Luke 1969 births Rugby union players from Indiana Rugby union coaches from Indiana Doncaster R.F.C. players Living people Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball players People from Decatur, Indiana Rotherham Titans players Rugby Roma Olimpic players Rugby union locks United States international rugby union players American expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in Italy Expatriate rugby union players in Wales Expatriate rugby union players in England American expatriate sportspeople in Italy American expatriate sportspeople in Wales American expatriate sportspeople in England American men's basketball players American rugby union players Sportspeople from Indiana 1999 Rugby World Cup players 2003 Rugby World Cup players

Playing career

Clubs

Coaching and administration

See also

References

External links