Malon Maurice Al-Jiboori (born August 1, 1997) is an American

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who plays for the

United States men's national rugby sevens team The United States national rugby sevens team competes in international rugby sevens competitions. The national sevens team is organized by USA Rugby, and the team has been led by Head Coach Mike Friday since 2014. The main competition t ...

and the United States men's national team (XVs). He currently plays for Ealing Trailfinders and the

Houston SaberCats The Houston SaberCats are an American professional rugby union team based in Houston, Texas. The team was founded in 2017 and competes in Major League Rugby, the top-level rugby union competition in the United States and Canada that played its fi ...

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). Al-Jiboori previously represented the United States at the international level with multiple age-grade sides.

Early life

Al-Jiboori was born on August 1, 1997. Al-Jiboori grew up in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

, and attended Union High School. Al-Jiboori played

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

throughout his youth, earned a

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

scholarship, and aspired 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 ...

. However, Al-Jiboori began playing rugby at the age of 16, after watching an older brother play the game. Ultimately, he would decline his football scholarship offer and leave Tulsa to attend

Lindenwood University Lindenwood University is a private university in St. Charles, Missouri. Founded in 1827 by George Champlin Sibley and Mary Easton Sibley as The Lindenwood School for Girls, it is the second-oldest higher-education institution west of the Missis ...

and play for the school's rugby teams. He was named Division 1-A Player of the Week on January 26, 2016 for his performances against

Saint Mary's St. Mary's, St. Marys, or St. Maries may refer to the following places: Australia * St Marys, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** St Marys railway station, Sydney ** North St Marys, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * St Marys, South Austra ...

and Santa Clara. During the summer of 2016, Al-Jiboori spent time training with

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

's Brumbies.

International career

USA Junior All-Americans

Al-Jiboori represented the United States playing for the United States men's national under-20 team (Junior All-Americans) in the

2016 World Rugby Under 20 Trophy The 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Trophy was the ninth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams, second-tier world championship. The event was held in Harare, Zimbabwe and was organized by rugby's governing body, World ...

. During his tenure with the Junior All-Americans, Al-Jiboori served as the team's captain.

USA Collegiate All-Americans

Al-Jiboori played for the United States men's national under-23 team (Collegiate All-Americans) during their tour of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

in 2016.

USA Selects

In 2016, it was announced that Al-Jiboori had been selected for the

USA Selects The USA Falcons, formerly known as the USA Selects, is the second national rugby team for the United States, usually used for uncapped matches and domestic club sides. The primary national team is known as the USA Eagles or the United States natio ...

roster for the 2016 Americas Pacific Challenge. Al-Jiboori made his first start for the Selects on October 12, 2016, playing at

flanker Flanker may refer to: * Flanker (perfume), a newly created perfume sharing attributes of an existing one * Flanker (rugby union), a position in rugby union (not found in rugby league) * ''Su-27 Flanker'' (video game), a 1996 computer game modelin ...

, in the Selects' 47–37 victory over

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

USA Eagles

Al-Jiboori made his debut with the USA Eagles on February 17, 2018, appearing as a substitute in the Eagles' 45–13 victory over

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

in the

2018 Americas Rugby Championship The 2018 Americas Rugby Championship was the third 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 ...

USA Eagles 7s

Al-Jiboori made his debut for the United States men's national rugby sevens team at the

2016 Singapore Sevens The 2016 Singapore Sevens was the eighth tournament of the 2015–16 World Rugby Sevens Series. The tournament was played on 16–17 April 2016 at National Stadium in Singapore. It was the fourth time the Singapore Sevens The Singapore Seve ...

tournament. , Al-Jiboori has competed in 31 total matches for the Eagles in 7s, having scored his first two tries for the Eagles during the

2017–18 World Rugby Sevens Series The 2017–18 World Rugby Sevens Series, known for sponsorship reasons as the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, was the 19th annual series of rugby sevens tournaments for national men's rugby sevens teams. The World Rugby Sevens Series, Sevens Ser ...

Club career

In addition to his international appearances representing the United States, Al-Jiboori has played club rugby for the Denver Barbarians and Bulldog Rugby. After playing one match for the

(MLR) club San Diego Legion during the 2018 MLR season, Al-Jiboori signed a two-year deal with the

Glendale Raptors The American Raptors is a professional rugby union team based in the municipality of Glendale in Colorado. The team plays in the transcontinental Super Rugby Americas competition . Established as the Glendale Raptors in 2006, the team was a found ...

ahead of the 2019 season. In April 2021 he signed with the Ealing Trailfinders. In February of 2022, he signed with the

Houston Sabercats The Houston SaberCats are an American professional rugby union team based in Houston, Texas. The team was founded in 2017 and competes in Major League Rugby, the top-level rugby union competition in the United States and Canada that played its fi ...

of the MLR.

Personal life

Malon Al-Jiboori has a younger brother, Tyren Al-Jiboori, who also plays rugby and competed for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

at the

2018 Summer Youth Olympics The 2018 Summer Youth Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de la Juventud de 2018), officially known as the III Summer Youth Olympic Games, and commonly known as Buenos Aires 2018, were an international sports, cultural, and educational event held ...

. Their older brother, Michael Al-Jiboori, has also played rugby for the Denver Barbarians.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jiboori, Malon 1997 births Living people American rugby union players United States international rugby union players Rugby union flankers San Diego Legion players American Raptors players Sportspeople from Tulsa, Oklahoma Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club players Houston SaberCats players