The Maryland Exiles were 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 it ...

team in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

which competed as a member of Division I under the

USA Rugby USA Rugby (officially the United States of America Rugby Football Union, Ltd.) is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. Its role is to achieve and maintain “high levels of quality in all aspects of ru ...

governing body. The team fielded both a standard 15-man squad and seven-a-side squad. The team competed abroad in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, Sri Lanka, and the Cayman Islands. The Maryland Exiles have been featured in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', ''

The Virginian-Pilot ''The Virginian-Pilot'' is the daily newspaper for Norfolk, Virginia. Commonly known as ''The Pilot'', it is Virginia's largest daily. It serves the five cities of South Hampton Roads as well as several smaller towns across southeast Virgini ...

'', ''International Rugby News'', and on the cover of ''Rugby Magazine''. The Exiles were formed in 1993 by the amalgamation of three local area clubs: the Maryland Old Boys, Montgomery County Rugby Club, and the Old Red Rugby Club. The fifteens squad placed third in the Aspen Ruggerfest, the United States' premier fifteen-man tournament, in 1996. In 1996, 1997, and 2007, the Exiles advanced to the Sweet Sixteen round of the National Club Championship.History
, Maryland Exiles Rugby Club, retrieved 19 December 2008. In United States' National Club Sevens Championship, the Exiles have placed second (1994 and 2002) and third (2003, 2005, and 2006). The Maryland Old Boys, from which the Exiles were partially formed, won the National Club Sevens in 1989, placed third in 1991 and 1992, and placed third in 1988 and 1990., eRugbyNews.com, 2008, retrieved 19 December 2008. In the fall of 2014, the Maryland Exiles merged with the Potomac Athletic Club, forming th
Potomac Exiles

Notable players

*John Krause,

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...

* Inaki Basauri,

2007 *Will Brewington, Eagles Sevens 1987–1993 *Joe Fradella, Eagles Sevens 2004 *Brian Gallagher, Eagles Sevens 1997 *Eddie Galpin, Eagles Sevens 2001 *James Gillenwater, Eagles Sevens 2007,

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n at Vanderbilt *Kevin Gittings, Eagles Sevens 1998 *Vince Granger, Eagles Sevens 1989 *

Bill Hayward William Louis "Colonel Bill" Hayward (July 2, 1868 – December 14, 1947) was a track and field coach at the University of Oregon and a track coach for six United States Olympic teams, from 1908 through 1932. Athletic career Hayward was born i ...

, Eagles 1991 *Steve Laake, All-American at Loyola College * Owen Lentz, Eagles 2006–2007 *Justin Lucas, All-American at Cal Poly *Mark Miller, Eagles Sevens 1994 *Chris Petrakes, Eagles Sevens 1988-1991 *Dave Ries, Eagles Sevens 1998 *Tom Sanders, Eagles Sevens 2004, All-American at

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

*Jeff Soeken, All-American at

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

*Don Younger, Eagles Sevens 1997–2002, All-American at

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

*Dylan Ritzer, All-American 2013, All State

Salisbury University Salisbury University is a public university in Salisbury, Maryland. Founded in 1925, Salisbury is a member of the University System of Maryland, with a fall 2016 enrollment of 8,748. Salisbury University offers 42 distinct undergraduate and 14 ...

References

{{reflist, 2 Bethesda, Maryland Rugby clubs established in 1993 Rugby union teams in the United States Sports clubs and teams in Maryland 1993 establishments in Maryland