Mike MacDonald (born November 27, 1980, in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

, United States) is a retired

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 ...

footballer who previously played for

Leeds Carnegie Leeds Carnegie was a brand name used by several sports teams associated with the Carnegie School of Physical Education, now part of Leeds Beckett University. These include: Current * Leeds Carnegie Handball Club Changed name * Leeds Carnegie (ba ...

in the

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...

and

English Premiership The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

. He represented 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 ...

national team and predominantly played at the

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

position.

Youth and college

MacDonald started playing rugby during his sophomore year of high school in 1997. He graduated from

Miramonte High School Miramonte High School is a public high school located in Orinda, California, United States. It is part of the Acalanes Union High School District. The school has a college-preparatory program, with 15 Advanced Placement courses offered. Histo ...

in 1999 and followed in the footsteps of his brother, who was also a rugby player. In addition to rugby, MacDonald showcased his talents in

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

and

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 ...

, achieving a remarkable 3rd place finish in state wrestling during his senior year of high school. MacDonald went on to win four rugby National Championships with the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

. During his time there, he received the honor of being named an All-American five times between 2000 and 2004. Following the 2004 national championship, he was recognized as the tournament MVP.

Professional career

MacDonald had a professional career in England from 2005 to 2012, initially playing for the Worcester Warriors from 2005 to 2006. He then joined Leeds Carnegie from 2007 to 2012. MacDonald played a pivotal role for Leeds during the 2006-07 season, contributing to their success in winning

National League 1 National One (last season known as National League 1 and previously known before September 2009 as National Division Two), is the third of three national leagues in the domestic rugby union competition of England. It was known as Courage Leagu ...

and securing promotion to the Premiership. Remarkably, he scored 10 tries that season, which is quite impressive for a front row player. Following the 2007-08 Premiership season, MacDonald was honored with the title of Leeds' Player of the Season, and he was appointed captain for the 2008-09 season. In June 2011, MacDonald extended his contract with Leeds Carnegie for an additional two years. However, in April 2012, he was released from

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

International career

MacDonald's debut for the

was against

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

on June 30, 2000. MacDonald has represented the USA in three Rugby World Cups – 2003, 2007 and 2011. At the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

, MacDonald broke two US records: he tallied his 63rd cap, surpassing Luke Gross as the United States' most-capped player, and made his 11th appearance in a Rugby World Cup match, breaking the record held by

Alec Parker Alec Parker (born April 10, 1974) is an American former rugby union lock. Parker was born in Aspen, Colorado. His height is . He was a member of the United States national rugby union team and participated in three World Cups 2007 Rugby World ...

. MacDonald was named Man of the Match in the United States' win over Russia at the 2011 Rugby World Cup; MacDonald was key as the US scrum made Russia wilt under pressure and MacDonald was outstanding at the breakdown.

Coaching career

MacDonald was signed on as an assistant coach of the

California Golden Bears rugby The California Golden Bears rugby team is the college rugby team of the University of California, Berkeley. The Golden Bears have won 33 championships since the national collegiate championships for rugby began in 1980. Current head coach and Ca ...

team in 2011. Since his joining of the team as the forwards coach in the 2011–12 season, Cal Rugby has made seven 15's national championship appearances, including two victories in 2016 and 2017.

References

External links