The Northern Virginia Eagles are a

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

team based in

Manassas, Virginia Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Prince William County, although the two are separate jurisdi ...

, U.S. The club currently plays in the

USA Rugby League The USA Rugby League (USARL) is the official governing body for rugby league, a code of rugby football, in the United States. The organization also runs the national amateur competition for club teams in the US. The league consists of six te ...

(USARL). From 2007 to 2011 they were known as the Fairfax Eagles and were based in nearby

Fairfax, Virginia The City of Fairfax ( ), colloquially known as Fairfax City, Downtown Fairfax, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Courthouse, FFX, or simply Fairfax, is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth ...

. The Fairfax Eagles were founded in 2007 as an

expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...

of the

American National Rugby League The American National Rugby League (AMNRL) was a rugby league organization in the United States that operated from 1997 to 2014. The country's first domestic rugby league competition, it hosted an annual league from 1998 through 2013. Throughout it ...

(AMNRL), but did not begin play until the 2008 season. They competed in the AMNRL for three years, making playoff appearances in 2009 and 2010. In January 2011 the Eagles became one of seven teams to depart from the AMNRL to form the new

(USARL), but the team ceased operations before the season. In 2012, new ownership announced the team, reorganized as the Northern Virginia Eagles, would return to the AMNRL for the 2012 season. In 2014, the Northern Virginia Eagles joined the

(USARL).

History

The team was founded in 2007 by Steven Grant, who was club president. Based in

, they were the

AMNRL The American National Rugby League (AMNRL) was a rugby league organization in the United States that operated from 1997 to 2014. The country's first domestic rugby league competition, it hosted an annual league from 1998 through 2013. Throughout it ...

's second team to be based in the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

area, after the Washington, D.C. Slayers. The Eagles were originally scheduled to join the AMNRL for the 2007 season, but financial issues prevented them from competing. The Eagles joined the AMNRL for the 2008 season. That year they ended the season with a 3-5 record, finishing 6th overall and missing the playoffs on point differential. In the 2009 season they went 5-3 and advanced to the playoffs, but were defeated by the

Aston Bulls The Aston Bulls were a rugby league football team based in Aston Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The team played in the American National Rugby League (AMNRL), the United States' oldest competition, from 1998 until 2013. They were kno ...

in the first round. That year they also played the New England Rugby League representative side in the 2009 Winter Exhibition, winning by a score of 50-10. In the 2010 season they went 2–4 but qualified for the playoffs, losing to the

New Haven Warriors The New Haven Warriors were a rugby league football team based in New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. They played in the American National Rugby League (AMNRL) from 2006 to 2010 and in the USA Rugby League (USARL) from 2011 to 2012 before withdrawing. T ...

in the first round. After the season they joined with the Washington D.C. Slayers to form the DC Internationals representative side for the War at the Shore event in

Sea Isle City, New Jersey Sea Isle City is a City (New Jersey), city in Cape May County, New Jersey, Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Ocean City, New Jersey, Ocean City metropolitan statistical area. As of the 2020 United States census ...

. The Internationals went on to win the War at the Shore tournament, defeating the New York Knights in the final 10-0. On January 12, 2011, the Eagles became one of seven teams to leave the AMNRL to form the new

. Prior to the start of the season, however, club president Steven Grant relocated due to work. The team attempted to develop a plan to continue in the USARL, but was unable to find a solution. The club announced it was ceasing operations in April 2011. The Eagles played most home games at Stratton Woods Park in

Herndon Herndon may refer to: People * Herndon (surname), an American surname * Herndon Davis (1901–1962), American artist, journalist, illustrator, and painter Places in the United States Communities * Herndon, California, an unincorporated commun ...

Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

. They finished with an all-time record of 11 wins, 19 losses, and 1 draw. On November 26, 2011, the AMNRL announced that the team, reformed as the Northern Virginia Eagles, would compete in the 2012 season. The team is scheduled to play in

and will focus on recruiting new players. On February 28, 2014, the

announced that the Northern Virginia Eagles would be joining the USARL as a member club.

All-time scoreboard

2008 season 06.07.08 - Eagles 14 - 40 Slayers (MVP Joey Tropea) 06.14.08 - Eagles 22 - 56 Bulls (MVP Andrew Reddy) 06.21.08 - Fight 10 - 36 Eagles (MVP Charles Pramawat) 07.12.08 - Sharks 58 - 28 Eagles (MVP Naysan Eshraghi) 07.19.08 - Bulls 88 - 0 Eagles (MVP John Young) 07.26.08 - Fight 24 - Eagles 34 (MVP Kevin Campbell) 07.26.08 - Slayers 28 - 18 Eagles (MVP John Young) 08.02.08 - Eagles 20 - 0 Raiders (MVP N/A) ''Winter Exhibition - 2008'' 12.13.08 - Bulls 76 - 6 Eagles (MVP Kevin Campbell) 2009 season 06.06.09 - Eagles 12 - 20 Fight (MVP Dain Bentley) 06.13.09 - Axemen 56 - 4 Eagles (MVP Kevin Campbell) 06.20.09 - Eagles 20 - 0 Raiders (MVP N/A) 06.27.09 - Eagles 74 - 6 Wildcats (MVP Joey Tropea) 07.11.09 - Slayers 18 - 20 Eagles (MVP Andrew Panek) 07.18.09 - Eagles 40 - 28 Slayers (MVP Martyn Nicoll) 07.25.09 - Wildcats 18 - 64 Eagles (MVP Chad Culpepper) 08.08.09 - Bulls 52 - 8 Eagles (MVP Chris Ferezan) 08.15.09 - Bulls 20 - 0 Eagles (MVP N/A) ''Winter Exhibition - 2009'' 12.12.09 - Eagles 50 - 10 New England All-Stars (MVP David Lacroix) 2010 season ''Preseason Indoor Exhibition'' 04.03.10 - Fight 0 - 0 Eagles (MVP Anthony Elghossain) ''Preseason PBR Cup Exhibition'' 05.15.10 - Eagles 0 - 26 Washington Irish (Rugby Union) 05.15.10 - Eagles 0 - 42 Fight (MVP Patrick Robinson) 05.15.10 - Eagles 31 - 34 West Potomac (Rugby Union) 05.15.10 - Eagles 15 - 57 Western Suburbs (Rugby Union) ''Regular season'' 06.05.10 - Eagles 16 - 66 Axemen (MVP John Young) 06.12.10 - Eagles 80 - 4 Vipers (MVP Tim Bucher) 06.19.10 - Bulls 96 - 22 Eagles (MVP Craig Webb) 07.10.10 - Vipers 18 - 80 Eagles (MVP Reece Blayney) 07.11.10 - Eagles 30 - 38 Slayers (MVP Dain Bentley) 07.18.10 - Slayers 24 - 16 Eagles (MVP John Young) 07.31.10 - Warriors 80 - 26 Eagles (MVP Entire Team) 2013 season ''Regular season'' 06.08.13 - Bulls 20 - 38 Eagles (MVP Dave "Maca" McLellan) 06.29.13 - Eagles 44 - 26 Raiders (MVP Jakk Kavanagh) 07.13.13 - Dragons 0 - 20 Eagles (MVP Wilis Rodriguez) 07.20.13 - Eagles 38 - 50 Sharks (MVP Chris Ferezan) 07.27.13 - Knights 58 - 4 Eagles (MVP Bryant Alexander) 08.03.13 - Wildcats 20 - 0 Eagles (MVP Travis Cowell) 2014 season ''Regular season'' 05.31.14 - Slayers 42 - 30 Eagles (MVP Bryant Alexander) 06.14.14 - Eagles 24 - 46 Slayers (MVP Ed Fua) 06.21.14 - Eagles 96 - 16 Blues (MVP Bryant Alexander) 06.28.14 - Rebellion 48 - 40 Eagles (MVP Jacob Cobbin) 07.12.14 - Rebellion 70 - 16 Eagles (MVP Travis Cowell) 07.19.14 - Eagles 72 - 28 Blues (MVP N/A) 07.26.14 - Fight 88 - 24 Eagles(MVP Patrick Robinson)

Current 2020 Squad

* * http://www.novaeagles.com/team.html

Honors

*2009 - AMNRL quarter finalists *2009 - Winter Exhibition Winners *2010 - AMNRL quarter finalists *2010 - War at the Shore Champions *2013 - AMNRL 7s Tournament finalists *2013 - AMNRL quarter finalists

International caps

* Ryan Burroughs (5) * Bryant Alexander (2)

References

External links

Official website
{{Virginia Sports American National Rugby League teams Sports in Fairfax, Virginia Rugby clubs established in 2007 Sports teams in Virginia USA Rugby League teams Rugby league in Virginia 2007 establishments in Virginia