Rugby Player to Tour Europe this Summer

by Terry MacMillan, HS Girls Coach

Avon High School sophomore Giselle Long is having breakout success on the rugby pitch and she's receiving national attention for her exploits. She has been scouted by USA Rugby and she'll travel Europe this summer as a member of EIRA (Eagle Impact Rugby Academy). 

Giselle was recently chosen to represent all of the Midwest as a member of the U-18 ELITE division (the highest division in high school rugby). She played in the Tropical 7s tournament in Tampa during spring break. This is an elite tournament with teams from 12 countries. She played beside juniors and seniors from all over the Midwest. Her team blew out their bracket winning all four games on day one by large margins. They dominated in the semi-finals and went to face the other undefeated team in the championship game. They lost by a conversion kick, finishing in 2nd place, but Giselle performed incredibly well. She scored the last try for her team in the championship game.

As a result of this elite tournament, she is now being scouted by coaches like Salty Thompson from the USA Rugby Team, the Eagles who now leads EIRA.

Recently, she received the call from Coach Thompson to join Eagle Impact Rugby Academy to play a full tour of Europe this summer. She will be gone the entire month of July and will compete in tournaments throughout Ireland, Spain, and France.

This is a pretty big deal for a girl from Indiana (a state that is not super well-known for Rugby – yet). She is helping to put Avon on the map in rugby circles.

Go, Giselle! 

photo credit: Jasun Blocher