The Collegiate Rugby Shield took place July 13 at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah.
The Collegiate Rugby Shield is an annual postseason international college rugby competition, providing collegiate players an opportunity to showcase skills for coaches and scouts ahead of the Major League Rugby draft.
The 2023 MLR draft is slated for Aug. 17 at 6:30 p.m. EDT and will be televised by FS2.
Tennessee’s Josh Shetler took part in the Collegiate Rugby Shield ahead of the draft. Shetler discussed his experience with Vols Wire.
“The honor of being one of the 50 invited is a dream and goal accomplished,” Shetler said. “The shield exists to bring the top MLR prospects into a week long camp where they train, test and play against each other. The first day all we did was travel, but you best believe the next morning we went right to work. We started the morning with a bronco test. The bronco is basically a shuttle run at 20,40 and 60 meters, and you do each five times. A good score is under five minutes. Then right after the bronco we split into our team and immediately went to training. We left that evening at 4 p.m. This took place in Herriman, Utah and let me tell you the elevation is up there and breathing is hard, so 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. is a long day already, but adding the elite level of play and the elevation, I was exhausted. I recovered that night and went back at it with the same schedule Tuesday, 10-4, and all we did was train.
“Wednesday looked a little different as this was the day we tested. We tested our 40 meter times and the T drill. After everyone finished that, we had a captain run and then back to the hotel to recover. At this point I was up to four ice baths and my legs were gone. Then there comes Thursday. Thursday was game day. We spent the morning in the city of Herriman shopping and looking at local places. Around 2 p.m. we left and participated in a youth rugby camp for local Utah kids. After that was game time. We played the game and won on the last play, 32-31. The overall experience was one of the best I’ve ever had in the rugby world. Getting to connect with MLR GMs and scouts was something I would have never gotten the opportunities to do if the shield did not exist. I grew as a player and a person from it. Now all eyes are on draft night.”