The People of Rugby

Born in Ireland and raised in the Dublin schoolboy rugby system at Blackrock College, Dylan “The Butcher” Fawsitt chased a dream that almost ended when Leinster let him go. Told he was a hooker, not a back rower, he changed positions, won Player of the Year in the AIL, and flew to America promising everyone at his going-away party that he’d play for the USA and make a World Cup. He did exactly that.

Dylan went from Life University to the Ohio Aviators in the first pro league, then spent years hustling in New York (walking dogs, washing cars, coaching). He earned his Eagles cap, played in the 2019 Rugby World Cup, won an MLR championship with Rugby New York, and became the first player in league history to reach 100 appearances and the MLR’s all-time leader in tries.

In this episode, Dylan talks about the people who made it possible: the coaches, mentors, teammates and family who shaped him. He covers leadership and belonging, the end of Rugby New York, and what comes after rugby, including a hard transition into tech sales.

Show notes

Guest: Dylan “The Butcher” Fawsitt, former USA Eagle, 2019 Rugby World Cup player, MLR champion, and MLR’s first 100-game player and all-time try leader

In this episode:

• Where “The Butcher” nickname comes from
• Starting rugby at Greystones RFC at five or six, and the coaches who prized the pass over the try
• Blackrock College and the Dublin system
• Growing up on Gaelic games and soccer, and how those skills carried over to rugby
• Being released by Leinster, his dad’s challenge to him, and moving from back row to hooker
• Playing for Greystones and St. Mary’s, and winning AIL Player of the Year
• The conversation with Leinster that led him to Life University in Georgia
• Telling friends and family at his going-away party that he’d play for the USA and go to a World Cup
• Meeting his wife, and moving to New York to be with her and join Old Blue
• The first season of pro rugby with the Ohio Aviators, and the finish against Denver
• Hustling to get by after the league folded, including dog walking and long commutes
• The path to his first Eagles call-up, a 48-hour trip to Georgia, and his first cap against Chile
• Representing the USA while being Irish, and playing the Eagles’ Test against Ireland in Dublin
• Making the 2019 World Cup, and his dad and family being there
• Glendale Raptors, then Rugby New York, and the 2022 MLR championship
• The club folding, and what it was like to be a free agent for only twelve hours
• Chicago Hounds, and the 100-appearance milestone and try record
• Leading through belonging and care, and learning to inspire rather than criticize
• Retiring, a hard stretch without work, and the move into tech sales
• Building a LinkedIn presence after never promoting himself as a player
• MLR punditry, current coaching, and advice for young players on discipline and setting up life after rugby

From a Bay Area kid who broke his nose at his first rugby practice to head coach of the USA Men's Sevens, Zack Test has lived several rugby lives. He walked on at Oregon football, snapped his ankle at the U20 World Cup, and chose rugby, which took him to Loughborough University and the Sevens circuit. He then played in the 2015 Rugby World Cup and the 2016 Rio Olympics. A traumatic brain injury in his first fifteens game back ended his playing career at 27.

Zack shares his story, along with how he rebuilt his life through coaching. We cover his path from San Diego State to the San Diego Legion to assistant coach of the USA women's bronze medal team in Paris, and the heartbreak of missing the Men's Sevens job before getting a second chance at it. He also talks about balancing brotherhood with competition, the Groundhog Day grind of Chula Vista, and his mission to make sure American coaches never get overlooked again. Then he builds his all-time XV and Sevens teams, and one big name is missing.

Show notes

Guest: Zack Test, head coach of the USA Men's Sevens and former USA Eagle and Olympian

In this episode

• Growing up in the Bay Area, his dad's rugby background, and how his sister's friends got him into Peninsula Green
• Walking on at Oregon football under Mike Bellotti, then the ankle injury at the U20 World Cup that forced a choice
• Loughborough University: being the "Yank," learning professionalism, and balancing school with Sevens camps
• Coming up in Sevens alongside Todd Clever, Takudzwa Ngwenya, and Matt Hawkins
• The early full-time residency in Chula Vista and the program's rise under Mike Friday
• A MRSA scare, the 2015 Rugby World Cup, and facing Bryan Habana
• The pressure cooker of the Rio Olympics year, and how Zack made the team
• The February 2017 traumatic brain injury against Uruguay, and a recovery that took more than the body to heal
• Finding coaching through the Maccabiah Games, San Diego State, and the San Diego Legion
• Learning from Rob Holdley, coaching Samu Manoa, and the COVID year in Vegas
• Joining the women's Sevens program and the bronze medal run in Paris
• Missing out on the Men's Sevens job, then getting the call after Simon Amor stepped down
• Why Nesse Malifa was his first choice as assistant coach
• Zack's goal of a self-sufficient top-four team, and his push to open doors for American coaches

Lou Stanfill – a Cal rugby Legend, went to 3 Rugby World Cups for the USA Eagles, USA Rugby Hall of Famer, and now a paramedic firefighter in Sacramento. And it all started because he lost a baseball glove.

In this episode, Lou tells the story how losing a baseball glove led to a life changing new sport, what it was like to play for Cal during a run of five straight national titles, and how he found out at 19 that he was joining the Eagles. He talks about the ragtag 2007 World Cup team, his years chasing rugby around the world with little financial gain, and the emotional end of his Eagles career in the 2015 World Cup. He also shares how a Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosis, his faith, and coaching shaped life after rugby. To close it out he picks his All-Time XV of Teammates. Yes, he will lose some friends for those picks.

Show notes

About the guest
Lou Stanfill grew up in Sacramento and attended Jesuit High School before playing at Cal. He won five consecutive national championships there and debuted for the USA at 19. He earned 56 caps, played in three Rugby World Cups, captained the Eagles, and is a member of the USA Rugby Hall of Fame.

Topics covered

• How a lost baseball mitt sent Lou to rugby, and what his dad and older brother thought
• Jesuit's rugby culture under coach John Shorey
• Turning down football to play rugby at Cal
• Cal's dominance: what resources and a strong forward pack meant, and why Lou wants to see other college programs rise
• Finding out he'd made the Eagles, and his first tour in Japan
• Two philosophies of the game: set-piece dominance versus skill and decision-making
• The 2007 World Cup in France: the tough pool, the security motorcades, and that famous try against South Africa
• The Eagles' bankrupt-era build-up camp on Alec Parker's ranch
• Living in New York City on a tight budget and playing for NYAC
• Ranch work in Aspen, tens in Manila, and a rough stint in Australia
• Playing in Italy (and how he became "Gigi")
• The 2011 World Cup in New Zealand, and the 2015 World Cup, where he gave everything to the jersey
• Why he committed to four more years each time, chasing what he calls glory
• Life after rugby: coaching at Jesuit, Rugby NorCal, and a late-career run with the San Diego Legion
• His Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosis, treatment, and starting the fire academy right after
• Faith, firefighting, and modeling the values he believes in
• Coaching his son, and why coaching matters to him
• His advice for developing players, including a case for going overseas young
• What he wants to see from the Eagles' defense
• Lou's All-Time XV

Ep. 3 — Marcel Brache: The Old Newbie

Born in LA, raised in Cape Town, and shaped by the schoolyards, cricket grounds, and rugby stadiums of Newlands — Marcel Brache's path to the USA Eagles jersey is one of the most unlikely in the game. In this episode, Marcel joins the pod to trace a journey that began barefoot in a South African primary school, drifted through two lost years of "partying and drinking," and was rescued by a beer-league game that happened to catch the eye of future Stormers head coach John Dobson.

From there: a UCT Varsity Cup run, a dream call-up to his boyhood team, Western Province, an apprenticeship behind Springbok legends at the Stormers, a life-changing move to the Western Force (and 32 tryless games before a 20-minute hat-trick), and finally the emotional decision to represent his country of birth — singing "America the Beautiful" in San Diego after qualifying for the 2019 World Cup. We also get the inside story of the Austin Gilgronis, the heartbreak of the 2023 World Cup qualifiers, and Marcel's turn toward coaching, teaching, and running a first-gen flag league in Escondido. Plus his all-time XV of teammates — a South African-heavy side with a #8 that bowls a heavy ball.

Show Notes

• Born in LA, moved to Cape Town at 4–5, and finding rugby barefoot in a schoolyard.
• Growing up in Newlands, between the cricket and rugby stadiums.
• The "N1 House of Pain" — battler school trips to face the big country rugby powerhouses.
• A gap year "stooging" in the UK, Eurorail travels, and coming home more arrogant than wise.
• Two wasted years at UCT — drinking, drifting, and no direction.
• Finding the game again through Sunday touch and a Wednesday beer league.
• The night John Dobson spotted him in a beer-league crowd — the invite that changed everything.
• Knuckling down: discipline and finally being selfless.
• Dobson's line: "I'll know what type of human being you'll be in 20 years."
• The UCT Varsity Cup final, then a dream call-up to boyhood club Western Province.
• Rubbing shoulders with Springbok legends — and learning habits he still uses.
• Flipping the switch: from "happy to be here" to owning a spot in a pro squad.
• Winning the Vodacom and Currie Cups, then the call to join the Western Force.
• Life in Perth: meeting Lauren, their first kid — and being "devastated" to leave.
• 32 games without a try, then a 20-minute hat-trick — "store the fireworks."
• The first spark of playing for the Eagles, and walking in as a "funny talker."
• The golden 2017 run: tying Argentina, beating Canada, qualifying for the 2019 World Cup.
• Inside Japan 2019: England, France, Argentina, Tonga — games coming thick and fast.
• The Austin Gilgronis, that world-class staff, and the truth about the salary cap.
• The painful 2023 qualifiers vs. Uruguay, Chile, and Portugal — "the reset USA rugby needed."
• Winding down in San Diego and the turn toward coaching as "glamorized teaching."
• Heading to Japan to coach the Eagles, and a philosophy built on serving authentically.
• Marcel's all-time XV of teammates — a South African-heavy side, with a #8 that bowls a heavy ball.
• Closing message: make a kid feel something about rugby, and you've got them for life.

From a foggy corner of Pacifica ("P-Town") California to two Olympic Games, Danny Barrett has lived one of the great American rugby journeys — and it almost never happened. In this episode, the youngest of the three Barrett brothers joins the pod to trace a path that started when older brother Jim got talked into a game he'd never heard of, and ended with him leaving his cleats on the field in Tokyo.

Along the way: the family conversion that rugby sparked three brothers making Cal history on the same pitch, a 64-game unbeaten run, the brutal apprenticeship of USA Sevens (a $700-a-month contract and a separated shoulder in game one), the London breakthrough, qualifying for Rio, a late-career reinvention as the most feared breakdown operator in the MLR, and a philosophy of the game built entirely around one thing — time. We open on a somber note, paying respects to St. Mary's Gael Dominic "Domo" Peterson, and close with Danny's message to the next generation: it's a kid's game, so have fun.

Show Notes

• Tribute to Dominic "Domo" Peterson and the tight-knit NorCal rugby community.
• Growing up youngest of three in Pacifica, running water and craving the culture.
• The dining-hall pitch that converted the whole Barrett family to rugby.
• First-ever match: five minutes off the bench on an Ireland tour (plus the bus-seat tantrum at 13).
• Why rugby beat baseball: freedom, athleticism, and years of battling older brothers.
• The road to Cal: a San Jose State offer, a failed St. Mary's scholarship, and Jack Clark's call.
• Cal history: first three brothers to play a game together in ~150 years.
• The 64-game unbeaten run, two titles, and a 154–0 win dissected for 4.5 hours.
• "A great athlete, not a good rugby player yet" — becoming a student of the game.
• Rugby as a maker of people: the Mark Bingham story and a mom's "stands taller."
• His proudest accomplishment: graduating Cal — and what he turned down to do it.
• Entering USA Sevens in 2014: $700 a month and a separated shoulder in game one.
• The Friday/Brown/Greening reset: conditioning, passing, and 7,700 up-downs in one session.
• London 2015: the first-ever Cup final win by a USA side.
• Qualifying for Rio — winner-take-all vs. Canada in the Carolina heat.
• Inside the Olympic Village: 11,000 athletes and the Michael Phelps "tea-bagging" flag story.
• The Olympic rings tattoo he won't fix, because "the rings are scarred."
• Below the waterline: nine missed birthdays, holidays, and the Chula Vista grind.
• Meeting his wife Megan, long distance, and the sacrifices that made it work.
• Stepping away from the 15s setup over culture — and backing US-born players.
• The MLR reinvention in Houston: mastering the breakdown and the battle over time.
• Retirement in 2023: leaving his cleats on the field.
• Leading the Golden Eagles: the pathways and CARE programs — "Father Time never misses a tackle."
• Rapid fire: Barretts vs. All Blacks in a cage match, plus all-time XV and Sevens picks.
• Closing message: it's a kid's game — win, lose, or draw, have fun.

Tavite "Pite: Lopeti: MLR Champion, USA Eagle, St. Mary's Legend

Rugby is the greatest game on earth — and what makes it great is the people. In the debut episode, we sit down with reigning MLR champion and current USA Eagle Tavite Lopeti to trace the whole journey: from an accidental basketball signup in a first-generation Tongan household, to getting battered in his first year of high school rugby, to the fitness boot camp that is St. Mary's, to a debut try for the Eagles — and yes, to that gritty on Ma'a Nonu.

It's an honest, funny, and surprisingly instructive conversation about the people who nudged him back on track at every level, the real financial sacrifice behind chasing pro rugby in America, and what it takes to go undefeated. We close it out with a spicy, friendship-ending draft of an All-Time St. Mary's Gaels XV.

Why listen:

• The behind-the-scenes reality of pro rugby in the US — $20k for six months and three jobs to chase the dream
• How a "fill the numbers" phone call turned into a first Eagles cap
• The celebration that went viral (and the backlash from the rugby purists)
• A no-holds-barred All-Time Gaels XV debate

Chapters

• 00:00 — Cold open: welcome to Episode 1
• 00:57 — Meet "Pite": MLR champ, Eagle, president of the baby chess crew
• 03:20 — Origin story: Bay Area roots and Peninsula Green
• 04:18 — The accidental basketball signup (a very Tongan story)
• 05:23 — A first-generation household & Dad's path to citizenship
• 08:38 — The coaches who paid his way: Moses Similai & Bob Benson
• 13:58 — Chasing a degree: why rugby became the path to college
• 16:09 — Getting recruited: Central Washington, BYU & a Catholic family's veto
• 17:52 — JuCo, Life West, and getting spotted by St. Mary's
• 20:52 — Why St. Mary's changed everything
• 25:35 — Arriving at St. Mary's: freak athlete, zero fitness
• 27:14 — "We're in the Navy" — the brutal first weeks running the hills
• 30:19 — Tim O'Brien's mind games and the mystery training schedule
• 35:00 — Getting smoked on a trail run… by a prop
• 37:23 — The Tim O'Brien effect & the "baby chest" nudge that changed his lifting
• 43:00 — The MLR arrives; leaving college as "men among boys"
• 47:57 — First Eagles camp: why he wasn't nervous
• 49:53 — First cap vs Canada: a debut try, a blood-sub twist & a tough loss
• 52:23 — The St. Mary's cult: how foreigners learn to respect the Gaels
• 54:28 — Getting capped before the draft & learning your worth
• 55:59 — Drafted to the Seattle Seawolves
• 57:54 — Rookie of the Year… and THE GRITTY on Ma'a Nonu
• 1:02:28 — Chasing the next challenge & how MLR free agency really works
• 1:05:25 — The hard truth: $20k, three jobs & the sacrifice behind the dream
• 1:12:08 — Anatomy of an undefeated championship season
• 1:18:15 — What's next: the 2027 World Cup
• 1:19:20 — Drafting an All-Time St. Mary's Gaels XV
• 1:44:22 — Tribute to Volney Rouse
• 1:46:03 — Advice for young American players: "We know ball!"