TUKWILA, WASHINGTON (May 8, 2021) – The Seattle Seawolves are excited to announce the signing of USA Eagle No. 471 and former Glendale Raptor lock, Ben Landry. Landry comes to Seattle by way of trade with the New England Free Jacks.

Landry started playing rugby in middle school and grew up with the sport thanks to family ties to the game. He played rugby, basketball, and football while at Pewaukee High School and suited up alongside fellow Pewaukee Pirate, JJ Watt. Landry eventually chose to focus on rugby and played for University of Wisconsin, Whitewater. During his college years, he earned multiple Collegiate All-Americans honors that presented the first of many international competition opportunities for the young forward. After college, Landry made appearances for the Milwaukee Barbarians for a season before moving to Seattle to play for Seattle Rugby Club, formerly known as the Seattle Saracens, in the British Columbia Rugby Men’s Premiership. Getting minutes against Canadian competition with Seattle helped Landry prepare for his next step, which was finally earning a USA senior cap. He debuted for the USA Eagles in a 35-35 tie with Argentina in February of 2016. While living in Seattle, Landry paused his rugby career momentarily and participated in a Seattle Seahawks rookie camp in May of 2016 as well as several other NFL teams’ try outs. Although the NFL opportunity didn’t play out, professional rugby came knocking shortly after as he signed a contract with the Glendale Raptors in 2018 for MLR’s inaugural season. After the MLR season, Landry took his skills abroad signing with the Ealing Trailfinders of the RFU Championship. Landry was in England from 2018-2019 and participated in USA assemblies and test matches heading into the 2019 Rugby World Cup. He was selected to the Eagles’ World Cup squad where he played in three of the four group stage matches of the tournament. Landry returned to Major League Rugby when he signed with New England in March of 2020 and made one appearance for the Free Jacks before the season was cancelled. Landry’s mobility in open play, set piece skillet, and physical presence in contact will help round out the Seawolves forward pack for 2021. You can watch some of his highlights here.

“I’m excited to be back in Seattle playing rugby,” said Landry. “I love the city and the fans always are amazing.”

The Seattle Seawolves (1-5) are home again for week 8 of the Major League Rugby regular season. West coast rival, San Diego Legion (2-5), will take on the Seawolves in Tukwila, Washington on Sunday, May 9. Kickoff is at 5:00 PM PT on ROOT SPORTS and The Rugby Network. Match capacity is limited, and the match is sold out. Learn more about our return to Starfire here.

The post Landry Traded to Seawolves, USA Eagle Returns to Seattle for MLR appeared first on Seattle Seawolves Rugby.