Charlotte area natives on U.S. rugby team return home for match: ‘A special moment’
Rugby was never Jason Damm’s first love.
It was his childhood dream to one day play for the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers. He didn’t touch a rugby ball until he was 18.
Now 31, the Fort Mill native captains the U.S. national men’s rugby team.
He’ll take the pitch just about 20 miles north of his hometown on Saturday when the U.S. takes on Zimbabwe at Charlotte’s American Legion Memorial Stadium.
“I’m just excited,” Damm told The Charlotte Observer and The Herald on Friday. “Anytime I get to play here it’s just awesome, because this is where it all started for me.”
Damm was a standout left tackle at Nation’s Ford High School, where his dad, David, was the principal.
He always knew he wanted to don the orange and white at Clemson University. He just didn’t think he was an ACC caliber starter. That’s when he found the Tigers had a club rugby team.
“I thought, let’s go try it out, and I fell in love with it straight away,” Damm said.
By the time he graduated in 2017, Damm led the Tigers to two Atlantic Coast Rugby Championships. He quickly caught Team USA’s attention.
Damm was invited to Team USA’s camp in 2022. He made his national debut that July, and became captain just three years later.
“It’s the pinnacle of my career to be here,” he said. “To play for the national team and to also captain the side is just like the cherry on top.”
A growing sport
Rugby teams are composed of 15 players. The two sides engage in an 80-minute match in which they try to advance the ball to the opponent’s side of the field.
Players can pass the ball backward or sideways, and engage in a variety of defensive tactics to maintain possession. There are plenty of tackles, but unlike American football, rugby players don’t wear heavy plastic padding.
The sport is enormously popular across Europe and Oceania. It’s the national sport in several countries, including New Zealand, Wales and Fiji.
While American football will likely always be paramount, rugby is growing across the U.S.
Major League Rugby viewership — America’s top professional rugby league – increased by 55% last season. Over 50,000 young athletes participate in USA Youth and High School rugby across the U.S.
The U.S. men’s rugby team competes in tournaments both stateside and internationally, including the Rugby World Cup.
The team is currently competing in the Nation’s Cup, a tournament against Portugal, Spain, Zimbabwe and Tonga.
Damm said rugby’s growing popularity, and youth involvement, is exciting for the future of the sport.
“There’s just so much more access to the game and people who love the game continuing to grow it,” Damm said.
Damm isn’t the only player returning home. U.S. players Alex Maughan and Brandon Harvey are also Charlotte-area natives.
Maughan, 31, who attended Arborbrook Christian Academy in Matthews, said he was introduced to the sport by his father, who grew up in England.
He made his national team debut in 2017 after winning a pair of D1A National Championships with Life University in Georgia.
“It’ll be quite a special moment coming out for the anthem and seeing all the Charlotte fans singing along with me,” Maughan said.
Maughan’s family is coming out in droves — his wife and two kids, older brother, sister in law and niece will all be in attendance to watch him play Saturday.
“You can’t say you love the game if you don’t get nervous a little bit,” he said.
Harvey, 24, has a bit of a different journey. He grew up in England before moving to the Queen City, where he played for the Charlotte Tigers, a team that is consistently ranked as one of the best travel clubs in the country.
After graduating from Hough High School, Harvey returned to England to play at Cardiff Metropolitan University.
He now plays for the MLR’s Chicago Hounds after a year in San Diego. Saturday marks only his second time returning to play rugby in Charlotte.
His mom and friends will be in attendance.
“There’s nothing better than playing in your hometown with a bunch of friends and family,” Harvey said. “It’s more exciting than anything.”
This story was originally published July 11, 2026 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Charlotte area natives on U.S. rugby team return home for match: ‘A special moment’."
