Connor Buckley Re-Signed for 2025

By Alistair Kirsch-Poole
Dec 10, 2024 - 3:00pm

Old Glory has retained the services of scrumhalf Connor Buckley for the 2025 season. The 25-year-old New York native has been playing rugby for years, helping his high school take four state championships and playing for the High School All-American team. He continued playing at Iona College, where he was a Collegiate All-American Honorable Mention and Scholz Award finalist. He also played for the USA U20s.

After graduating, he was picked up in 2020 draft by Rugby New York. His first year, he only played in 5 matches for a total of 18 minutes, but he quickly increased that the next year to 14 matches played, 8 of them starts, for 419 minutes played. By 2023 he was New York's primary scrumhalf, playing in 16 matches with 11 starts for 796 total minutes.

When New York collapsed that off-season, he joined Old Glory DC. Together with Ethan McVeigh, he was one of the two starting scrumhalves who managed to push Danny Tusitala almost completely out of contention for the starting 9 jersey. He and McVeigh split the minutes, caps, and starts pretty much exactly down the middle, with both playing so well that neither one could definitively prove they were the better scrumhalf. One area Buckley did gain a lead, though, was in tries scored - he hauled in a career-high of 6 tries in 2024.

While the Buckley/McVeigh competition looks likely to continue in 2025, there are some potential challenges from new players on the roster. John Lefevre was signed towards the end of last season and could be challenging for playing time if he is retained for 2025, while Aiden Ridgeway was picked up in the draft and will want to make a positive mark early for the team.

Buckley will also be trying to prove that he deserves a call up to the national team in 2025. McVeigh made his Eagles debut in 2024, but Buckley has never made it past being a non-travelling reserve. A good season could propel him to a spot in the national conversation.