Rob Harley Re-Signed for 2025

By Alistair Kirsch-Poole
Dec 1, 2024 - 3:00pm

Old Glory has announced the re-signing of lock Rob Harley. The 34-year-old Scottish international came in as one of the experienced player on the team last year, having made his professional rugby debut back in 2010 with the Glasgow Warriors. He proceeded to rack up a mind-boggling 267 caps, an all-time record for the club, for an astonishing 18,000 minutes played at the top level of club rugby.

He left the Warriors in 2022 to play for US Carcassone in Pro D2, then moved to Colomiers when Carcassone was relegated to Nationale 1. He earned a total of 38 more caps between the those two clubs, putting him over 300 matches of professional rugby before he signed for Old Glory DC in 2024.

He also had a long career internationally, playing in 15 matches for Scotland U20s before being called up to the senior squad in 2012. He would go on to get 23 caps over 9 years, with his last cap coming in 2021.

Harley was one of the big signings for Old Glory in 2024, and he certainly delivered on that promise. He played in 15 matches for the club, 14 of them starts, for a total of 1,175 minutes played. He also worked hard in that time, with the second most attacking breakdown arrivals on the team, the second most tackles on the team, and the second most dominant tackles in the entire league.

It's hard to imagine a significant reduction in role for Harley in 2025, given his extensive experience and quality play last season. Still, the lock position will be crowded next season with plenty of young American-qualified talent. If we do see Harley less, it will likely be to provide him some more rest throughout the season and provide the younger players with opportunities to take the field.