Scrumhalf Connor Buckley Back for Third Season

By Alistair Kirsch-Poole
Jan 20, 2026 - 12:00pm

Scrumhalf Connor Buckley will return for a third season with Old Glory and his sixth in the league overall. The 26-year-old is set to be the unquestioned starter after the departure of Ethan McVeigh, though other talented young Americans will be on the roster.

He started his rugby career in high school, helping his team 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 22 minutes, but he quickly increased that the next year to 14 matches played, 8 of them starts, for 480 minutes played. By 2023 he was New York's primary scrumhalf, playing in 16 matches with 11 starts for 800 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.

In 2025 he managed to take the edge in the competition, starting in 13 of his 15 appearances and playing for 886 total minutes. His consistently good and fast delivery from the base of the rucks and improvements to his defense made him the go-to for the starting spot. His performance earned him an All-MLR honorable mention, essentially singling him out as one of the top three scrumhalves in the league.

Despite becoming the preferred scrumhalf at Old Glory and one of the best domestic scrumhalves in the league, he still hasn't managed to break in to the Eagles squad. While he's been named as a reserve multiple times, it's been McVeigh who has had the eye of the national team coaches. Buckley will be looking to make such a clear case for himself this season that the national team can no longer ignore him.

To do that, he will need to hold on to his status as OGDC's starting scrumhalf. His challengers will be long-time OGDC player John Lefevre, who's main strengths are his speed and sevens experience, and 2024 draftee Aidan Ridgeway, a rookie from South Africa who was prevented from playing last season by visa issues. Both will need to take a step forward in their development to seriously contend for a starting spot, leaving Buckley the clear front-runner.