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DNVR Rugby Podcast: American Raptors Lock Haaken Friend and Denver Nuggets Center DeAndre Jordan

Colton Strickler Avatar
September 23, 2022
Podcovers Rugby 49

Colton starts off the show with “The Breakdown” presented by O’Neills by talking about the Denver Nuggets participating in an American Raptors’ rugby practice, he recaps Aspen Ruggerfest, talks about a few Raptors training with USA Rugby, and finishes with All of the Rugby You Can Watch this weekend presented by Wintergreen (0:00-10:34). After “The Breakdown”, Colton chats with American Raptor Haaken Friend about his football career, the hardest part about rugby, and how rugby is like baseball. (10:35-33:46). After the interview with Haaken, Colton asks Denver Nuggets center DeAndre Jordan about his first rugby practice (33:47-35:50) After both of these interviews presented by GuardLab, Colton talks about the tallest rugby union players of all time in the Stat of the Week presented by Catapult, assigns some “Required Reading”, and closes the show with “The Loop” presented by First Bank (35:51-39:46).

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Haaken Friend carries the ball in a match against Olympic Club at the 2022 Aspen Ruggerfest. (Photo: Colton Strickler)

Haaken Friend was a tight end at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri before finding a home as a lock for the American Raptors. The 6’6” tight end caught 50 passes for 745 yards and five touchdowns in 50 games for the Valor.

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DeAndre Jordan and the Denver Nuggets go through a training session with the American Raptors at Infinity Park. (Photo: Colton Strickler)

DeAndre Jordan is one of the newest members of the Denver Nuggets and got his first taste of rugby last Friday when the Nuggets dropped by the American Raptors’ captain’s run before their trip up to Aspen.

Please send in any questions you have about the American Raptors, rugby in Colorado, Major League Rugby, or American rugby as a whole to @DNVR_Rugby and @coltonstrickler on Twitter or leave a comment below.

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