Milwaukee rugby player joins USA Selects at the Americas Championship.

The Milwaukee Barbarians Athletic Club today announced that Pewaukee native Ben Landry has been called up to join the USA Selects who are set to face Canada “A” and Uruguay in the Americas Rugby Championship (ARC). Due to an injury to Graham Harriman, two-time collegiate All-American Landry received the call late Saturday night and was on a plane Sunday morning to join the US team at the championship in Victoria, British Columbia (Canada). 

Landry has been playing rugby since middle school in an amateur career extending through high school and college where he played for both UW Platteville and UW Whitewater. In 2013, he joined the collegiate All Americans — an all-star team sponsored by USA Rugby — on a tour of New Zealand. With both size and athleticism, Landry was successful at a number of other sports in college including basketball and football where he joined the team as a preferred walk-on. 

Weighing in at 245 lbs with a 6’5” frame, Landry is a formidable presence in any rugby match. He currently plays  club rugby with the Milwaukee Barbarians and has a starting lock position for the Division 1 side. In his six matches this season for the Barbarians, he has scored 3 tries. Landry is the second Barbarian to receive attention from USA selectors. In February, Aaron Young was invited to an Eagles selection camp.

Now with the USA Selects through Oct. 19th, Landry has begun training in Victoria and remains hopeful to be included on the 23-man starting roster for Wednesday’s match against Canada. 

In August, Landry signed with Premier Rugby Management with the hope of finding a professional rugby contract overseas. Being selected for the USA Selects greatly increases Landry’s chances of playing for America’s top national team, the Eagles, and thus being viewed by international selectors.