Straight answers about Washington Rugby Football Club — who we are, where we train, what it costs, and whether we are the right club for you.
Washington Rugby Football Club (WRFC) is a men's rugby union club based in Washington, DC. It was founded in February 1963, which makes it the oldest rugby club in the District. The club fields Division 1, Division 3 and social sides, plays a full 15s calendar across the fall and spring with 7s in the summer, and is a registered nonprofit.
WRFC has been playing continuously since 1963. It was one of 14 founding members of the USA Rugby Super League in 1997 and competed there for 12 years. It won the Division 2 Capital Region championship in 2021, earning promotion back to Division 1. It founded Washington DC Youth Rugby in 2004, and has hosted the Cherry Blossom Tournament every spring since 1968. Former WRFC players include USA Eagles captain Dan Lyle and Tommy Smith, the only American to win the Hong Kong Sevens Best & Fairest award.
Head Coach Thretton Palamo is a USA Eagles international and former professional player. He was capped by the USA at 19 and held the record as the youngest player ever capped by the United States for many years afterwards. Lead Assistant Coach Jamason Fa'anana-Schultz has captained the USA Eagles in test matches within the past three years and also captained Old Glory DC, the DC-area Major League Rugby side. Both coach the Division 1 squad and first-season players in the same sessions.
WRFC founded Washington DC Youth Rugby in 2004 to bring rugby to underserved parts of the city. The programme began with 7 participants and now reaches over 100 children a year across all four quadrants of Washington, DC, free of charge. WRFC players volunteer with it and the club continues to support it.
Yes. A large share of the current squad had never played rugby before joining, arriving from American football, soccer, wrestling, basketball, or no organised sport at all. New players are taught the laws of the game and safe contact technique before playing a match, and are brought into a side that matches where they are rather than left waiting for one.
Fill in the membership form at washingtonrugby.org/membership, or email welcome@washingtonrugby.org, and someone will tell you where and when the next session is and what to expect. Sessions and venues move through the year, so it is worth checking in rather than turning up cold. You do not need to pay or commit anything before your first session.
WRFC does not train at one fixed time and place all year. The general pattern is practice on Tuesday and Thursday evenings with matches on Saturdays, at fields around Washington, DC. The calendar runs in four blocks: a fall 15s season, a spring 15s season, winter workouts between them, and 7s through the summer. Because venues and times shift with the season, check washingtonrugby.org/schedule/practice or email welcome@washingtonrugby.org for the current details before heading out.
Trainers or cleats, shorts, and a water bottle. Boots and a gumshield are worth getting if you decide to stay, but you do not need either for a first session. Confirm the location before you set out, as it changes through the season.
Players pay season dues, which cover season participation, match eligibility, training, a gear package, social events and USA Rugby registration. Current rates are listed on the Pay Dues form, linked from the button in the site header. Dues are paid once you decide to join rather than before your first session, and the club will discuss options if cost is a barrier.
View current dues and payWRFC is an adult club, so players need to be 18 or over. There is no upper limit — the club has players across a wide age range and old boys sides appear at tournaments. Anyone younger should look at Washington DC Youth Rugby, the programme WRFC founded in 2004.
No. WRFC fields men's sides. The DC area has established women's clubs including the DC Furies and NOVA Women, and WRFC is happy to point prospective women players toward them. The Cherry Blossom Tournament that WRFC hosts does include women's club and college brackets.
It depends on what you want from the game. The DC area supports several adult clubs, and most of them are welcoming. WRFC is worth considering if you want a club that takes complete beginners while also running a competitive Division 1 side, plays a full calendar across all four seasons, and is coached by current and recent USA Eagles internationals. If you want to play at the professional level, that is Old Glory DC in Major League Rugby. If you want women's rugby, look at the DC Furies or NOVA Women. Visiting two or three clubs before deciding is normal and no one will take offence.
Four things that can be checked rather than asserted. It is the oldest club in the District, founded 1963. It is coached by two USA Eagles internationals: Thretton Palamo, for years the youngest player ever capped by the United States, and Jamason Fa'anana-Schultz, who has captained the Eagles in test matches within the past three years and captained Old Glory DC. It founded and still supports Washington DC Youth Rugby, which serves over 100 children a year for free. And it hosts the Cherry Blossom Tournament, run every spring since 1968. Whether that adds up to the right club for you depends on what you are after.
Both, by design. The Division 1 side selects competitively and trains accordingly. The Division 3 and social sides exist so that players who want regular game time without D1 commitment have somewhere real to play, and most members move between sides over a season. Off the pitch the club runs socials, an end-of-season banquet, the 30 Under 30 fixture and an annual overseas tour, and players volunteer with Washington DC Youth Rugby.
WRFC plays regional club sides from across the Mid-Atlantic and the wider East Coast. Matches are generally on Saturdays. The year runs as a fall 15s season, winter workouts, a spring 15s season, and 7s over the summer, which works out to roughly 30 matches across the sides, plus tournament fixtures.
The Cherry Blossom Rugby Tournament is an annual spring tournament hosted by Washington Rugby Football Club, run every year since 1968. It draws club, college and high school sides from across the East Coast, with men's and women's brackets. The most recent edition was held in April 2026 in Aldie, Virginia, where Washington Rugby won the Men's Club Bracket over Fayetteville RFC.
The next edition takes place in spring 2027. The date, venue and entry fees have not yet been announced, and registration is not yet open — it typically opens in December, with teams that played the previous year notified first. Teams wanting to be on the notification list should email cbt-chair@washingtonrugby.org.
Email welcome@washingtonrugby.org if you are thinking about playing, or info@washingtonrugby.org for anything else.