Indianan scrum-half Jake Christmann played in Major League Rugby between 2018-2020. He represented the Glendale Raptors (2018), the Utah Warriors (2019), and the Houston Sabercats (2020).

A native of Indianapolis, IN, Jake Christmann began playing rugby while at high school in Indiana. He spent a year playing with Fylde RFC in the north of England in 2017 before returning to the US. alongside playing club rugby with the Chicago Lions. Christmann signed with the Glendale Raptors ahead of MLR’s inaugural season in 2018, where he backed up USA Eagle Shaun Davies. Despite being only 19 during the 2018 campaign, Christmann earned 5 appearances for the Raptors including 4 starts to help the Raptors finish 1st in the regular season that year. They would eventually finish as MLR’s Runners-up, falling to the Seattle Seawolves in the Championship Game.

Following his season in Colorado, Christmann headed to Utah and signed with the Warriors for the 2019 season. Unfortunately a serious leg injury ruled him out of the entire MLR campaign that year, although he did recover to represent the USA U20s against Canada in the fall of 2019. Christmann then moved from Utah to join the Houston SaberCats for the 2020 season, featuring in the ‘Cats pre-season contests but not at MLR level before the season was cancelled after only 5 rounds due to COVID-19.

After his time in Houston, Christmann returned to Utah but not to rugby, instead playing Aussie Rules Football with the Utah-based Wasatch Wargulls. He also runs a clothing company, Wool-e.

achievements

• 2018 MLR Runner-Up: Glendale Raptors