We were joined on the Popternative show by the Chicago Hounds’ own Nate Augspurger, Dylan Fawsitt, Noah Brown, Charlie Able and director Alex Donnelly to talk about the new docuseries, The United States of Rugby. The series is now streaming on Roku with new episodes releasing every Friday.
The United States of Rugby follows the Chicago Hounds’ second season in Major League Rugby as they look to establish themselves, the league and the sport in America ahead of the USA Rugby World Cup in 2031.
When asked about his thoughts about what The United States of Rugby would look like when their team would be the focus, Augspurger was pretty excited to see what Alex Donnelly would do.
“You’re not too sure when someone says a camera crew is going to be around like how deep they’re going to go,” Augspurger said. “But when Alex and his crew showed up we knew they were going to be following us all season.
“We knew it was going to be a big project, and you know, as a player, an excellent opportunity to grow our game by letting people see what it’s like and get access to what we do on a daily basis, and how hard we work and all those good things.”
Additionally, director Alex Donnelly also spoke about what it was like to balance what the Hounds were doing with the general history of rugby itself.
“I think the League has done a fantastic job of sort of putting us in a position where we had access to history,” Donnelly said. “We had access to the narrative from the beginning to now, so that was taken care of in terms of telling the story of the season, we kind of let it unfold in front of us.”
“There was apprehension on our part, too. We’re coming in, and we don’t want to be a burden right? We want to be able to document this and also let them succeed. Let them do their thing, and make this season what they want it to be, without interjecting or moving too many pieces along the way. So there’s a lot of moving parts.”
Furthermore, Fawsitt and Brown went more in-depth when asked if they encountered anyone having misconceptions about rugby as a sport itself:
“The only thing I think that we lack in America is not [that many] people know about it,” Fawsitt said. “That’s for us to spearhead and to inspire. That’s what it is like. We truly love this sport.”
“I believe it’s the best in the world, and I love every minute of it. So if somebody else can get the same enjoyment. Well, then, you know I do. I truly believe this is for America.”
“Some people are just completely unaware of it. If I say, I play Rugby sometimes, they’ll be like, ‘Oh, that’s like the stick in the ball right?’ And they’re talking about lacrosse. And then I’m always just like putting my head in my hands,” Brown added.
“So this is perfect. If we can get some traction on this, then people actually know what I’m talking about. That’d be phenomenal.”
In addition, Donnelly also mentioned how the team had to deal with different stakeholders, fans, and so many others when it came to representing the Chicago Hounds’ journey in The United States of Rugby.
“In terms of stakeholders, we were on the ground,” Donnelly said. “My only focus was just making sure that I told these guys stories as authentically as I could.”
“We were only ever concerned about the human centered part of this narrative. The games were amazing, and the boys put on an amazing show every week for us. The games that we were able to capture look crazy, and the tries are awesome.”
A new episode of The United States of Rugby will drop every Friday at 8PM ET on Roku through April 4.
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Christopher Gallardo is a freelance entertainment writer and critic. While not running The Reel Roller, Chris can be found writing reviews and breakdowns on all things films and TV. Outside of entertainment writing, he’s currently taking classes for a Bachelor’s of Science with a minor in Digital Media & Journalism. Plus, he loves Percy Jackson, animated films and shows, and Fallout! Follow Christopher on Instagram & X.