Christendom Graduate Jimmy Coffey Sets Sights on Major League Rugby

Jimmy Coffey arrived at Christendom College four years ago having never played rugby. On Thursday, Aug. 27, the former Crusader could hear his name called for an opportunity to play the sport professionally.

Coffey, an Omaha, Nebraska, native and recent Christendom graduate, is among the prospects for the 2026 Major League Rugby College Draft. After becoming a multiple All-American during his college career, the prop is hoping to make the jump to North America’s top professional rugby league.

In a recent Town Talk, Coffey talked about the unlikely path that brought him to rugby, his years at Christendom, and what he hopes comes next.

“So, the association I’m going for is I’m applying for the Major League Rugby draft, which is basically just like the NBA for rugby in America,” Coffey said. “I’ve applied for the draft there, which is in a couple of days, and I’m hoping to get picked up by a team and hopefully play at the highest level.”

Playing professionally would mark another chapter in a sports career that has taken several unexpected turns.

Coffey grew up playing baseball, but after injuring his arm in high school, he turned his attention to powerlifting. He added about 100 pounds as he developed into a competitive lifter, eventually winning an individual state championship and helping his team capture two state titles.

His strength also carried him into strongman competition. At 16, Coffey won a competition against competitors in their mid-20s and older.

Rugby, however, wasn’t on his radar.

Coffey said a parish priest back home, Father Audino, first suggested the sport after learning he planned to attend Christendom. Audino had played rugby at St. Gregory the Great Academy in Pennsylvania and encouraged Coffey to give it a try.

When Coffey visited Christendom during his junior year of high school, rugby players on campus made the same pitch.

“I had never played a contact sport, so I was a little bit skeptical getting into it,” Coffey recalled. But the team’s atmosphere and sense of community caught his attention.

He gave rugby a try, and it didn’t take long for that decision to pay off.

Coffey started as a loosehead prop during his freshman year before moving to tighthead prop. Both positions put him in the front row of the scrum, an area where his size and powerlifting background proved useful.

Over four seasons, Coffey developed into one of the Crusaders’ most accomplished players. He was selected to three Mid-Atlantic All-Star teams, earned two National Collegiate Rugby Division III All-American honors, and helped Christendom win two conference championships.

He also earned First-Team All-Conference recognition and a spot on an NCR High Performance All-American team.

The accomplishments are especially notable considering how little Coffey knew about the game when he arrived in Front Royal.

During the Town Talk, he offered a simple explanation of what happens when he gets the ball: look for an opening in the defense — or someone to go through.

“You’re kind of looking for gaps in the defense,” Coffey said. “Or just someone to run over. So, which is what I like to do.”

Coffey primarily plays 15s rugby, which places 15 players from each team on the field. His position as a prop requires strength in the scrum as well as the ability to carry the ball and contribute around the field.

Now, those skills could earn him an opportunity at the next level.

Coffey recently moved to the Front Royal area from Nebraska and said that landing with a team near Washington, D.C., would be an ideal outcome, as it would allow him to remain close to the community where his rugby career began.

While waiting to see what happens professionally, he plans to stay involved with Christendom rugby. Coffey said he will coach alongside Jim Conrad and work in construction. Club rugby in Front Royal or elsewhere in Northern Virginia is another possibility.

His plans also extend well beyond the rugby field.

Coffey graduated from Christendom with an English degree. He is the oldest of nine siblings and has spent much of his life helping his father in the family’s stone fabrication business. Eventually, he said, he may return to Nebraska and take over the company.

For now, he wants the opportunity to build a life of his own and find out how far rugby can take him.

“The idea is I am hopefully working to take over my father’s company back in Nebraska,” Coffey said. “But to make sure that that’s something I want to do, I kind of need to get away for a little bit.”

Along the way, Coffey said he hopes to represent his family, Christendom and his Catholic faith if he earns a place in the professional ranks.

Whatever happens when the Major League Rugby College Draft arrives Aug. 27, Coffey’s college career already represents a remarkable climb — from a freshman who had never played a contact sport to a multiple All-American seeking a professional opportunity.

And if his name is called, the sport he discovered almost by accident at Christendom will have carried him from a college walk-on to professional rugby.

Town Talk, sponsored by National Media Services, Inc., is a Royal Examiner series that introduces you to local entrepreneurs, business owners, nonprofit leaders, and public officials who help shape Warren County. Conversations cover a wide range of topics about our community and the people making a difference.