TRU Announces HOF Class of 2022

A legendary women’s national team player, a former Texas Rugby Union president, and a Dallas Harlequins stalwart comprise the TRU Hall of Fame Class of 2022 that will be inducted at the Union’s annual banquet in Houston, August 27.

Meredith OttensMeredith Ottens of the Austin Valkyries earned 30 caps and represented her country at three World Cups. She captained both the Western and Midwest USA All Star teams, and captained the Austin Valkyries for seven years after having previously done so for her club in Minnesota. She served Austin as a coach, including head coach, for a decade. She was named national Forward Of The Year by Goff on Rugby in 2003, and was named tighthead prop of the decade by Rugby Magazine for the 2000s. Other career highlights include coaching a high school girls team, and conducting clinics at all age levels across the country.

Gerry AcunaGerry Acuna is one of five excellent rugby playing brothers, but he earned his HOF chops as President of the Texas Rugby Union, leading it through four challenging years while also serving on the Board of the Western USA Rugby Union. He started with Corpus Christi RFC while still in HS and became a leader of the Austin Huns before and after attending UT. Gerry is an original member of the Huns Hall of Fame and led the effort to host the 1996 USA Rugby National D-I and D-II National Championships, the first in Texas.

Keith EngelbrechtBesides having been an excellent player, Keith Engelbrecht is well regarded as a founder of the USA Super League, the first true cross country elite club competition that was the forerunner of the professional leagues that followed. He was a fixture on the Dallas Harlequins First XV for a decade, often serving as the game day captain during a run that saw the club win ten TRU Championships. Keith also was also a TRU All Star player, winning six Western USA titles. Administratively, he served as President of the Quins, TRU Treasurer, and as a Board Member of the USA Rugby Foundation. He is the brother of Michael Engelbrecht, a 2019 Hall of Fame inductee.

Woodlands RFC - 2001 USA Rugby Men's National Champions
Woodlands RFC – 2001 USA Rugby Men’s XVs National Champions

The awards dinner will also recognize The Woodlands RFC 2001 National D-II Championship side as this year’s Honor Team. An exciting new addition to the program will be the presentation of the first ever Hall of Fame Meritorious Service Awards in the Club, Collegiate and High School/Youth categories. The highlight of this portion of the program will be the naming of the inaugural recipient of the Alan Sharpley Memorial Award. Sharpley, a Texas rugby icon and a member of the first Hall of Fame Class in 2016, passed away in 2021.

The Hall of Fame Class of 2022 will be inducted at the TRU HOF and Awards Banquet on August 27 at the Doubletree-Greenway Hotel in Houston in conjunction with the annual TRU Summit conference

Reserve your hotel room for the weekend and purchase banquet tickets here: https://www.texasrugbyunionhof.com/2022-hof-celebration/.

The hotel room block is available a first come, first reserve basis and bookings must be made by August 12.

Please also note that ticket sales will close August 22.