# Ohio Aviators (rugby union)

The Ohio Aviators are an American rugby union team that played professionally in the short lived PRO Rugby competition. They are based in the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area, and played their home games at Memorial Park in Obetz, Ohio. They are now playing in the newly formed World Tens Series.

## History

PRO Rugby announced on February 9, 2016 the addition of Columbus, Ohio as the league's third team. The selection of Columbus came as somewhat of a surprise, because the original PRO Rugby announcement in November 2015 did not mention that the competition planned to place a team in the midwest in the inaugural season. Ohio's inaugural season home opener was played on May 1, 2016. PRO Rugby revealed the team's nickname — the Ohio Aviators — on June 6, 2016, a reference to the Wright brothers who were from Ohio.

### 10's return

On September 9, 2020, the Aviators announced on their Instagram page their return to participate in the World Tens Series, occurring from October 24 through November 7, 2020 in Bermuda.

## Stadium

The Aviators during the 2016 season played their home games at Memorial Park in Obetz, a suburb of the Columbus metropolitan area. The Aviators planned to move to Fortress Obetz, on the site of the former Columbus Motor Speedway, starting with the 2017 season.

## 2016 roster

On December 20, 2016 all PRO Rugby players received notice their contracts will be terminated in 30 days if progress is not made towards resolving disputes between the league and USA Rugby.
The squad for the 2016 PRO Rugby season:
| Ohio roster |
| Props Demecus Beach Jamie Mackintosh (c) Angus MacLellan Anthony Parry Derrek Van Klein Hookers Dylan Fawsitt Chris Schade Locks Kyle Baillie Pierce Dargan Ryan McTiernan | Loose forwards Filippo Ferrarini Matt Hughston$^{INJ}$ Chad Joseph Sebastian Kalm Peter Malcolm Dominic Pezzutti Riekert Hattingh Scrum-halves Shaun Davies Robbie Shaw Sam McGuffie Fly-halves JP Eloff Taylor Howden Chris Kunkel | Centers Ryan Cochran Ahmad Harajly Zach Stryffeler Roland Suniula Dominic Waldouck Wingers Mason Baum Spike Davis Alex Elkins Shawn Riley Fullbacks Allan Hanson Zac Mizell |
| (c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped. |

### 2016 coaching staff

| Position | Name |
| Head coach | Paule Barford |
| Assistant coach | Paul Holmes |
| Assistant coach | Eamonn Hogan |

## Current players and staff
### Current roster

The squad for the 2020 World Tens Series:
| Ohio roster |
| Forwards Kyle Baillie Chris Baumann Dylan Fawsitt Riekert Hattingh Eric Howard Spencer Krueger Paddy Ryan John Sullivan Moni Tonga’uiha Brad Tucker | Backs Bryce Campbell Ben Cima JP Eloff Tiaan Loots Will Magie Taylor Howden Chris Kunkel Shawn Riley Christian Rodriguez Juan-Philip Smith Shalom Suniula Nick Feakes |
| (c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped. |

### Current coaching staff

| Position | Name |
| Head coach | Taylor Howden |
| Assistant coach | Kane Thompson |
| Manager | Zach Stryffeler |
| Medical Director | Richard Quincy |
| Director | Tom Rooney |

## World Tens Series
### 2020
#### Bermuda

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result |
| October 25, 2020 | Phoenix | Bermuda National Stadium | Won, 26-0 |
| October 25, 2020 | Rhinos | Bermuda National Stadium | Lost, 0-12 |
| October 25, 2020 | London Royals | Bermuda National Stadium | Lost, 10-11 |
| October 26, 2020 | Asia Pacific Dragons | Bermuda National Stadium | Won, 11–10 |
| October 26, 2020 | Miami Sun | Bermuda National Stadium | Lost, 10–11 |
| November 2, 2020 | Rhinos | Bermuda National Stadium | Won, 11–10 |
| November 2, 2020 | Phoenix | Bermuda National Stadium | Won, 22–0 |
| November 2, 2020 | Asia Pacific Dragons | Bermuda National Stadium | Lost, 16–20 |
| November 3, 2020 | London Royals | Bermuda National Stadium | Lost, 12–13 |
| November 3, 2020 | Miami Sun | Bermuda National Stadium | Lost, 17–17 |
| November 3, 2020 | SX10 | Bermuda National Stadium | Won, 14–10 |
| November 7, 2020 Quarterfinal | Miami Sun | Bermuda National Stadium | Won, 26–5 |
| November 7, 2020 Semifinal | London Royals | Bermuda National Stadium | Won, 12–7 |
| November 7, 2020 Final | SX10 | Bermuda National Stadium | Lost, 14–21 |

## Season summaries

C=Champions, R=Runners-up, W=Wooden Spoons :
| Competition | Games Played | Games Won | Games Drawn | Games Lost | Ladder Position | C | R | W | Coach | Details |
| 2016 PRO Rugby season | 12 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 2 / 5 | | | | Paule Barford | 2016 Ohio Aviators season |

### Leading players

| Season | Captain | Most tries | Most points |
| 2016 | Jamie Mackintosh | Spike Davis (14) | Shaun Davies (84) |

### Coaches

| Coach | Tenure | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Winning Percentage |
| Paule Barford | 2016 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 75% |
| Taylor Howden | 2020–present | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 50% |