Former Fort Lauderdale
Rugby earns his 2nd cap in rugby world Cup.
Dan Payne - 2007 USA Rugby Eagle
Former Player Thunder Dan (as he know in Fort Lauderdale)
Payne earned his second cap in the Rugby World Cup. He started at 8 man for the
Eagles vs. South Africa. Although US did not win I know all of Fort Lauderdale
Rugby players who had played with Thunder Dan were smiling while watching at the
game. It was great to see the former player run on to that field to start the
game. I thought he played a very good game but South Africa was just a great
team.
I remember when he fist showed up
at his first training not know too much but had the heart and the motor for the
game and could only say this guys is going to be good. His first game with the
Knight showed he could play going out and making a tone of tackles and knowing
what to do when he got the ball by scoring trys and making the other team look
like it was there first game even though they had been playing for Years. I do
not know how many trys he had but I do know it was fun to play along side of
him.
Once again Congratulation Thunder
Dan we are very proud of you and look forward to hooking up and hearing some
stories about the World Cup. See photo of Thunder Dan when he was a Fort
Lauderdale Knight located at the end of the page.
Note from Dan Payne 6/5/2007
Guys,
Not sure if any of you were following our recent tour of England in the
Churchill Cup. I was fortunate enough to be named to the eagle squad and then
earned my first cap in our 13-9 loss to Scotland. The long and short of it was
that it has been a long, long road to earn the right to play for the US.
However, in the midst of sending and receiving many emails over the past 3
weeks, I wanted to make sure I sent a letter back to the very club the I started
playing this game with.
The year I spent playing for FTL was a lot of fun and full of memories. We
almost pulled out the upset vs. Nashville up in South Carolina. Equally as
memorable as tearing my ACL in that game was the trip home that evening. The
trip still ranks up there in the top 10 of the 100's of trips I've taken around
the US and world playing rugby since then.
Most importantly, I still think of the friends and teammates I shared that first
year of rugby with. There was a piece of FTL rugby running onto the pitch to
compete for our country in England. I also thought of how far I'd traveled when
I ran out onto the Twickenham stadium pitch from the locker room last Saturday
and chuckled a bit when I thought of some of the early trainings at Mills Pond.
The pitch might have changed, but, the friendships and memories never do.
I might be officially linked to OMBAC as my current club. But, rest assured,
there's a piece of FTL that had an eagle representative this past month.
Thanks to you all and keep it up. You never know when that next player might
come through your program. I can only hope he has as rewarding and experience
with the Scarlet Knights as I did.
Please, pass my thanks onto as many of the guys as possible.
Best of luck in sevens over the summer. I've got another 2 months of training
to go in my attempt to remain on the squad for the World Cup. Keep your fingers
crossed.
Thunder Dan (that nickname never made it from FTL to San Diego)
Ps.... I got a tap on the shoulder from one of the security guards at the post
match banquet at Twickenham last Saturday after our game with Canada. He said
there was an old friend from Florida waiting for me at the door. Much to my
surprise, Gary Gershman, a former FTL rugger I haven't seen in 5 years, was
waiting out front. We found a local pub and shared a few beers and it was as if
no time had passed at all. THAT'S WHAT THIS GAME IS ALL ABOUT!!!
Photo of Dan when he was playing with Fort Lauderdale
Rugby.
