AG Signs Canadian International Wing Cole Davis

AUSTIN, TX (November 19, 2020) Austin Gilgronis is thrilled to announce the signing of Canadian speedster, Cole Davis. Davis is capped for both the Canadian International 15s side and 7s World Series squad, he looks to make an instant impact in the AG’s deep winger stable.

“I’m looking to come over and win, make an impact and just play my role,” says Davis. “Winning it all would be huge, you don’t go to a new team without high expectations, so the onus is on us to put ourselves in the running, win games, make the playoffs, and have a run at the title.”

Davis is excited to chase a championship alongside a handful of Canadian teammates down in Austin. He gets coffee once a week with fellow AG signed Canadian winger, Jeff Hassler. Hassler played a role in influencing Davis’ decision to join Austin, as did AG flanker and fellow Canadian Moe Abdelmonem.

“Moe [Abdelmonem] has been down in Austin a couple of years, but I talked with him quite a bit before I signed with Austin actually,” says Davis. “He said he loved Austin and that the team went through a tough spot a couple of seasons back but that he had a lot of belief in the new group and that influenced my decision a lot.”

Sam Harris is loving the depth he’s now got at wing; pairing newcomers Jeff Hassler and Cole Davis with incumbents Rodrick Waters and Frank Halai. Harris loves what Davis brings to the unit, “Cole brings a big, fast and powerful body, and he has a big motor, which means a huge work rate off the ball – constantly looking for holes or mismatches; defensively he’s very confident in his read and tackle effectiveness.”

AG’s head coach Sam Harris also acknowledges there will certainly be a Canadian flare in the AG roster this season with three international-level additions to his roster in Jeff Hassler, Cole Davis join Moe Abdelmonem in Austin with one Canadian addition to be announced, “with four Canadians in the squad, there is a bit of a pipeline forming to Texas; what all four players bring is an international experience.”

Davis hopes to represent Canada in the next World Cup and is still able to represent Canada while playing in the United States for the AGs. Davis sought guidance from Rob Howley and other RugbyCanada officials, “I talked to the national body and coaches before making my decision and they said ‘of course, we want you to play at the highest level no matter where that is and we’re happy to support that,’ so Canada is definitely still a possibility for me.”

Australian Connection 

Cole Davis grew up playing hockey in a small town in Alberta and dreamed of being a professional athlete on the ice. In tenth grade, he found rugby, a sport that would not only deliver him his professional athlete opportunity but set Davis on a journey traveling the world. After high school, Davis jumped at an opportunity to ship off to Australia to compete in the Brumbies academy. Davis was immersed in Australian rugby culture and fell deeper in love with the game and the grind. After a year of training with the academy, he earned selection into the Brumbies Under 20 squad, which then caught RugbyCanada’s eye and led the international team to bring the now evolved winger back to compete for country in both 7s and 15s.

Little did Davis know, a few years later it would be the Aussies that would come through for him once again. Amidst AG’s head coach Sam Harris’ vetting process, it was Davis’ former Brumbies coaches that would put in a good word for the hungry Canadian wing. “It was Cole’s 15s tape that caught my eye, but I also have friends that previously coached Cole,” says Harris. “He comes with glowing recommendations and I am attracted to players that have a hunger for improvement, Cole has that.”

A couple of months ago, Cole Davis was fielding phone calls from a handful of MLR teams but it was Sam Harris and Mark Gerrard that sealed the deal on the phone.

“I talked with the two coaches Sam [Harris] and Mark [Gerrard] and I got a lot of belief in what they’re building and what they’ve told me about ownership and it was something I wanted to be a part of,” says Davis. “I’ve heard nothing but good things about the city of Austin and never heard anything bad, and I got the sense that the team that’s building here can do something really special this year.”

Welcome to the AGs, Cole Davis!