Marno Redelinghuys says he never thought he would one day captain the USA Eagles, seven years after first touching down in the States.
The 33-year-old from Klerksdorp, who played Varsity Cup rugby for Pukke and Maties and represented Western Province and the Stormers, leads the USA XV against Australia A in New Jersey on Friday night.
“I don’t think I could have imagined back then that I’d one day be in a position to captain a USA side,” Redelinghuys told RugbyPass.
“When I first came over [here], I was just looking for an opportunity to play rugby, challenge myself and see where the game could take me.”
TEAM: Kriel on bench as Saffa leads USA
The team has a distinct South African flavour with ex-Junior Boks flyhalf David Coetzer at fullback, Wayne van der Bank in the midfield and Ruben de Haas at scrumhalf. Another centre, former Junior Bok Dan Kriel, is on the bench.
Leading the team means a great deal to Redelinhuys.
“It was a really proud and special moment for me,” he said. “To be given the opportunity to captain is something I don’t take lightly. It’s a huge honour. It means a lot to know the coaches and the group have that trust in me.”
His path to the Eagles began with Rugby ATL in the 2020 Major League Rugby season, followed by spells at the Houston SaberCats and the Seattle Seawolves, who he joined for 2026. He made his Test debut against Belgium in July 2025 and has since become an important part of coach Scott Lawrence’s pack.
Redelinghuys starts at blindside flank at Sports Illustrated Stadium as the Eagles look to bounce back from last weekend’s 61-12 defeat to the same opposition.
“The result last week wasn’t what we wanted,” he said. “There’s a lot of belief in this group, and the boys are really motivated to put things right.”
Photo: marno_redelinghuys/Instagram
The post Marno: Huge honour to captain USA appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Marno Redelinghuys says he never thought he would one day captain the USA Eagles, seven years after first touching down in the States.
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