Angus MacLellan Production Supervisor and U.S. Rugby Team Player

Angus MacLellan has a 30-minute commute to work, where he's the production supervisor at McClure Tables in Jenison, Mich.. This company creates high-end custom shuffleboard tables and block-cutting boards. There, he wears many hats: bookkeeper, finance, shipping, and of course, production supervisor. It's obvious that Angus likes what he's doing, and he does it well. “I'm incredibly lucky to work at McClure Tables,” he said. His position at McClure Tables complements his business interests, and now Angus is close to completing his MBA; with just 3 classes left, he'll soon have his master’s degree, and he's just 25. This will be his second degree.

But Angus has another passion in his life that requires much more of him physically. As his name has been circulating around in professional rugby circles, Angus MacLellan is a player to watch. He has traveled the world to compete against some of the world's greatest teams and is often seen playing the “prop” position, one of 3 power positions among the 8 forwards on a team. The props represent the team's brawn as they work hard to carry the ball into the opposition's stronghold. Angus explained that “everyone does everything in rugby, but my position is more specialized.”

Along with providing the blunt attack to the opposition, props also work in tandem with the forwards who push the ball upfield. More specifically, Angus plays what's called the “tight-head prop,” or prop #3, who is the team's main “scrum manager.” The importance of the tight-head can't be underestimated in modern sport. At 6-foot-1, 250 pounds, Angus started playing rugby at St. Francis High School in Traverse City, Michigan. There, he played with the Traverse City Alliance team.

Angus was recruited in his senior year and quickly mastered the game. Not long after his introduction to the sport, he was approached by college coaches. Having won a rugby scholarship in his senior year in 2010, Angus attended Davenport University in Grand Rapids the following year, playing with the Panthers; there, he captained the team and led them to two national D1-AA titles in 2011 and 2012. Other, shorter stints include playing for Trinity University in Dublin, Ireland, and Linwood Rugby Club in Christchurch, New Zealand. With encouragement from his coach, Kuger VanBiljon, he pursued international and professional rugby. In 2014, his senior year of undergrad, Angus was added to the U.S. national team in pursuit of the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Still, he tore a ligament in his knee (anterior cruciate ligament), a serious injury that eliminated his chances of making the U.S. roster. Recuperating nicely, and most recently, Angus became a member of five teams competing in the inaugural season of professional rugby in the U.S., PRO Rugby North America, making his pro rugby debut on April 17, 2017, as a member of the Ohio team. He is currently playing with the Chicago Lions, making a 3-hour round-trip commute 2-3 times a week to pursue his rugby career as well as a professional career at McClure. Since recovering from both a knee and ankle reconstruction in 2015 and 2016, he has made his way back to compete for a spot in the USA Eagles roster and a chance to play in the 2019 World Cup. Most recently,y he traveled to Uruguay to compete in the 2017 APC World Rugby Pacific Challenge, a tournament involving countries located in North and South America as well as the Pacific Islands, and started all three games for the US representative team against Samoa, Uruguay, and Canada.