USA Rugby All-American Got Running Start on Seekonk Fields

Ashley George originally went to Stonehill College with plans to run track, as she had at Seekonk High School. But when she arrived at school, a classmate suggested she try rugby. So, they went to a practice.

"I honestly don't think I had any idea of what it was until I got there," said George, remembering her first trip to rugby practice.

She had never played a team sport save a few seasons of basketball when she was younger, and described herself as "instantly hooked," on the competition.

George moved around the field in her time with the Skyhawks rugby team, but always had an impact. She says some of this is due to her career in the Seekonk track program. "The most important lesson was mental toughness," said George, who also cited her background in running, because she was already in top shape when she started playing rugby.

Seekonk sports fans will not be shocked to hear that Ashley starred in rugby at Stonehill. She has a serious athletic pedigree aside from her own accomplishments as a Warrior.

Al George, Ashley's uncle, is a member of the Seekonk High School Athletic Hall of Fame due to his basketball playing. Ryan George, the pitcher who led Seekonk's baseball team to its best finish ever back in 2006, is Ashley's older brother. Branden George, the baseball team's current number one starter, is Ashley's younger brother.

So is there something in the water at the George household? "I actually think that everyone in my family is a talented athlete, including cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandmas," said Ashley, who would not say she was the best athlete in the family, despite being the only All-American. But she did have one jab for her brothers and uncle, "I am by far the toughest—they play a relatively non-contact sport."

Ashley also has the most championship hardware in the family. When she was a Freshman at Stonehill College, she started on a Division III national championship team. The team came in second in the national tournament the following year. After those two performances, the team jumped from Division III to Division II.

George has now graduated from Stonehill College and now works in hospital administration at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. She hopes to play some form of rugby in the future.