USRF Names 2007 IRANZ Grant Recipients

San Diego, CA (July 10, 2007) – The United States Rugby Foundation is pleased to announce that Shawn Pittman and Hamish Roberts have been selected as this year’s International Rugby Academy of New Zealand grant recipients.Pittman, a 6’3″, 250 lb. prop from Chuckanut Bay, WA, and Roberts, a flyhalf from Woodlands, TX with 11 U19 caps to his credit, were members of this year’s successful United States U19 team that played in the World Championships in Dublin. They will take part in the Advanced Player’s course at the IRANZ Institute at Massey University in Palmerston North in August.United States U19 coach, Salty Thompson, was looking forward to watching the development of the two young players.“I’m excited about the future of these players. They are committed to making themselves the best players possible and both have a goal of playing for the National Team. I’m expecting the IRANZ experience to be a great benefit to Shawn and Hamish.”The USRF would like to thank Air New Zealand and TravelCorp for their continued support of the Rugby Foundation and its IRANZ grant program.The USRF is a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization established in 1963. Although its main focus is supporting youth and high school rugby, the Foundation also provides grants to coaches and referees; establishes international student exchanges and college scholarships, has assisted the United States Collegiate All-Americans and Boys Under-19 teams, and also provides grants to Safety and Risk Management Research.For more information about the Foundation, go to its website at: www.usrugbyfoundation.org.