Brendan O'Meara - Anthem Rugby MLR

·1 hr 29 min·2 clips

Brendan O'Meara says the step into MLR came from a call about "an assistant coach for the MLR" and an academy role.

Brendo's rugby story starts close to home. Nate opens by introducing him as a good friend and his first rugby coach, then lays out the broader arc with Brendo's Northern California club background, his coaching roots at St. Mary's, and his current role with Anthem in North Carolina. The Anthem connection matters. The show treats that program as part of the pathway into USA Rugby and the Eagles, and the discussion keeps circling back to how players and coaches can see that lane as real rather than abstract. The tone stays personal. Brendo's journey comes across as a mix of risk and steady learning, with Nate clearly appreciating how he kept moving forward without pretending to know everything. That idea keeps returning. The conversation treats rugby development as bigger than one club or one season, and Brendo's story becomes a reminder that the game grows through people who keep showing up, taking chances, and bringing others with them. There is also a coach's-eye thread. Brendo talks about being a student of the game, and the episode leans into the idea that the work matters as much as any title attached to it. One of the strongest stretches looks back. He recalls a time when he was asked about an academy coaching setup and realized his assistant coach might be Isaac Ross, a player he had followed in college from afar during the Super Rugby days. That moment lands. He names the old thrill of being an American rugby nerd who had watched those same players on a laptop in college and then suddenly found himself in the room with them. The staff around him was strong. Mark Gerrard, Jamie McIntosh, and Simon Thomas all enter the story, and Brendo makes clear that the quality of those people mattered, but so did the way they treated him with respect. No ego, just work. He describes Gerrard making space for him, sharing responsibilities, and letting the relationship become collaborative rather than territorial, which gives the whole segment a grounded coaching feel. The close turns direct. Brendo finishes by urging listeners to act like the player or coach they want to become, because the sacrifice only works if they actually start.

As heard by us

A grounded rugby story about coaching, risk, and the road upward.

The episode follows Brendan O'Meara's conversation with Nate Delaney through a rugby path shaped by coaching, playing, and staying open to learning. It traces Brendan O'Meara's Northern California playing roots, his coaching start at St.

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Why you'd press play

Hear how a Northern California rugby path leads to Anthem and the Eagles pathway conversation.

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