Sean Rutgerson

Sean Rutgerson (born 9 February 1978) is the former head coach of the United States and a former professional rugby league footballer. His primary position was as , but he also played in the . Over his career, Rutgerson played for the North Sydney Bears and the Canberra Raiders in the Australian National Rugby League, the Salford City Reds in the Super League and the Jacksonville Axemen in the AMNRL.

Playing career Rutgerson started his professional career in Australia with the North Sydney, where he played. After two years at North Sydney, he moved to the Canberra Raiders where he spent four years and scored his first try at the top level.

He signed for Salford City Reds in 2004 and played three seasons in Super League. He then moved to the US, where he played for the Jacksonville Axemen and also took on a coaching role at the club.

In the 2000 Rugby League World Cup Rutgerson represented South Africa. In all three games for South Africa, Rutgerson started in the , rather than his typical position as .

Coaching Rutgerson was appointed assistant coach of the USA national team under Brian McDermott in 2015, eventually taking over from McDermott as head coach in 2018. Rutgerson, who was also head coach of the United States women's team, stepped down from both roles at the end of 2025.