John Manson joins Old Glory

The Washington based club has today announced that John Manson has been named Operations Manager, establishing him as the first full-time hire for the professional rugby team.

John Manson heads to Washington after serving as Rugby Operations Manager with Glasgow Warriors. During his tenure at Glasgow, the team won the Guinness Pro12 league championship in 2015 and made it to the European Rugby Champions Cup quarterfinals in 2017 and 2019. Before Glasgow Warriors, Manson spent nine years with Scottish Rugby as Scotland U18 Manager, Scotland U20 Manager, and Scotland 7s Team Manager.

In 1995, Manson was one of the first players to sign a professional contract with Scottish Rugby, playing professionally for the Caledonia Reds and representing the Scotland National team before stepping into various managerial roles within the sport.

John’s appointment will initially take the form of a 24 month secondment from Scottish Rugby, and is an excellent example of the new partnership in action between Scottish Rugby and Old Glory.

John Manson said: “The opportunity to move to Washington DC and continue to work within rugby was one that I really couldn’t turn down. During my visit earlier this year I saw first-hand the genuine enthusiasm there is to bring professional rugby to DC. This along with the owners’ vision for the club and the huge potential the area has in terms of coach and player development made it an easy choice.”

​“The support of Scottish Rugby and growing the link between Old Glory DC and professional rugby in Scotland was something that also made the role very attractive.”

John Manson

Scottish Rugby’s Chief Operating Officer and Old Glory DC Board Director, Dominic McKay said: “I am delighted that someone with John’s calibre is going to be taking on the role of Operations Manager at Old Glory DC. It is going to be a really exciting season ahead and I am confident that John will thrive in this environment. I wish him all the best and look forward to working with him in his new role.”

Old Glory Chairman Chris Dunlavey said on the appointment: “We’ve completed a thorough search for an Operations Manager, combing through candidates from the local market and our rugby community as well as around the world. Hands down, John was the best candidate we could have found.”

Owner, Paul Sheehy, added: “If we’re going to build one of the great rugby organisations in the world, we’ll need to draw on all of rugby’s best practices and traditions, and John can help us do that. This is another in a series of examples of how Old Glory’s partnership with Scottish Rugby will yield synergies that will work to the benefit of both organisations.”