![\"Sherman](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/regissue.sp_.Rugby_.nbk_.9.3.25.B.courtesy.jpg\")
Sherman runs with the ball tucked under his arm as an opposing player attempts to drag him down by his leg. (Courtesy of William Sherman)<\/p>\nThere is an immense knowledge spectrum when it comes to UCLA sports.<\/p>\n
The older generations probably know the most, having the largest sample of data that includes living through Westwood\u2019s athletic prime \u2013 the likes of John Wooden, Al Scates, Andy Banachowski and Terry Donahue.<\/p>\n
The newer generations know of men\u2019s basketball and gymnastics dominance \u2013 with Lonzo Ball and Russell Westbrook taking the world by storm through their electric play and even greater personalities. All of social media saw Katelyn Ohashi\u2019s perfect 10 on floor \u2013 an exciting dance and tumbling routine that took the internet by storm. <\/p>\n
And if someone just started watching UCLA sports, they may only know Lauren Betts \u2013 a leader of a resurging women\u2019s basketball program looking to reclaim its prestige on campus. Or maybe they know of UCLA men\u2019s water polo \u2013 a reigning championship squad led by a duo of Olympic brothers.<\/p>\n
Yet even the most prolific UCLA aficionados likely do not know about William Sherman.<\/p>\n
They are about to.<\/p>\n
UCLA rugby may not be one of the school\u2019s 21 varsity NCAA teams, but it\u2019s one of the school\u2019s most successful sports, particularly in the last several years.<\/p>\n
Sherman runs with the ball tucked under his arm as an opposing player attempts to drag him down by his leg. (Courtesy of William Sherman)<\/p>\n
The Bruins had two players selected in the 2025 Major League Rugby Draft \u2013 with William Sherman going to Anthem Rugby Carolina, based out of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Joshua Cox staying close to his alma mater with the California Legion.<\/p>\n
Sherman \u2013 a collegiate All-American \u2013 was taken as the first pick of the draft, making UCLA the first school to produce multiple No. 1 overall picks, after former Bruin Eric Naposki\u2019s name was read first in the 2021 MLR Draft.<\/p>\n
While Sherman headlined the rugby roster this past season, he is part of something much bigger than himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have this trailblazer mindset \u2013 where it\u2019s we don\u2019t have the resources or the facilities right now that a lot of the other universities have \u2013 but we\u2019re still a top-10 team,\u201d Sherman said. \u201cWe\u2019re coming out and getting good results and beating teams on our home field, like Oxford last year, and finishing in the top 10 and beating the defending national champions and producing good players.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sherman\u2019s love for the sport was passed down from his father, who traveled to Australia with a group of friends as a teenager and saw the sport being played. Although confused at first, he fell in love with rugby and immersed himself in it when he returned home \u2013 joining a club and eventually playing in college.<\/p>\n
Years later, he became his son\u2019s first coach, teaching Sherman the technique, skills and experience he had picked up along the way.<\/p>\n
And family is exactly what has made Sherman dedicate his life to rugby.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the brotherhood that comes with the sport, and I\u2019m sure anyone who plays rugby will tell you that the brotherhood is incredible,\u201d Sherman said. \u201cYou feel like it\u2019s a second family, and that\u2019s just a big reason why I love the game so much. \u2026 It\u2019s really rewarding in that sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
Part of Sherman\u2019s Bruin rugby family includes Cox, his fellow draftee counterpart.<\/p>\n
The two came to Westwood together as part of a five-person class brought in to help revitalize the program. After two years of playing together as underclassmen, the duo took the reins of the program, helping lead the team to a 4-4 record in their senior season.<\/p>\n
And now, the tandem will play against one another in the MRL.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t speak highly enough about Josh,\u201d Sherman said. \u201cI lived with him for the last two years. While he might not be the most clean roommate ever, he\u2019s a really good rugby player, and I know he\u2019s going to rip it up next year. I\u2019m just so excited to see how he does. He knows I\u2019ll always be rooting for him, so hopefully we\u2019ll have the chance to play against each other next year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leading the program during Cox and Sherman\u2019s four years was head coach Harry Bennett, who took over at the helm after the MRL duo was recruited to UCLA.<\/p>\n
Sherman added that it was a challenge to come to a school where the coach was not the person who recruited him, but that the program worked through the difficulties together, leaning on each other along the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cWill\u2019s achievement is a testament not just to his incredible ability as a rugby player, but also his discipline, character and leadership,\u201d Bennett said in a statement. \u201cWe are tremendously proud of Will, and to see him join Eric as a No. 1 pick is proof of the culture and standard our program continues to build.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the leader of the program, Bennett has always stressed the importance of being successful off the rugby field and growing as a man \u2013 something that made Sherman feel like the head honcho was always in his corner. <\/p>\n
Part of that personal development and strengthening of mental fortitude meant pushing through the adversity of rugby not being recognized as a varsity sport \u2013 and doing everything to change that connotation of the sport in Westwood.<\/p>\n
![\"Sherman](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/regissue.sp_.Rugby_.nbk_.9.3.25.C.courtesy.jpg\")
Sherman is hoisted up by his teammates as he catches the ball. (Courtesy of William Sherman)<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope that what I have done, and the work that me and my friends, teammates and coaches have put in at the school and the program, can be recognized and help push the program closer to getting that varsity status and getting that recognition \u2013 that acknowledgement \u2013 from the university to help boost it and get the funding, put us on the map,\u201d Sherman said.<\/p>\n
While Sherman is eager to make UCLA rugby a varsity sport, he has even greater aspirations.<\/p>\n
The former Bruin wants to see rugby take over the youth sports scene, particularly as the 2031 Rugby World Cup \u2013 which is hosted by the United States \u2013 quickly approaches. Rugby has become increasingly popular over the last few years as more youth pathways are implemented. In 2024, USA Rugby reported that it had gained over 50,000 registrations, and the sport will only become bigger as the MRL expands and gains popularity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they say, \u2018Hey, I want to play football. I want to play soccer. I want to play basketball.\u2019 It\u2019s also like, \u2018No, I want to play rugby from that young age,\u2019\u201d Sherman said. \u201cJust getting a rugby ball in a little kid\u2019s hands and really buying into that idea. It\u2019s a total brotherhood. You have family for life, anywhere you go. It\u2019s an amazing environment to be in as a young girl or boy.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the meantime, Sherman will focus on excelling at Anthem RC, where he said he\u2019s excited to focus on the sport without the rigorous demands of UCLA courses.<\/p>\n
Sherman \u2013 who spent some time with the club over the summer \u2013 added that he is eager to work with Anthem\u2019s coaching staff, who have shown a big interest in his development as a player and a person.<\/p>\n
More so, though, he is yearning to start his professional career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really excited to give my all to rugby and see where that takes me, and I\u2019m excited to see how I develop as a player and as a person as well,\u201d Sherman said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be really challenging, but I\u2019m ready for that. I\u2019m going to give it my best and hope that I can make everyone who\u2019s rooting for me proud.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There is an immense knowledge spectrum when it comes to UCLA sports. The older generations probably know the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":153652,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-153651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153651\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}