Madison Hughes

Madison John Hughes (born October 26, 1992) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a fullback.

Born in England, he represents United States at international level after qualifying on residency grounds.

Hughes attended Wellington College, in England where he played rugby from 2006 to 2011.

Wellington College is a public school which has also produced rugby players such as James Haskell, Thom Evans and Max Evans.

He was also a member of the Wellington cricket, rackets and soccer teams, playing to county level for cricket, representing Surrey.

Hughes played college rugby as a fullback for Dartmouth College, and also played on Dartmouth's rugby sevens team.

Hughes began playing with Dartmouth rugby as an 18-year-old freshman becoming the club captain by his junior year.

Hughes rose to national prominence with his performance for Dartmouth at the Collegiate Rugby Championship.

Hughes was named to the CRC All-Tournament team in 2012, 2013, and again in 2014.

In the 2012 CRC, Hughes was the tournament's third-leading try scorer with six tries.

Hughes was the top scorer of the tournament at the 2012 IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy with 72 points, and was the U.S. leading try-scorer with four tries.

In the 2013 CRC, Hughes was the second-leading try scorer with eight tries and the second-leading points scorer with 58.

Hughes was captain of the 2013 7s All Americans and the 2014 15s All Americans.

Hughes debuted with the United States national rugby sevens team in the 2013–14 season.

Hughes captained the US Eagles to their highest ever finish in the sevens series (sixth place) in the 2014/2015 season, a significant improvement on the team's 12th place finish the previous year.

Hughes was the leading scorer for the U.S. at the 2014 Wellington Sevens (33 points) and 2014 Japan Sevens (28 points).

For the 2014–15 season, Hughes was named team captain for the 2014 Gold Coast Sevens in October 2014, even though at 21 he was the youngest player in the team.

This feat was matched with another strong year in the 2015/2016 Season, where Hughes was the highest points scorer in the World Series.

Hughes was the second highest scorer for the 2015 series with 296 points.

In the last leg of the series Hughes lead the Eagles to victory at the 2015 London Sevens, and was named player of the tournament at that event.

Though American in status, he was born in England.

Hughes captains the Rocky Mountain Experts of Premier Rugby Sevens and led them to a fourth-place finish during the 2023 season.

Hughes again captained the USA 7's team to a sixth place finish in the 2015/2016 season, becoming the highest points scorer in the world for the year.

Hughes was the U.S. starting scrum-half at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Hughes played fullback for the United States national under-20 rugby union team.

Hughes debuted for the United States national rugby union team fifteen a-side team in 2016, playing at fullback.

He recorded three caps for the Eagles in 2016 before returning to rugby sevens for the remainder of the 2016-17 season.

During the 2023 season, Hughes captained the Rocky Mountain Experts of Premier Rugby Sevens.

Hughes joined the Experts in 2023 leading them to one tournament win and an overall fourth place finish.

Hughes ended the season with 21 points, one try, eight conversions, seven tackles and six steals.

At the Western Conference Kickoff in Minneapolis, Minn. at TCO Stadium, the Experts went 2-0, securing their first tournament win of the season.

The day started off with a 26-19 win over the SoCal Loggerheads and then a 22-19 walkoff win against the Golden State Retrievers.

Hughes tallied four conversions for eight points and two steals throughout the day.

The Experts fell short at the Western Conference Finals in San Jose, Calif. at PayPal Park as they advanced to the finals but fell 15-12 to the Loggerheads.

However, their second-place finish advanced the team to the PR7s Championship in August.

The Experts first win of the day was a close 15-14 score over the Northern Loonies.

Hughes comprised one try, seven points, seven tackles, and two steals at this tournament.

At the PR7s Championship in Washington, D.C. at Audi Field, the Experts opened the day with a loss to the Loggerheads, pushing the Experts to the third-place match against the Texas Team.

The Experts went 0-2 in the Championship Tournament with Hughes totaling three conversions for six points and two steals.

Although the men Experts did not come home with an individual championship, the Rocky Mountain Experts franchise was the 2023 PR7s United Champion.