Bill Whiteside Re-Signs for 2026 Season

By Alistair Kirsch-Poole
Dec 4, 2025 - 4:30pm

Old Glory has announced that American lock Bill Whiteside has been re-signed for the 2026 season. It will be the 26-year-old's third season with Old Glory, and fourth overall.

A native of California, he was a standout player at Lindenwood University before being picked up by Rugby New York in the 2022 MLR draft. He didn't end up making any appearances for the Ironworkers in 2023, but he did tour with the USA Hawks in South America.

Whiteside was picked up by Old Glory after the collapse of the New York team before the 2024 season. Initially he was a signed to a training contract, but that was enough for him to impress the coaches and earn a spot in the regular rotation. He played in 13 matches, 4 of them as a starter, for a total of 332 minutes played. He had an almost identical season in 2025 by the stats, playing in 13 matches with 4 starts for 371 minutes played.

While he has been getting decent playing time, Whiteside's goal is going to be expanding his role. He went from the fourth choice lock to the third choice lock last season, but that didn't increase his playing time as Tevita Naqali shouldered more of the workload. Unfortunately for him, when one starting lock is a US Eagle and the other is the team captain, there are only so many opportunities left for the guy on the bench.

The departure of Ignacio Dotti as a competitor for the minutes that are left is about the only thing working in Whiteside's favor, but those minutes aren't likely to go to him alone. Old Glory has also signed another up-and-coming American lock, Rick Rose, who will also be vying for playing time off the bench. It will be a real competition to see which of them can prove themselves worthy of a spot in the lineup.