The overlap between high-level international contact sports and human spaceflight might seem unexpected at first glance. However, three former USA Rugby Eagles have proven that the physical grit, instant decision-making under intense pressure, and selfless trust cultivated on a rugby pitch serve as world-class preparation for NASA’s astronaut corps.
Whether locking into a scrum, piloting attack helicopters, or conducting extravehicular activities in low Earth orbit, Jessica Watkins, Anne McClain, and Erin Overcash have demonstrated that the journey to outer space often begins on the grass.
Jessica Watkins: From World Cup Try-Scorer to ISS Mission Commander
Jessica “Watty” Watkins introduced herself to competitive rugby as a freshman at Stanford University. She spent four years anchored to the squad, helping drive Stanford to the 2008 Division I National Championship and earning First Team Collegiate All-American honors twice. Her dynamic athleticism quickly elevated her to the international stage with the USA Women’s Eagles Sevens team. At the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai, Watkins ended the tournament as the leading try-scorer for the U.S. squad, propelling the team to a third-place finish.
While dominating the pitch, Watkins built an equally elite academic foundation. She earned a Ph.D. in geology from UCLA, where her doctoral thesis examined landslide mechanics on Mars and Earth. She worked as a science operations planner for the Curiosity and Mars 2020 rovers before being selected for NASA Astronaut Group 22 in 2017.
In April 2022, Watkins launched to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX Crew-4 as a mission specialist. Spending over 170 days in orbit, she became the first Black woman to complete a long-duration mission on the station and logged the most total time in space for a Black woman in NASA history. Building on that historic achievement, NASA selected Watkins as the commander for SpaceX Crew-13, marking her second mission to the ISS and making her the first NASA astronaut to fly on a Crew Dragon spacecraft twice.
Watkins frequently draws direct connections between her time on the pitch and her work in microgravity, noting that operating the ISS is the ultimate team effort. Success on a rugby field requires absolute reliance on every individual contributor’s unique strengths, a mindset that translates seamlessly to surviving and conducting science in orbit.
Anne McClain: Test Pilot, Combat Veteran, and Master of the Neutral Buoyancy Lab
Long before she was orbiting Earth, U.S. Army Colonel Anne McClain earned her call sign, “Annimal,” on the rugby field. Her rugby career spans over a decade, beginning at West Point and continuing into the top tier of international competition. While completing dual master’s degrees at the University of Bath and the University of Bristol as a Marshall Scholar, McClain competed in the top level of English rugby for Clifton Women’s RFC in the Women’s Premiership from 2002 to 2004. Stateside, she suited up for the Atlanta Harlequins and Seattle Rugby Club.
She earned her first cap for the USA Women’s Eagles in 2004 at the Churchill Cup, later captaining USA Rugby South from 2010 to 2011 and moving on to assistant-coach the regional side in 2012. Her elite playing career was temporarily paused only by military service, including a 15-month deployment to Iraq where she flew 800 combat hours and 216 combat missions as an OH-58 Kiowa Warrior attack helicopter pilot.
McClain was selected in NASA’s 2013 Astronaut Candidate Class, directly citing her rugby background as a primary factor in her selection. She noted that the functional strength, physical endurance, and operational teamwork required in rugby prepared her directly for suit training in NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab.
Across her spaceflight career, McClain has spent a total of 351 days in space. During Expedition 58/59 in 2018–2019, she served as a flight engineer and conducted two spacewalks. In March 2025, she launched as the mission commander of SpaceX Crew-10 for Expedition 72/73, completing her third career spacewalk to relocate station antennae and install mounting hardware for new solar arrays.
Erin Overcash: The Super Hornet Test Pilot Joining the Next Generation
The newest Eagle to join the astronaut corps is Lieutenant Commander Erin “Loft” Overcash. A multi-sport athlete who won two Kentucky high jump state titles in high school, Overcash completed her aerospace engineering degrees at the University of Colorado, Boulder, before playing club rugby for the Berkeley All Blues.
Her exceptional athletic ceiling led her into the U.S. Navy’s World Class Athlete Program. Resident at the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center, Overcash trained full-time alongside the USA Rugby Women’s National Team, earning three caps as a utility back in 2013, including a test match against France.
Overcash shifted her high-performance mindset to naval aviation, earning her wings as an F/A-18E/F Super Hornet pilot. She completed multiple combat deployments across the Pacific and Middle East, eventually graduating from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in 2023. She has logged over 1,300 flight hours across 20 different aircraft types and executed 249 carrier-arrested landings.
In September 2025, Overcash was selected as one of 10 candidates in NASA Astronaut Group 24, emerging from an intense pool of over 8,000 applicants. Reflecting on her path, Overcash noted that rugby instilled in her an ability to make fast-paced decisions under immense pressure, building a commitment to total collective vulnerability. She emphasized that success in high-risk environments relies on pure work capacity, hard work, and relentless desire rather than raw talent alone.
The Rugby Field as a Proving Ground for Spaceflight
The shared success of Watkins, McClain, and Overcash highlights a profound truth about human spaceflight: technical proficiency is only half the equation. The physical and emotional demands of living in extreme, highly isolated environments require individuals who excel at selfless cooperation, rapid adaptation, and mental toughness.
From winning national collegiate titles and representing the USA on the international stage to leading missions aboard the International Space Station, these three athletes demonstrate that the core tenets of rugby provide an ideal foundation for pushing the boundaries of human exploration.