James Kennedy is the owner and founder of Rugby United New York, and advocate on social inclusion and equality.
A resident and businessman in New York City since 1999, James owns and runs a successful construction management business and real estate development company.
James got involved with rugby in his youth, playing in his hometown for Newport RFC and throughout his educational and professional career.
After retiring from playing rugby, James started financially supporting teams and programs such as Lansdowne, Fordham Women’s Rugby, and Play Rugby USA. He founded Ruby United New York (RUNY) in early 2017. RUNY joined Major League Rugby in November 2017, which has 12 teams throughout the country and Canada.

“Rugby is the right sport and it is the right time for it in the USA”, James said. “Rugby’s values of inclusion, equality, teamwork, and respect always resonate with me personally. Through rugby, we can share and encourage these values across the USA and beyond”.

James continues to donate time and resources to various rugby clubs in the Tri-State area along with local organizations, such as the LGBTQ community. Recently, RUNY and UNFPA partnered together to host a rugby exhibition match on the Front Lawn during the UN General Assembly to showcase sports as a vehicle of inclusion and empowerment.

“My goals with RUNY are humble enough, simply build the best, most supported, most successful rugby team on the planet”, James continued. “Most importantly, we need to build this in the tri-state, of the tri-state, and for the tri-state”.