America, abroad and back. That was it USA Eagle Shilo Klein’s personal and professional journey.
Born in Sacramento to two American parents, Klein moved New Zealand when he was only two years old because of a job opportunity his father got. Despite being an American citizen by birth, New Zealand was all Klein knew until he returned to the US in 2023, aged 23.
Like most kids in New Zealand, Klein grew up around rugby. “I don’t remember not having a rugby ball or being at the local rugby club,” he told RugbyPass ahead of the Eagles’ 28-26 upset Nations Rugby World Cup 4th round win against Hong Kong China. “Rugby was a huge part of my life socially, and then as I got a bit older, professionally.”
Growing up around New Zealand’s national sport, Klein quickly developed excellent ball skills and was recognized in high school as a player who could move on to the next level. He says that his goal has always been to represent highly competitive teams Canterbury provincial team and eventually play for Crusaders Super Rugby
Canterbury is one of New Zealand’s two rugby powerhouses, the other being Auckland. It produced World Cup-winning coaches Sir Steve Hansen and Sir Wayne Smith and served as a breeding ground for international greats such as Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Justin Marshall and Andrew Mehrtens, among others.
Klein achieved his goals and more. The prostitute represented the red and black between 2019 and 2022, played one season with the Crusaders and made the “baby blacks”, New Zealand’s prestigious U20 team.
Along the way, Klein hung out with Luke Romano, Luke Whitelock and Joe Moody. Following their lead, he learned what it means to be a “good Canterbury man” – which mainly focused on putting in the hard yards, showing concern for the job and pride in the jersey and the community you represent. These are the values that Klein still carries with him today.
Klein also got a chance to play with electricity All black people codie taylor whore. “As a young whore, it was great to have someone like him to look up to,” Klein said. “It gave me something to aim for.”
With Klein’s contract with New Zealand Rugby expiring after the 2022 season, a new future has emerged. “At the end of 2022, USA Rugby contacted me and asked me what my plans were,” Klein told RugbyPass. “The San Diego Legion he reached out, and Gary Gold was coaching the Eagles at the time. I spoke with my agent and laid out the path around to change my allegiance to the USA, what that path would look like in the MLR and potentially going to the World Cup with America. I guess that was the thing that started this next chapter of my playing journey.”
In Klein’s first season in the USA, the Legion topped the Western Conference with 74 league points and reached the MLR championship, but lost the shield to Novi England Free Jacks in a 25-24 nail-biter.
Over the next two seasons, Klein got more and more playing time, but results declined, with Legia missing out on the 2025 play-offs altogether. While the focus was undoubtedly on developing his rugby game, Klein’s move to MLR also allowed him to rediscover his home nation.
“Over these last few years, it’s been great because I’ve learned more about America, where I’m from and what it means to represent this country,” Klein said. “It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”
Klein enjoyed seeing the different faces of America as he traveled the country playing rugby. “The great thing about America is that it’s just a melting pot of different cultures and people from all over the world,” he said. “Coming from a small place like New Zealand, being exposed to the diversity in America, the different ways of looking at the world, the access to professional sports, the patriotism and how proud people are to be Americans, it was incredibly insightful for me and helped me understand what it means to represent such a great nation.”
From a rugby perspective, Klein has evolved as a player, honing his skills and physicality before joining the Eagles in November 2024. While it’s clear the United States isn’t the rugby nation of New Zealand, Klein sees it as a matter of resource allocation rather than a mismatch of athletic talent.
“MLR is still in its infancy,” Klein admitted. “There’s a pretty big difference from a business and marketing standpoint. But as far as the level of rugby that I’ve seen in the few years I’ve played in the United States, the level is on the rise, which is exactly what we want. The athletes that are being produced are definitely at that level, and I think the challenge for us is, ‘How do we get our skill and how do we improve that in the game? gaps?’
To further develop his own skill set, Klein once again sought pastures new at the end of the 2025 season. He traded the California coast for the Italian countryside, joining him Zebras Parma for one season.
Playing in Italy exposed Klein to the different tactical approaches he would face at next year’s Rugby World Cup. He struggled against the physical nature of South Africa, the style of other Italian teams and the clocks of Irish sides’ attacking play.
“I think any opportunity to play in Europe and test myself in another high-quality competition … I just wanted to test myself and see how I would do at that level,” Klein said when asked about choosing to play in Italy.
While Klein will return to Legia for the 2027 MLR season, he looks back fondly on his time in Italy, both as a player and as a person. “As a rugby player, you always want to have the mindset to keep developing and getting better, no matter how old you are. And Italy gave me that, and on top of that, it was just a great place to live. The culture and the people there are amazing.”
As he prepares to return to the States, the whore is clear about what sets elite players apart: “pride in (their) individual skills,” and he wants to help instill that in his national and club teammates.
“Props having the same ability as outside backs to pass the ball and their emphasis on individual skill sets has been huge. And that’s something we’re taking steps to improve at MLR and also within the Eagles…Rugby is an art to them, not a science, and I think when it’s appropriate, we bring a little bit of that into our identity as Eagles and great American players.”