This page summarises the 2019 Major League Rugby Season. It contains the regular season standings, the Championship Series structure and results, and the All-MLR teams and accolades.
The 2019 season saw the addition of the Toronto Arrows and Rugby United New York, bringing the total number of teams in the competition to 9, including the first ever professional rugby union side in Canada.
Regular Season
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | PF | PA | +/- | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 16 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 457 | 296 | +161 | 8 | 3 | 61 |
| 2 |  | 16 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 498 | 405 | +93 | 10 | 2 | 58 |
| 3 |  | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 472 | 362 | +110 | 9 | 4 | 57 |
| 4 |  | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 411 | 320 | +91 | 7 | 3 | 54 |
| 5 |  | 16 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 463 | 403 | +60 | 11 | 6 | 54 |
| 6 |  | 16 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 456 | 463 | -7 | 10 | 1 | 43 |
| 7 |  | 16 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 343 | 498 | -155 | 5 | 1 | 30 |
| 8 |  | 16 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 381 | 517 | -136 | 4 | 5 | 21 |
| 9 |  | 16 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 265 | 482 | -217 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
PA = Points Against
+/- = Points Difference
Points
4 points for winning a match
2 points for drawing a match
0 points for losing a match
1 losing bonus point for losing by 7 points or fewer
1 try bonus point for scoring 4 tries or more
The 2019 regular season was the first season on MLR history to consist of 16 games for each team, and did not yet adhere to the conference system that we are used to today. The San Diego Legion finished as the regular season Champions ahead of the reigning champions, the Seattle Seawolves.
Both 2019 expansion teams, the Toronto Arrows and Rugby United New York, qualified for the post-season in 3rd & 4th place respectively.
At the other end of the table, the Austin Elite (later the Austin Gilgronis) had the unenviable record of finishing with the first winless season in MLR history, recording a 0-16 record and picking up only 5pts all season, 16pts back of the 8th placed Utah Warriors.
Championship Series
The Championship Series for the 2019 season functioned identically to the 2018 season. The top 4 teams during the regular season qualified, with the #1 seed facing the #4, and the #2 seed facing the #3 in the Semifinals before the victors advanced to face off for the MLR Shield in the Championship Final, held at Torero Stadium in San Diego.
See below for the individual box scores for the Championship Series games from the 2018 season:
- 2019 – SF 1: San Diego Legion v Rugby United New York
- 2019 – SF 2: Seattle Seawolves v Toronto Arrows
- 2019 – CF: San Diego Legion v Seattle Seawolves
For the second year in a row the Seattle Seawolves, as the #2 seed once again, emerged as 23-26 victors over the #1 seeded San Diego Legion in a repeat of their 2018 Semifinal, after seeing off the Toronto Arrows in the semifinals.
All-MLR Teams & Accolades
| Number | All-MLR First XV | All-MLR Second XV |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rob Brouwer (TOR) | Franco van den Berg (UTAH) |
| 2 | Dylan Fawsitt (RUNY) | Eric Howard (NOLA) |
| 3 | Paddy Ryan (SDL) | Morgan Mitchell (TOR) |
| 4 | Mike Sheppard (TOR) | Ben Mitchell (AUS) |
| 5 | Nate Brakeley (RUNY) | Louis Stanfill (SDL) |
| 6 | Brad Tucker (SEA) | Lance Williams (UTAH) |
| 7 | Nakai Penny (SEA) | Matt Hughston (RUNY) |
| 8 | Riekert Hattingh (SEA) | Cam Dolan (NOLA) |
| 9 | Nate Augspurger (SDL) | Mike Petri (RUNY) |
| 10 | Joe Pietersen (SDL) | Sam Malcolm (TOR) |
| 11 | Connor Wallace-Sims (RUNY) | Dan Moor (TOR) |
| 12 | JP du Plessis (SDL) | Shalom Suniula (SEA) |
| 13 | Tristan Blewett (NOLA) | Ryan Matyas (SDL) |
| 14 | John Ryberg (GLN) | Brock Staller (SEA) |
| 15 | JP Eloff (NOLA) | Mat Turner (SEA) |
2019 Player Leaderboards & Accolades
Scoring Leaderboards – Top Points Scorers & Try Scorers
| Pos. | Player | Team | Points | Separator | Pos. | Player | Team | Tries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brock Staller | | 223 | 1 | Dylan Fawsitt | | 13 | |
| 2 | Joe Pietersen | | 163 | – | John Ryberg | | 13 | |
| 3 | Sam Windsor | | 160 | 3 | Tristan Blewett | | 12 | |
| 4 | Sam Malcolm | | 152 | 4 | Eric Howard | | 9 | |
| 5 | JP Eloff | | 141 | – | Mikey Te’o | | 9 | |
| 6 | Tim O’Malley | | 134 | 6 | Stephan Coetzee | | 8 | |
| 7 | Robbie Petzer | | 85 | – | Harley Davidson | | 8 | |
| 8 | Cathal Marsh | | 69 | – | Riekert Hattingh | | 8 | |
| 9 | Dylan Fawsitt | | 65 | – | Mat Turner | | 8 | |
| – | John Ryberg | | 65 | – | Connor Wallace-Sims | | 8 |
Other Leaderboards – Tackling & Metres Gained
| Pos. | Player | Team | Tackles | Separator | Pos. | Player | Team | Meters Gained |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brad Tucker | | 275 | 1 | John Ryberg | | 1,440m | |
| 2 | Nate Brakeley | | 232 | 2 | Riekert Hattingh | | 1,374m | |
| 3 | Zach Stryffeler | | 225 | 3 | Mat Turner | | 1,355m | |
| 4 | Riekert Hattingh | | 203 | 4 | Tristan Blewett | | 1,349m | |
| 5 | JP du Plessis | | 200 | 5 | JP Eloff | | 1,348m | |
| – | Peter Milazzo | | 200 | 6 | Luke White | | 1,227m | |
| 7 | Nate Augspurger | | 199 | 7 | Ben Foden | | 1,223m | |
| 8 | Stephan Coetzee | | 194 | 8 | Dylan Taikato-Simpson | | 1,207m | |
| 9 | Mike Sheppard | | 191 | 9 | JP du Plessis | | 1,200m | |
| 10 | Lance Williams | | 190 | 10 | Brad Tucker | | 1,138m |
End of Season Awards
| Award | Recipient | Team |
|---|---|---|
| MLR Player of the Year | Brad Tucker | |
| MLR Forward of the Year | Paddy Ryan | |
| MLR Back of the Year | JP du Plessis | |
| MLR Coach of the Year | Rob Hoadley | |
| Top Points Scorer | Brock Staller – 223pts | |
| Top Try Scorer | Dylan Fawsitt & John Ryberg – 13 Tries | |
| Top Tackler | Brad Tucker | |
| Top Meter Eater | John Ryberg | |