This page summarises the 2023 Major League Rugby Season, the 6th season in MLR history. It includes regular season standings for both the Eastern and Western Conferences, the Championship Series structure for the season as well as the playoff results, as well as the League-leaders in various categories, the All-MLR Teams, and Individual League Awards.
The 2023 season saw the addition of the Chicago Hounds as well as the withdrawal of the LA & Austin franchises following the controversy at the end of the 2022 season. This meant that the league contracted from 13 teams to 12, evening out the Conferences with Chicago joining the West, at 6 teams each.
The Hounds benefitted from the dispersal draft to re-allocate LA & Austin players, including back-to-back Back of the Year Billy Meakes and fearsome Argentinian winger Julian Dominguez, and also recruited Austin’s 2022 Head Coach Sam Harris.
Elsewhere in the league, Rugby New York added the moniker ‘Ironworkers’ to they name, crest, and jerseys for their 3rd name change in 3 years, but kept the same branding and roster. Rugby ATL rolled out a controversial rebrand that saw the club abandon the black, grey, and white colours as well as the ‘RATLers’ branding, and adopted a dark green, teal, and peach colour scheme much to the displeasure of the fanbase. The jerseys were good and the logo was fine, but to rebrand without consultation of the fanbase or apparently even the players, was a faux pas.
Regular Season
Eastern Conference
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | PF | PA | +/- | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 16 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 556 | 273 | +283 | 11 | 1 | 68 |
| 2 |  | 16 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 428 | 387 | +41 | 10 | 1 | 43 |
| 3 |  | 16 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 408 | 443 | -35 | 11 | 2 | 43 |
| 4 |  | 16 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 339 | 435 | -96 | 6 | 1 | 35 |
| 5 |  | 16 | 5 | 1 | 10 | 355 | 428 | -73 | 5 | 1 | 28 |
| 6 |  | 16 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 306 | 601 | -295 | 4 | 4 | 16 |
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | PF | PA | +/- | Try Bonus | Losing Bonus | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 16 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 554 | 285 | +269 | 13 | 1 | 74 |
| 2 |  | 16 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 509 | 348 | +161 | 9 | 2 | 59 |
| 3 |  | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 484 | 413 | +71 | 11 | 2 | 53 |
| 4 |  | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 445 | 421 | +24 | 8 | 2 | 50 |
| 5 |  | 16 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 327 | 497 | -170 | 4 | 4 | 20 |
| 6 |  | 16 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 278 | 458 | -180 | 6 | 5 | 19 |
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
In the Eastern Conference, the Top seeded New England Free Jacks improved on their 2022 record to an incredible 14-0-2, and 68pts. This would have been the best regular season in MLR history if not for a sensational season by the San Diego Legion in the Western Conference. The Legion finished the season with a record of 15-0-1 and 74pts, the best regular season in MLR history.
At the other end of the table, in the Eastern Conference the Toronto Arrows finished with 16pts and a record of 1-2-13 after maintaining an Injury List of 10+ players for the majority of the season. The Arrows finished 12pts behind Rugby ATL for 5th place in the conference, and 3pts behind the bottom place in the Western Conference, the Dallas Jackals. After a 0-16 season in 2022, the Jackals earned their first ever victory against the languishing Arrows, and picked up a 2nd win to finish just 1pt behind the Chicago Hounds in the Hounds’ inaugural MLR season, finishing with a 3-13 record including an impressive victory over the 10-6 Utah Warriors.
Championship Series
The 2023 Championship Series followed the same format introduced for the 2022 season. The top 3 teams in each conference qualified for the post-season, with the #1 seed in each conference earning a bye to the Conference Finals, and the #2 & #3 seeds in each conference battling it out in the Eliminator Round, with the winner then moving on to face the #1 seed in the Conference Final, fighting for a spot in the West v East Championship Final for a chance to lift the shield in 2023. Please see below for a list of Championship Series games in 2023:
- 2023 – Eastern Eliminator: Rugby New York Ironworkers v Old Glory DC
- 2023 – Western Eliminator: Seattle Seawolves v Houston SaberCats
- 2023 – Eastern Conference Final: New England Free Jacks v Old Glory DC
- 2023 – Western Conference Final: San Diego Legion v Seattle Seawolves
- 2023 – Championship Final: San Diego Legion v New England Free Jacks
For the second year in a row, the New England Free Jacks finished as the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference and waited to see who they would face in the Eastern Conference Final. The reigning champions Rugby New York Ironworkers, the team that knocked the Free Jacks out in 2022, faced Old Glory DC in the Eastern Eliminator, where the Flags won a shock 33-37 victory on the road in their first ever Championship Series game. DC advanced to face the Free Jacks who were, unfortunately for DC fans, a class above. A 25-7 victory at home locked the Free Jacks in for the chance to lift the shield, where they would face the winners of the Western Conference.
The 15-0-1 San Diego Legion entered the Championship Series as the #1 seed in the West, and would rest up while the Seattle Seawolves (#2) and Houston SaberCats (#3) fought for the right to face the Legion in the Western Conference Final. The Seawolves themselves had a strong 12-0-4 season and proved this against the ‘Cats, a 37-26 victory propelling them to a showdown with their historic rivals, the Legion. In that showdown, it was the Legion who finally prevailed over the Seawolves in the post-season, advancing to the Championship Final to face the Free Jacks.
The 2023 Championship Final was arguably the best MLR Final in league history, hosted at Seatgeek Stadium in Chicago. A closely fought affair that went back and forth for almost the entire 80 minutes. The decisive moment came at 77minutes, when Le Roux Malan shook off a defender and found pay dirt to give the Free Jacks the narrowest of leads. Jayson Potroz failed to add the +2 so the score sat at 24-25 with minutes to spare. The San Diego Legion regained possession from the restart and tried to work into a position for a penalty or drop goal, but a knock-on brought their season to an end. The New England Free Jacks claimed their first MLR title, and the San Diego Legion became the first team to lose in multiple Championship Finals.
All-MLR Teams & Accolades
| Number | All-MLR First XV | All-MLR Second XV | Honorable Mention XV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jack Iscaro (DC) | Alex Maughan (ATL) | Faka’osi Pifeleti (SDL) |
| 2 | Dylan Fawsitt (NY) | Sama Malolo (SDL) | Andrew Quattrin (NE) |
| 3 | JP Zeiss (DAL) | Morgan Mitchell (HOU) | Lolani Faleiva (TOR) |
| 4 | Sam Golla (DAL) | Ben Grant (SDL) | Nate Brakeley (NY) |
| 5 | Johan Momsen (ATL) | Kyle Baillie (DC) | Nathan den Hoedt (HOU) |
| 6 | Christian Poidevin (SDL) | Mitch Jacobson (NE) | Jero Gomez Vara (DAL) |
| 7 | Lance Williams (UTAH) | Charles Elton (SEA) | Jama Fa’anana-Schultz (DC) |
| 8 | Wian Conradie (NE) | Gideon van Wyk (HOU) | Riekert Hattingh (SEA) |
| 9 | Richard Judd (SDL) | John Poland (NE) | JP Smith (SEA) |
| 10 | Jayson Potroz (NE) | Davy Coetzer (HOU) | Joel Hodgson (UTAH) |
| 11 | Nate Augspurger (SDL) | Joe Mano (UTAH) | Paula Balekana (NE) |
| 12 | Le Roux Malan (NE) | Billy Meakes (CHI) | Dan Kriel (SEA) |
| 13 | Ben LeSage (NE) | JP du Plessis (NOLA) | Marcel Brache (SD) |
| 14 | Tomas Aoake (SDL) | Lauina Futi (SEA) | Andrew Coe (NY) |
| 15 | Mikey Te’o (SDL) | Caleb Makene (UTAH) | Reece MacDonald (NE) |
2023 Player Leaderboards & Accolades
Scoring Leaderboards – Top Points Scorers & Try Scorers
| Pos. | Player | Team | Points | Separator | Pos. | Player | Team | Tries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jayson Potroz | | 146 | 1 | Paula Balekana | | 15 | |
| 2 | Davy Coetzer | | 135 | 2 | Joe Mano | | 14 | |
| 3 | Joel Hodgson | | 122 | 3 | Riekert Hattingh | | 12 | |
| 4 | AJ Alatimu | | 100 | 4 | Tomas Aoake | | 11 | |
| 5 | Tito Díaz Bonilla | | 90 | – | Nate Augspurger | | 11 | |
| 6 | Will Hooley | | 89 | – | Gideon van Wyk | | 11 | |
| 7 | Rodney Iona | | 80 | 7 | Dylan Fawsitt | | 10 | |
| 8 | Jordan Chait | | 77 | – | William Talataina | | 10 | |
| 9 | Paula Balekana | | 75 | 9 | Christian Dyer | | 9 | |
| – | Jason Emery | | 75 | 10 | Lauina Futi | | 9 |
New England’s Le Roux Malan also recorded 9 tries in 2023, tied for 9th. As these tables are sorted by alphabetical order by surname, Malan sits just off this table.
Other Leaderboards – Tackling & Meters Gained
| Pos. | Player | Team | Tackles | Separator | Pos. | Player | Team | Meters Gained |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Elton | | 272 | 1 | Nate Augspurger | | 1,595 | |
| 2 | Adriaan Booysen | | 257 | 2 | Lauina Futi | | 1,495 | |
| 3 | Wian Conradie | | 234 | 3 | Mikey Te’o | | 1,432 | |
| 4 | Sam Golla | | 218 | 4 | Joe Mano | | 1,416 | |
| 5 | Matt Heaton | | 215 | 5 | Caleb Makene | | 1,317 | |
| 6 | Conrado Roura | | 190 | 6 | Dan Kriel | | 1,314 | |
| 7 | Hamish Dalzell | | 189 | 7 | Wian Conradie | | 1,262 | |
| 8 | Maclean Jones | | 188 | 8 | Andrew Coe | | 1,195 | |
| 9 | Jamason Fa’anana-Shultz | | 187 | 9 | Ed Fidow | | 1,167 | |
| 10 | Mitch Jacobson | | 184 | 10 | Tomas Aoake | | 1,160 |
End of Season Awards
| Award | Recipient | Team |
|---|---|---|
| MLR Player of the Year | Jayson Potroz | |
| MLR Forward of the Year | Wian Conradie | |
| MLR Back of the Year | Nate Augspurger | |
| MLR Rookie of the Year | Sam Golla | |
| MLR Coach of the Year | Josh Syms | |
| S. Marcus Calloway Award | Dan Kriel | |
| Top Points Scorer | Jayson Potroz – 146pts | |
| Top Try Scorer | Paula Balekana – 15 Tries | |
| Top Tackler | Charles Elton – 272 Tackles | |
| Top Meter Eater | Nate Augspurger – 1,595m | |