Day: February 15, 2025

2025 – RD 1: Rugby FC LA v New England Free Jacks

The Reigning Champions kick off their 2nd title defence in a row on the road against Rugby FC LA at their new home at the Wallis Annenberg Stadium, within UCLA. With only 1 team in the Western Conference missing out on the post-season, LA will be looking to ensure they’re not the odd ones out.

A new-look, Giltinis tinted RFCLA team did their best to take it to the reigning champs, and had vastly more territory and possession than the Free Jacks, but didn’t account for New England’s defensive talent. The Free Jacks were the only team to complete over 120 tackles in Round 1 and in fact, completed almost double that, with 227. They had 5 players with more tackles than anyone else in Round 1, including the only 3 players with over 20 (see below). The reigning champs got their title defence off to a great start with 2024 Finals MVP Jed Melvin snagging an interception early on for his, and New England’s, first of 2025. 2024 Player of the Year Wayne van der Bank and Fijian flyer Paula Balekana would add scores for the Free Jacks, who claimed a try BP thanks to a penalty try. Melvin would make headlines again towards the end of the game, but for the wrong reasons. He was handed a red card in the closing minutes that might rule him out for their next game.

Rugby FC LA would strike back through their superstar half back combo, as Gonzalo Bertranou and Christian Leali’ifano would score tries, but the Free Jacks defence was too strong to mount a successful comeback. LA salvage a losing BP, and move on to next week.

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2025 – RD 1: Houston SaberCats v Chicago Hounds

The Houston SaberCats begin their 2025 Campaign by hosting the Chicago Hounds at SaberCats Stadium.

The Hounds, kicking off their 2025 season on the road, will be looking to take one step further than their Eastern Conference Final finish in 2024, while the hosting SaberCats, who finished with the best record of the 2024 regular season with 14-2, will be looking to avenge their upset at the hands of the Dallas Jackals in the Western Conference Semifinals. Unfortunately for the hosts, their season got off to a rocky start, falling 22-25 to the Chicago Hounds in a closely fought game down in Texas, although they do salvage a losing bonus point thanks to Sam Tuifua’s late try on his SaberCats debut.

The Chicago Hounds get their first win under new head coach, Chris Latham, thanks to tries from Maclean Jones and James Scott, along with Dylan Fawsitt’s league-leading 57th try in MLR. An early injury to Mark O’Keeffe will be a concern for the Hounds, and he was seen in a sling after the the game.

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2025 – RD 1: NOLA Gold v Anthem RC

The NOLA Gold, fresh off their first playoff appearance in 2024, start their 2025 campaign by playing host to Anthem RC, who look to improve on their 0-16 record from their first season.

The home team came out flying, securing the Try Bonus Point after just over 30 minutes, before settling into the game. A new look Anthem RC side didn’t give up, eventually claiming a pair of tries themselves, but the Gold never really looked back after their lightning quick start. A final score of 35-14 to the hosts get the NOLA Gold’s 2025 season off to a flying start. For an Anthem side that have 15 ARC debuts, there was promising spells but they were blown away.

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2025 – RD 1: Miami Sharks v Old Glory DC

The 2025 Major League Rugby season kicks off with the Miami Sharks hosting Old Glory DC in an Eastern Conference clash. The Sharks will be looking to make a push for the post-season in 2025, while the Flags will look to finally get the better of their Eastern rivals, the Free Jacks.

The visitors got off to a dream start, with two Axel Muller tries in the opening 20 minutes. Jason Robertson put both conversions wide, but the flags still had a 0-10 lead early. Whether it was the visitors taking a breath, or the home side waking up, the Sharks began to pull the momentum back towards them, and tries from Ma’ake Muti and Tomas Cubilla, along a pair from Mauro Rebussone, gave the Miami Sharks a 29-10 lead deep into the second half, but Old Glory DC weren’t done yet. Replacement hooker KoiKoiNelligan got DC moving again, and Robertson made up for his early errors off the tee with a lovely linebreak to score and convert his own try  in the 76th minute, before a dramatic finish.

Old GLory DC had a penalty in the dying stages of the game, and kicked for touch. The lineout was stolen my Miami and with the clock in the red all the Sharks needed to do was find touch…but the kick was charged down, and DC reclaimed possession! With a hail mary, Robertson launched a crossfield kick for Axel Muller, who got on the end of it after it was mishandled by the Sharks defender. Muller completed his hat trick to tie the score at 29-29 with the conversion to come. Robertson got the early season jitters out of the way early, and made no mistakes to give Old Glory a memorable victory at the death, kicking off the 2025 season with a wonderful game that the Sharks will be disappointed to have blown that opportunity at home.

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